LG’s Smith takes 6th, Lavengood 10th at cross country meet

At their home meet, the Loyal-Greenwood (LG) cross country team saw two runners crack the top 10 in their respective races, including one in his first-ever cross country race. The sunny Saturday morning with cool, fall-like weather made for ideal running conditions around the Loyal golf course.

For the LG girls, junior and veteran team member Summer Smith once again led the way in the girls’ race. She placed sixth out of 78 runners with a time of 22:05.21, shaving a good 34 seconds off her time from the week before. Next was junior Bailey Eckes, who took 22nd place with a time of 24:46.64. Noelle Teschner, a senior, placed 42nd with a time of 26:16.15. Rounding out the girls team was junior Andrya Wilke, who finished 68th with a time of 29:46.39. The girls did not register a team score.

There were 84 runners in the boys’ race. Taking 10th place was freshman Andrew Lavengood, in his first cross country meet after joining the team just a couple of weeks ago. He had a time of 18:58.60. Other LG boys’ results were as follows. Junior Lucas Nielsen finished 26th, with a time of 20:32.10. Freshman Randy Pearson was not far behind him, coming in 30th with a time of 20:47.87. Lincoln Smith, also a freshman, placed 61st, crossing the finish line at 24:04.39. Mason Kohnert, another freshman, took 75th place at 26:52.91. The Loyal boys took ninth place out of the nine schools that registered a team score.

Neillsville-Granton Also competing at the meet was the Neillsville-Granton (NG) team. On the boys’ side, senior Will Drinka was the first NG finisher, coming in 17th place with a time of 19:30.76. After him was junior Hunter Schultz, who took 28th at 20:40.07. Senior Koltin Luchterhand placed 76th at 27:17.57. The NG boys took third out of nine teams.

The NG girls team consists of all sophomores. Haylee Schultz was the first to cross the finish line for NG, taking 59th place at 28:38.20. Ella Dittner was close behind her, taking 62nd at 28:49.84. Scotlyn Hericks placed 76th at 33:49.32, while Hannah Dorshorst took 78th at 37:24.24. The girls did not register a team score.

The Loyal-Greenwood (LG) and Neillsville-Granton (NG) cross country teams competed at the Loyal-Greenwood home invitational on Sept. 7 at Loyal High School. At top left, LG’s Summer Smith leads a group of runners around a bend in the course. At top middle and right, LG’s Andrew Lavengood runs around the softball field and a few minutes later, NG runner Will Drinka passes through the same location. At bottom left, NG’s Haylee Schultz runs to the finish against a Colby runner.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTOS