2 local cross country runners crack top 10 at Neillsville invitational

The Neillsville-Granton, Loyal-Greenwood and Spencer cross country teams went out to tackle the hills of Levis Mound at the Neillsville-Granton home invitational held Sept. 17. With only one local team having enough members to field a team, the majority of local athletes competing as individuals at the invite.

Two female runners competed and placed for the Loyal-Greenwood team. Summer Smith finished in the top 10, taking eighth place in a 102-runner field with a time of 22:18.9. Bailey Eckes also competed for LG, taking 32nd place with a time of 25:22.2.

The LG boys had four runners compete at Levis Mound. Andrew Lavengood was the first runner to complete the course for the team, taking 10th place in the 107-runner field with a time of 19:11. Lucas Nielsen was the next LG runner to cross the finish line, placing 35th with a time of 20:58.9. Lincoln Smith ran a 24:56 to place 83rd and Mason Kohnert took 88th place with a time of 25:51.9.

Spencer The Spencer girls had three athletes compete and place. Ariana Krueger and Kaydence Plaskey came into the finish just seconds apart. Krueger took 69th place with a time of 29:22.30 and Plaskey placed 70th with a time of 29:24.6. Also competing for the Rocket girls was Savannah Wilke, who finished in 91st place with a time of 34:11.8.

The Rocket boys had three runners represent Spencer at the invite. Taking 45th place with a time of 21:48.5 was Camdyn Vogel. Henry Glamm finished in 86th place with a time of 25:36.4 and Oscar Chan took 101st place with a time of 29:57.4.

Neillsville-Granton The Neillsville-Granton cross country team had the most athletes compete from among area teams, with the boys having enough athletes to score points as a team. In the girls race, four individuals competed. Ella Ditter ran a 29:43.9 to place 76th. Haylee Schultz finished next, placing 79th with a time of 30:09.30. Scotlyn Hericks ran a 32:37.8 to take 87th, and Hannah Dorshorst ran a 36:30.8 that placed her in 97th.

For the boys, Will Drinka led the team with his 19th-place finish, coming through the finish with a time of 19:32.5. Hunter Schultz came through next at the 22:11.9 mark to earn 58th. Gabe Sheikh came through at 24:00.70 to finish in 73rd, Sebastian Whiting-O’Keefe took 87th with a time of 25:46.7 and Koltin Luchterhand rounded out the team with his 92nd-place finish, coming through at the 26:16.4 mark.

Team scores Nine teams competed and placed in the girls race. Bangor took first place with 61 points, the Chippewa Valley Lightning Bolts placed second with 71 points, Auburndale was third with 73 points, Marathon took fourth with 105 points, Eau Claire Regis was fifth with 107 points, Tomah was sixth with 124 points, Stanley-Boyd finished seventh with 172 points, Cadott was eighth with 185 points and Fall Creek took ninth with 192 points.

In the boys race, Marathon took first place with 43 points, Tomah was second with 87 points, Bangor placed third with 108 points, Columbus Catholic was fourth with 111 points, Eau Claire Regis took fifth with 114 points, Cadott was sixth with 142 points, Fall Creek took seventh with 186 points, Chippewa Valley Lightning Bolts finished eighth with 219 points, Black River Falls was ninth with 244 points, Neillsville-Granton placed 10th with 247 points and Mondovi took 11th with 249 points.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTOS