Two area boys cross country teams brought their “A” games to the Class 2A District meet in Orange City Thursday night, and as a result, both Spirit Lake and Okoboji are headed to the state championship meet at the end of the month. The Indians, who entered the meet as the defending district champs and the third ranked team in Class 2A, successfully held on to that crown with yet another first place finish with 71 team points. That narrowly edged out second-ranked and second-place Unity Christian at 73, with the eleventh-ranked Pioneers occupying the third spot at 77 points. Individually, junior Will Norris from Spirit Lake, the number one ranked runner in the state, claimed his first district title, with a first-place time of 16:08. Senior teammate Keith Byers finished at his heels in second at 16:26. Two spots back was junior Joe Hilsabeck, racing to a time of 16:43 for fourth place to lead the Pioneers.
The girls’ portion of the competition ended with Dondi Schmidt earning a trip to state. The sophomore paced the Indians with a top-ten time of 15:41, good for sixth-place overall. The team competition ended with Unity Christian (35) earning the district crown. Second-place honors went to Sioux Center (46), with Western Christian (63) rounding out the top three qualifying schools. Spirit Lake finished with 152 team points and in fifth place, while Okoboji tallied 186 points for sixth place. The Pioneers’ best time belonged to Clare Eckard at 16:48, good for 21st.
Click here for comments from Spirit Lake coach Tim Heinitz.
Click here for comments from Okoboji coach Brad Peter.
The Class 1A District meet in Holstein saw four individual runners qualify for the next level in the girls’ race. Sibley-Ocheyedan sophomore Leah Seivert was first through the tape at an impressive 14:42, a full 1:20 ahead of the runner-up runner, Erin Reedy (16:02) of Bishop Garrigan. In third place was Katie Knobloch from Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, at a time of 16:14. Other top-ten runners qualifying for state included Amy Dreesen of S-O, with a fourth-place time of 16:26, and Emmetburg’s Olivia Smith in ninth at 17:07. The team competition put the area teams on the outside looking in, with Emmetsburg (125) taking fourth, HMS (132) fifth, and Sibley-Ocheyedan (136) sixth. Sioux Central won the meet at 64 points, and will take Bishop Garrigan (68) and Gehlen Catholic (86) along with to state.
On the boys’ side, Harris-Lake Park’s lone runner, Kayne Feldick, ran a time of 17:11, placing him in the top-ten at number nine and sending the senior on to state. West Lyon (54) took top honors as a team, followed by Trinity Christian (83) and Alta/Aurelia (137), all of whom will run at state. Sioux Central finished (200) fifth, South O’Brien (208) sixth, Emmetsburg (211) seventh, and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (446) was 18th.
Spencer was able to run the Class 3A District meet on their home course, and a pair Tigers’ runners took advantage. Senior Ryan Bauermeister ran to an individual district title with a first-place time of 16:44 to qualify for the state meet. Bishop Heelan (46) was the top team, with MOC-Floyd Valley (72) finishing second, and Webster City (90) taking third. Spencer (116) placed fifth overall as a team.
It was a second-place finish for Spencer’s Cierra Guerrero in the girls’ race, sending the sophomore to state with a time of 15:33. As a team, the Tigers ended the day in fourth place with 113 points, while Estherville-Lincoln Central/Armstrong-Ringsted (174) was seventh. Bishop Heelan (53) also claimed the girls’ district title. MOC-Floyd Valley (75) was second and Garner-Hayfield (87) third.
The state meet is run Saturday, October 29 in Ft. Dodge.
