(Photos, Joe Flanagan, Albion News)
Pierce pushed the Boone Central girls cross country team Thursday – right to the championship of the C-3 District at the Albion Country Club.
With the Bluejays’ top trio of runners performing superbly (1st, 5th, 6th), Boone Central again needed its enviable team depth to counter. The Cardinals did just that, with their four team scorers all finishing as top 15 medalists (2nd, 3rd, 9th, 13th). Pierce’s fourth runner placed 23rd as Boone Central clipped the Jays 27-35.
The victory propels the Cardinals to the 2020 Nebraska State Cross Country Championships at the Kearney Country Club Friday, Oct. 23. Boone Central, which has not lost a competition over the 2019-2020 seasons, will attempt to repeat its 2019 Class C state championship.
Boone Central will tackle that task with senior Jordan Stopak (C-3 2nd), sophomore Alicia Weeder (3rd), senior Sam Weeder (9th), senior Autumn Simons (13th), junior Morgann Johnson (16th) and junior Tessa Hamling (30th).
Boone Central will also be represented in the boys race at the state meet, with senior Bradley Schindel (7th) and junior Harrison Dodds (13th) qualifiying as C-3 medalists. The Cardinals narrowly missed team qualification Thursday, finishing just four points behind third-place O’Neill. Pierce was the boys champion, with Scotus runner-up.
“The kids sure competed well. We had multiple runners who shaved a minute-and-a-half off their times from last week’s conference meet,” Cardinal Coach Justin Harris noted. “Jordan and Alicia went out after the first mile and gave little ground to the district champion the rest of the way around the course. Sam ran better this week and continues to improve. Autumn has really stepped up the last couple weeks.
“Bradley and Harrison put themselves in great positions at the beginning of the race to give themselves a chance to qualify for state. Harrison had to battle throughout and needed to be strong the last 800 meters to secure his spot. I’m so proud of what Richard (Cleveland) and Caleb (Kohl) did, as they battled all the way to the end to nearly help us qualify as a team. Jonny (Lindgren) tried to battle his way through an achilles injury for the third time this year, but was unable to finish the race. We appreciate that he tried his best to help the team reach one of its goals.”
Further details and complete results in Print & Online editions of Albion News
