Two Britton-Hecla cross country runners finished among the top 20 at the Region 1A meet in Webster last week Wednesday to qualify for the state meet in Rapid City on Saturday.
Joseph O’Brien placed 18th in a 55-runner field in the boys 5,000-meter varsity race in 19:07.7, while Livia Knecht was 19th in the girls varsity event with 39 runners in 22:19.5.
Other competitors for Coach Stephanie Symens were Aiden Strong, 54th in the boys varsity division with a 25:41.9 clocking; Lillian Boyko, 37th in the girls varsity in 26:30.7; Grace Folkman, 16th in the 25-runner JV girls race of 4,000 meters with a 21:11.3 effort; and Avery Leonard, 23rd in the JV event at 24:49.0.
“The region went very well,” said Symens. “It was a chilly day to spectate but a beautiful day to run. Both Joseph and Livia cut 30-plus seconds off of their times from a week ago. With the cooler weather everyone was running fast. We are hoping that we can get those same times in Rapid City.
“I’m very proud of all the cross country runners this season,” concluded Symens. “They have worked hard and improved their times throughout the year.”
Deuel won the boys varsity team title with 22 points, followed by Sisseton at 35, Aberdeen Roncalli 61, Milbank 64, Great Plains Lutheran 98, Clark-Willow Lake 104, Webster Area 121, Florence-Henry 131, and Groton Area 138.
Roncalli was the girls team champion with 23 points, followed by Milbank with 33, Florence-Henry 50, Clark-Willow Lake 59, and Deuel 64. Milbank was the only JV girls team to field a full squad.
