RAPID CITY – Sioux Falls Washington (37 points) edged defending-champion and perennial power Sioux Falls Lincoln (38) for the team title at the Class AA State Boys’ Cross Country Meet on Saturday at Hart Ranch.
The Patriots’ Jack Elliott was medalist in the 5K with a 16 minute, 9.73-second clocking. He was the top returning finisher from last year’s event.
Aberdeen Central’s Jackson Harrison was runner-up with a time of 16:17.47.
Washington’s Bonheur Mvuyekure (16:22.46) and Shodo Mahamed (16:24.01) were third and fourth, respectively, and Lincoln’s Sam Elliott (16:25.86) ended up fifth.
Lincoln’s Andrew Lauer (16:28.2) took seventh.
The Warriors occupied the Nos. 9-11 spots – Merci Bita (16:40.27), Yonas Sadi (16:45.82) and Christopher Zahn (16:47.25), respectively – to complete their team tally. The Patriots’ Ike Mendel (16:51.29) finished 12th and Gabe Fendrich (16:51.7) ended up 13th to round out their team’s score.
Brookings was 12th in the team standings with 319 points
Junior Charlie Wang led the way, placing 14th in 16:56.48.
“Charlie Wang, as we’ve been talking all year, just like Ellie (Abraham), hard work pays off; summer mileage pays off; dedication pays off,” said Brookings coach Chris Gruenhagen. “For a kid that was maybe questioning what his ability was in running, I think he’s shown himself a lot this season. Just like Ellie, he’s in band and commits just in practice for band 20-plus hours (per week) not to mention competition. He finds time to run. In 14th place, I believe he will be All-State when we combine all three classes’ times. He broke 17 (minutes) for the first time; he’s hitting the stats of the previous runners and he has a year to go. I’m really excited to see what Charlie can do next spring (in track) as well as his senior season.
“He got out and was somewhere around 25th through the mile and just kept creeping up, creeping up. I think he maybe slid into 13th in the last 200 and got into a kickers’ race. It an awesome race for Charlie; I’m really, really happy for him.”
Wang had the 25th best time overall in the three classes.
Freshman Schaffer Vestal took 53rd in 18:08.35, senior Oscar Kavanagh was 58th with an 18:11.95 clocking, junior Isaac Conrad ended up 90th in 19:08.94 and senior Casey Pedersen finished 108with in a time of 19:59.31 to round out Brookings’ team tally.
Also for the Bobcats, sophomore Daniel Messerli (20:04.52) took 109th and freshman Quintin Eck (20:12.66) 110th.
“The boys competed well,” Gruenhagen added. “It’s good to see Schaffer Vestal and Oscar Kavanagh working well together in that 2-3 hole. I’m happy with their effort.
“The boys finishing 12th, and again, like the girls, I thought they’d be somewhere around 13th or 14th, and they were just 10 points out of 10th place. I’m happy with how they did today, how they performed.”
Team scores
Sioux Falls Washington 37, Sioux Falls Lincoln 38, Sioux Falls O’Gorman 115, Rapid City Stevens 135, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 151, Aberdeen Central 167, Brandon Valley 226, Harrisburg 238, Spearfish 276, Pierre 310, Sturgis 314, Brookings 319, Yankton 342, Douglas 396, Rapid City Central 399, Watertown 428, Mitchell 460.
Individual top 30 (of 122)
1, Jack Elliott, SFL, 16:09.73; 2, Jackson Harrison, AC, 16:17.47; 3, Bonheur Mvuyekure, SFW, 16:22.46; 4, Shodo Mahamed, SFW, 16:24.01; 5, Sam Elliott, SFL, 16:25.86; 6, Dylan Pierson, SFO, 16:28; 7, Andrew Lauer, SFL, 16:28.2; 8, Aaron Ryan, AC, 16:28.23; 9, Merci Bita, SFW, 16:40.27; 10, Yonas Sadi, SFW, 16:45.82; 11, Christopher Zahn, SFW, 16:47.25; 12, Ike Mendel, SFL, 16:51.29; 13, Gabe Fendrich, SFL, 16:51.7; 14, Charlie Wang, B, 16:56.48; 15, Zeb Mendel, SFL, 16:59.48; 16, Britton Elkin, BV, 17:00.47; 17, Luke Meyer, RCS, 17:02.06; 18, Jackson Wilson, D, 17:05.01; 19, Bailey Auen, SFL, 17:07.82; 20, Liam Vidas, RCS, 17:10.24; 21, Jayden Slaba, SFR, 17:10.55; 22, Tyler Hackman, SFO, 17:10.69; 23, Isaiah Lee, SFR, 17:11.52; 24, Calvin Moehlman, RCC, 17:11.85; 25, Rigel Roberdeau, Sp., 17:12.72; 26, Dylan Hilger, SFO, 17:12.77; 27, Caleb Lusk, P, 17:13.49; 28, Dan Velazquez, RCS, 17:13.88; 29, Chase Lather, SFW, 17:18.44; 30, TJ Ripperda, SFO, 17:22.21.
Other BHS participants – 53, Schaffer Vestal, 18:08.35; 58, Oscat Kavanagh, 18:11.95; 90, Isaac Conrad, 19:08.94; 108, Casey Pedersen, 19:59.31; 109, Daniel Messerli, 20:04.52; 110, Quintin Eck, 20:12.66.
