LG, NG, Spencer cross country teams compete at conference

At the Cloverbelt Conference Meet Saturday, a couple of local runners cracked the top 21 in their respective races to earn all-conference recognition. Race day dawned on cool, partly cloudy skies at Lake Wissota Golf Course near Chippewa Falls.

In the boys’ race, Loyal-Greenwood’s (LG) Connor Genteman took ninth out of 82 runners with a time of 17:30 to be named an all-conference runner. In the girls’ race, LG’s Summer Smith finished 18th out of 68 runners with a time of 22:16.1, earning all-conference honorable mention.

Other times for the LG boys were as follows. Bryce Deegan finished in 29th place at 19:22.7. Lucas Nielsen came in 42nd at 20:27.8. Cody Eckes was just a little after him, in 44th place at 20:34.2. Wyatt Mulvaney took 54th place at 21:26.4 and Ridge Ashbeck took 56th place at 21:34.8.

As a team, the LG boys finished in the middle of the pack, taking sixth out of 12 teams with a score of 168. Other team scores were as follows: Bloomer 31, Chippewa Falls McDonell 65, Colby-Abbotsford 114, Marshfield Columbus 136, Cadott 155, Fall Creek 191, Eau Claire Regis 196, Owen-Withee 210, Thorp 237, Spencer 262 and Neillsville-Granton 263.

On the girls’ side, Bailey Eckes was the only other female runner for LG. She missed out on all-conference recognition by just a few places, taking 23rd with a time of 22:43.6.

Spencer

The Spencer girls’results were as follows. Addison Knecht placed 45th with a time of 25:18.4. Kaydence Plaskey and Ariana Krueger were 54th and 55th, respectively, with times of 26:35 and 26:36.2. Shortly after them, Theresa Knecht and Brooklyn Baumgarten crossed the finish line, with times of 27:04.7 and 27:14.5, respectively. They took 58th and 59th. Tahneya Anderson took 64th place with a time of 28:59.8.

The girls came in eighth of nine teams with 230 points. Other team scores were Bloomer 31, Colby 62, Eau Claire Regis 70, Cadott 113, Fall Creek 121, McDonell 146, Marshfi eld Columbus 197 and Neillsville-Granton 232.

Isaac Howlett was the first to cross the finish line for the Spencer boys. He took 45th place at 20:42.4. Breckin Miller was next for Spencer, coming in 50th place at 21:09.7, followed by Davide Chemello in 51st at 21:12.5. Fletcher Post took 65th at 22:27.6 and Henry Glamm took 69th at 22:45.6.

Neillsville-Granton

For the Neillsville-Granton (NG) boys, Will Drinka was the fastest, just missing out on Cloverbelt Conference honors but still finishing with a respectable 23rd place and a time of 18:41.1. Shortly after him was his teammate Hunter Schultz, who took 27th place at 19:18.3. Other NG male finishers were the following: Koltin Luchterhand took 77th place at 24:01.2. Claiton Anderson Ruskin was right behind him, finishing in 78th place at 25:23.8. Grant Slone came in 81st place at 29:31.9.

On the girls’ side, Klarissa Canfield was the first finisher. She took 47th place at 25:29.6. Next was Margaret Canfield at 26:02.7, good for 49th place. Haylee Schultz came in 51st place at 26:20.3. Addison Anderson Ruskin took 62nd place at 28:33.1. Savannah Dorshorst took 66th at 29:02.6 and Hannah Dorshorst took 68th at 35:32.

The Loyal-Greenwood cross country team had two athletes take all-conference honors. In the left photo, Connor Genteman (left) and Summer Smith stand with the certificates they received for their achievements on the course. Genteman took ninth place to be named to the all-conference team and Smith took 18th to receive honorable mention. In the right photo, Ridge Ashbeck of LG makes his way around the bend at Lake Wissota Golf Course.

NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD/TRIBUNE PHONOGRAPH AND CONTRIBUTED PHOTO