WATERTOWN – The Bobcat girls finished third and the boys ended up sixth at the Watertown Watoma Invitational Cross Country Meet on Thursday at Cattail Crossing.
Brookings competes in the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by Minnesota, on Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn.
Girls
Brandon Valley put five runners in the top nine to win the team crown with 28 points and Aberdeen Central was second at 54.
Brookings totaled 95 points in third place.
The Lynx’s Mia Wentzy was medalist in the 5K with a time of 19 minutes, 19 seconds, edging the Golden Eagles’ Melanie Jacobs (19:21).
Brandon Valley’s Lauren Wells (19:31) and Aberdeen Central’s Zoe Douglas (19:36) were third and fourth, respectively.
Kayla Shoup and Ainsley Powers paced the Bobcats.
Shoup crossed in 19:43 to place fifth and Powers had a time of 19:47 while taking sixth.
Jai Reienke ended up 17th in 20:29. Maddix Archar (21:08) was 29th and Brooke Wika (21:53) 47th to complete Brookings’ team tally.
Also for the Bobcats, Ella Kjelden (22:21) finished 53rd.
Boys
Aberdeen Central’s five scorers placed in the top 20, including three in the top eight, as the Golden Eagles totaled 49 team points to place first.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Harrisburg both had 57 points to take second and third, respectively.
Brookings ended up with 187 points to take sixth.
The Golden Eagles’ Aaron Ryan cruised to the individual win, posting a time of 15:50 in the 5K.
The Lynx’s Britton Elkin (16:36) was second. The Tigers’ Ryan Ptak (17:10), the Golden Eagles’ Josh Mehlhoff (17:11) and the Rough Riders’ Aaron Staples (17:13) rounded out the top five.
Isaac Conrad took 29th in 18:19 to lead the Bobcats.
Nick Diersen (19:08) was 54th, Daniel Messerli (19:13) 56th, Ian Smith (19:20) 58th and Sam Conrad (19:29) 61st to round out the team score.
Also for Brookings, Quentin Eck (20:00) finished 67th.
Junior varsity
Brookings’ Averie Burmeister (18:07) placed sixth and Katie Osbeck (18:13) was ninth in the girls’ 4K race. Roosevelt’s Abigail Smith (17:19) was medalist.
On the boys’ side, Tyler Sprang (15:20) placed seventh to pace the Bobcats. Sioux Falls Washington’s Dan Gide (14:31) placed first.
Middle school
The Bobcats put four girls in the top 14, led by Tania Lopez, who placed fourth in the 3K in 12:20. Lilly Murray (12:21) was seventh, Madison Kepner (12:23) 10th and Emmy Kjelden (12:48) 14th. Watertown’s Victoria Smith (12:04) won.
For the boys, Brookings’ Quinn Miller (11:17) and Ian Langlett (11:19) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The Arrows’ Ben Peterson (10:59) was medalist.
Roger Merriam/Watertown Public Opinion
Brookings’ Isaac Conrad runs in a pack during the Watertown Watoma Invitational Cross Country Meet on Thursday at Cattail Crossing.
