The Boone Central girls cross country team faced its sternest challenge of the season, dug deep and kept its two-year undefeated streak alive Thursday at the West Holt Invitational.
Defending Class D state champion Ainsworth pushed Boone Central’s quality and depth to the limit, and the Cardinals had just enough of each to prevail. Jordan Stopak and Alicia Weeder placed 2-3 and Sam Weeder’s late surge to seventh, while Ainsworth’s third runner faded to 10th, proved the difference in a 12-16 final margin.
The Boone Central boys also enjoyed their best day of the season, placing runner-up to O’Neill (21) by nine points.
“I was really happy with how our kids competed in this meet,” Cardinal Coach Justin Harris commented. “The team scoring was different, as they went to the new Class D scoring, which is top three runners only and top five make up varsity team.
“The girls were in a battle, as most of the first two miles was Ainsworth 1, 4 and 8, while we were 2, 3 and 7. Sam did a great job making sure she separated from their third runner in the last mile. This has proven to be a great meet for our kids to compete at. Ainsworth was Class D champion last year, and they and Bloomfield-Wausa should be in the hunt for it this year.
“The boys managed to earn their first hardware of the season by getting the runner-up placque,” Harris also praised. “They continue to make improvements and we are going to have to keep striving to reach our goals.
“We had seven kids earn medals at this meet. The junior high finished their season. We saw some kids with great potential in junior high. Three of the eight members earned medals this year.”
Along with Boone Central’s top three, Morgann Johnson placed 11th in the West Holt girls race and Autumn Simons finished 23rd. Harrison Dodds and Bradley Schindel placed sixth and ninth, respectively, for the Cardinal boys, with Caleb Kohl running 15th.
Boone Central will get some home cooking now, hosting the Mid-State Conference Championships Thursday at the Albion Country Club (4:30 p.m.) and the C-3 District Thursday, Oct. 15.
Further details and results in Print & Online editions of Albion News
