By WEBSTER — A problem tracking finishers at boys Region 1A Cross-Country Meet nearly ended an Aberdeen Roncalli runner’s season prematurely.
The 1A boys and girls races and the Region 1B meet were Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Webster Golf Course. The top three teams and top 20 runners in each race advanced to the state meet.
There was some controversy surrounding the boys Region 1A race.
Roncalli’s Matt Peterson made a push to the finish line, crossing it with three other runners at virtually the same time.
Peterson thought he finished in the top 20 to qualify for the state meet. However, meet officials did not record his time, and his name was not in the final results when they were released.
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“I was hearing I finished 17th or 18th from some parents and other runners, but then I had to wait, so I mean, yeah, I was nervous,” Peterson said.
Officials met with Clark/Willow Lake’s Will Hovde, who was listed as finishing 19th. Hovde confirmed that Peterson finished right in front of him, confirming Peterson’s time of 20:00.12. That left Peterson in 19th and Hovde in 20th — the final two spots.
For Peterson, it was worth the wait. Last year, he just missed the state meet, finishing 21st.
“From about 50 meters out on the last lap I’m kind of screaming to myself, ‘I gotta go, gotta go, not again, I gotta get there,’ and I was able to catch a couple kids at the end,” he said. “I’m just so happy, I mean I kind of feel like crying a little. I haven’t made state the last two years and last year I was so close, so, yeah, this feels really good.”
Sisseton’s Ryder Graff indicates who finished first during the boys Region 1A cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Webster. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Sisseton’s Ryder Graff, who is currently ninth in the boys Class A rankings, placed first in 18:00.96
“I ran my fastest time ever on this course, so I think I’m peaking at the right time,” Graf said. “I beat my previous time here by 12 seconds, and last week, I ran 18:35 and today I ran 18-flat.”
This will be the sophomore’s first time in the state meet.
“The goal coming into this season was win region and medal state, and I think I have a good chance for that now,” Graf said.
Groton Area is also sending a first-timer to the state meet. Jayden Schwan ran a personal record time of 19:25.06 to finish eighth.
“They have the listings on Athletic.net and I was 31st or something like that (in the region), so to go out and have a race like I did today is kind of like a dream come true,” Schwan said.
With wind gusts of more than 20 mph, Schwan and other runners had to make adjustments. With no meet the previous weekend, he was more rested and said he made a push about halfway through the race.
Aberdeen Roncalli’s Addison Cassady sprints to the finish line ahead of Clark Willow Lake’s Kamryn Neisham to take second place at the girls Region 1A cross-country meet in Webster on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Roncalli’s Cassady bolts to second in 1A girls race
Aberdeen Roncalli’s Addison Cassady was in third for much of the Region 1A girls race, but passed the top-ranked runner in the region in the final turn to claim second place.
Cassady finished in 20:41.21, with Clark/Willow Lake’s Kamryn Neisham in third, less than a second behind. Deuel’s Jaycee Hourigan was the winner in 20:28.96.
“I was not thinking I was going to catch Kamryn, I just don’t have that kick in me, but somehow it just came out of nowhere,” Cassady said. “At that point, the wind was pretty much at your back, so that probably had something to do with it. I just trusted my training with my coaches, my teammates. I mean, even if I came in behind Kamryn today, I was going to be so happy because I got to run with her.”
All of that after Cassady started laughing at the beginning of the race because she tripped and nearly fell.
Groton Area’s Faith Traphagen heads for the finish line during the girls Region 1A cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Webster. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Her teammate Hazel Kannegieter also qualified for the Class A meet, finishing 16th with a time of 22:08.90.
Hourigan said her dad provided extra motivation because he was able to attend the meet. Dusty Hourigan is Deuel’s head football coach and took the day off from practice to attend the cross-country meet.
“When I got though the first lap, and we made it around the batch of the bad wind and started the back part of the race, my coach told me if someone is slowing you down, you have to suck it up and go around them, so that’s what I decided to do, and I didn’t look back,” Jaycee Hourigan said.
Groton Area’s Faith Traphagen qualified for her first state meet, taking seventh in 21:08.44.
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She’s also a member of the girls soccer team, which plays in the Class A state title match Saturday Oct. 19, and the volleyball squad.
“Yeah, I have a couple pretty busy weekends coming up,” Traphagen said. “I’d say cross-country is my least favorite, but I’m pretty good at it, so I just run. I am happy, though, that I made state. I wasn’t sure I could coming into this year, but my times have gotten better.”
Region 1A girls team qualifiers: 1. Clark/Willow Lake 24; 2. Milbank 37; 3. Deuel 45.
Other local individual qualifiers: 8. Rylee Gilbert, Groton, 21:17.21.
Region 1A boys team qualifiers: 1. Great Plains Lutheran 28, Deuel 29, 3. Milbank, 30.
Faulkton Area’s Korbin Stark sets the pace during the boys Region 1B cross-country meet Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Webster. Stark finished first. Aberdeen Insider photo by Robb Garofalo.
Boekelheide cruises in Region 1B girls race
She’s the top-ranked cross country runner in girls Class B and Ella Boekelheide showed why.
The Northwestern junior blitzed the field, crossing the finish line in 19:13.47 for her fourth win of the year at the Region 1B meet.
“I kind of found my rhythm early today and just started running smooth,” Boekelheide said. “This is probably the hardest course, or at least my least favorite course I run, but I like the fact that it makes me push myself.”
She’s run the Rapid City course that will host the state meet, but doesn’t remember a lot.
“The last time I ran in Rapid was in seventh grade, and we practically ran in the middle of a blizzard. It was a long time ago, and I don’t really remember that much, but I am super-excited to get out there and compete and push myself to do my best,” Boekelheide said.
Aberdeen Christian’s Clara Herreid runs during the Region 1B cross country meet Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Webster
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Ipswich’s Madisyn Gellhaus took second in the girls 1B meet with a time of 20:32.53.
Aberdeen Christian’s lone participant was Clara Herreid, who missed out on a state meet, finishing 24th in 25:11.72.
“I mean, I knew what group of girls I had to try and keep pace with if I wanted to try and get my time inside (the top 20),” Herreid said. “This course is challenging, and the conditions today were really crazy, so I kind of knew it was a long shot for me. I was just all over the place, honestly.”
The girls division was especially close with James Valley Christian winning with 17 team points, followed by Northwestern with 18 and Ipswich with 19.
Faulkton’s Sark claims 1B boys title
The 1B boys win went to Korbin Stark of Faulkton Area, who finished in 17:39.47. Stark also took first at the Lake Region Conference meet Oct. 9.
“This was so much better,” Stark said. “There’s more competition here than there was at conference and a lot of great runners who are going to push me, and I needed that to go out and do my best.”
Frederick Area’s Milo Sumption took sixth in 18:52.72 and helped the Titans qualify for state as a team. A member of the Leola/Frederick football team, he’s aware of the physical demands he’s facing.
“This is also crunch time for football, and so for me, I obviously have to be in peak shape for both of them,” Sumption said. “I think recovery done properly will help, but, no doubt, I’m glad to be going (to state), and we’ll see what happens 10 days from now.”
The boys race initially ended as quickly as it began because of a false start.
“Yeah, you know I heard the starter’s pistol twice and so got out to start, then we had to go back,” Sumption said. “I think a few guys got tangled up, and having to start over was a first for me, but just had to go back, reset and run again.”
The state cross-country meet is Saturday, Oct. 26 at Heart Ranch in Rapid City.
Region 1B girls team qualifiers: 1. James Valley Christian 17, 2. Northwestern 18, 3. Ipswich, 19.
Other local state meet qualifiers: 6. Jannay Gisi, Ipswich, 21:04.28; 7. Kennadee Wagner, Warner, 21:17.78; 8. Kaitlyn Wirth, Warner, 21:35.66; 11. Gracyn Kadlec, Ipswich 22:18.53; 12. Brenna Halvorson, Northwestern, 22:28.06; 13. Addisyn Heinrich, Warner, 22:35.72; 14. Elodie Wood, Warner, 22:36.18; 16. Isabella Henderson, Ipswich, 22:52.94; 18. Katie Bretsch, Frederick, 23:00.78; 19. Braelynn Holt, Ipswich, 23:13.41; 20. Rachel Melius, Northwestern, 23:14.00.
Region 1B boys team qualifiers: 1. James Valley Christian 19, 2. Estelline/Hendricks 21, 3. Frederick Area 25.
Other local state meet qualifiers: 7. Ty Boekelheide, Northwestern, 18:55.09; 8. Howard Sumption, Frederick, 18:55.66; 11. Titus Kippley, Frederick, 19:13.56; 13. Josh Thorson, Northwestern, 19:19.56; 15. Rylan Evenson, Warner, 19:26.88; 18. Aaron Blachford, Northwestern, 19:38.16; 19. Carson Ewald, Northwestern, 19:40.75.
Scott Waltman contributed to this report.