Four Sidney runners qualify for Kearney

Though agonizingly close, neither the boys or girls teams were able to earn a trip to state at Thursday's Class B4 District cross country meet in Ogallala.

Despite some disappointment, however, there was plenty of good news for the Raiders, as well. By virtue of their top-15 finishes four Sidney runners earned individual placement in the state field.

Sophomore Abby Heller (20:57) and junior Maddie Stafford (21:17) finished in 12th and 15th place respectively to earn their spots. Alli Ehler (20:57), another junior, was tantalizingly close to a medal in 16th. Genessa Schilz (21:35) didn't miss by much either for 18th. Erin Lindeman (21:46) and Mia Hernandez (21:49) had good showings in 20th and 21st places.

In the boys race, Hayden Lienemann (17:07.3) and Jachob Wiedeburg (17:07.63) finished a step apart to finish 10th and 11th. Both are headed to the state meet in Kearney.

A couple members of the Sidney boys team had to fight through some unexpected adversity. Jacob Schaub (18:07) had his right ankle stepped on during the race and fell to the ground. Though he lost time, he got back up to finish the race in 25th. Will Castner (19:13) meanwhile lost his right shoe when he was stepped on. He fought on as well to finish in 39th place.

"For not having a shoe I was very proud of my race," Castner said. "I wanted to do 19 minutes and low single-digit seconds and I didn't miss by much, even without a shoe."

Raiders Brody McKnight (18:09) and Ryan Birner (18:56) were 26th and 33rd respectively.

Scottsbluff swept the top five places in the boys race with Mathew Barraza (15:47), Anthony Parra (16:12), Ben Willis-Teff (16.21), Shane Burkey (16:23) and Brendan Taedter (16:28).

While the top three teams qualify for the state meet, both the boys and girls teams finished fourth. With 35 points Gering and Scottsbluff ended up on top of the girls race. Gering was awarded first by virtue of a tie breaker. Lexington was third with 51 points and Sidney's fourth-place total was 60.

Scottsbluff was an easy winner in the boys meet with 10 points while runnerup Lexington had 33. Third place Gering picked up 60 points to Sidney's 72.

Taylor Muncie (18:42) of Scottsbluff was the girls winner and Molly Sughroue (18:55) of McCook was the runnerup. Megan Billington (19:24) of Grand Island Northwest, Odaiz Santoyo (19:29) of Lexington and freshman Rebekah Rawlings (19:42) of Gering rounded out the top five.

"I was just running for my team today," Heller said. "During the race I was always thinking about trying to get to the girl in front of me."

As for Stafford, she thought about staying with her teammates in a group. During the race Stafford was side-by-side with both Heller and Ehler at different times. As she ran with Ehler in the latter stages of the race she could be heard urging on Ehler and herself by saying, "C'mon we gotta get up there and help Abby."

"My main focus before the race was to stay up with Abby and run as a pack," Stafford said. "I was shooting for a top 15 but what I really wanted was to go (to state) as a team."

Lienemann, who worked over the summer, was not able to put in the pre-season training miles he would have liked to. Nevertheless, his goal from the start of the season was to be in peak form for districts and state.

"It was kind of a nerve wracking week with all the pressure from so many who wanted us to go as a team," said Lienemann who ran a season-best time. "Im just glad Jake (Wiedeburg) and I were able to hit our peak when we needed to."

Wiedeburg, who has been a leader on the team since day one, also ran a season-best time. While the West Winds Golf Course course is flat, he feels he is better suited to hillier courses.

"I don't know why, but that's my thing. I really like the hillier courses," Wiedeburg said.

Wiedeburg will get the kind of course he prefers in the state meet in Kearney. The course there is the hilliest they see all season. But the course is not a mystery to the Raiders. They traveled to the Kearney Invite earlier in the year.

For the four Sidney qualifiers, they will head to the Kearney Country Club next Thursday for the state meet, scheduled for Fri., Oct. 25. The girls Class B race is set for 2:30 p.m. CDT. The boys race is scheduled for 3:30.

"The Kearney course is almost the exact opposite of this one," Wiedeburg said comparing the Ogallala course to the state-meet course. "Here there's a little hill in the middle. In Kearney there's a little flat spot in the middle."

B4 District Cross Country Meet Results

at West Winds Golf Course, Ogallala

Girls Team Results

1. Gering 35

2. Scottsbluff 35

3. Lexington 51

4. Sidney 60

5. McCook 79

6. G.I. Northwest 92

7. Hastings 98

8. Alliance Inc.

Girls Individual Results

1. Taylor Muncie Scottsbluff 18.42

2. Molly Sughroue McCook 18.55

3. Megan Billington G.I. Northwest 19.24

4. Odaliz Santoyo Lexington 19.29

5. Rebekah Rawlings Gering 19.42

6. Kari Rimington Gering 20.05

7. Shayleigh James Scottsbluff 20.31

8. Miranda Marroquin Lexington 20.36

9. Claire Holsinger Scottsbluff 20.46

10. Jerilyn Laws Gering 20.53

11. Kaitlyn Pawloski Hastings 20.54

12. Abby Heller Sidney 20.57

13. Elizabeth Macias Lexington 20.59

14. Hadley Kirk Gering 21.00

15. Madisen Stafford Sidney 21.17

16. Alli Jay Ehler Sidney 21.23

17. Kelsey Adamson Alliance 21.30

18. Genessa Schilz Sidney 21.35

19. Vanessa Avalos Scottsbluff 21.38

20. Erin Lindeman Sidney 21.46

21. Mia Hernandez Sidney 21.49

22. Chloe Ferrone Hastings 21.53

23. Caitlin Leitner McCook 21.55

24. Val Rubio G.I. Northwest 22.03

25. Julia Ybarra Gering 22.06

Boys Team Results

1. Scottsbluff 10

2. Lexington 33

3. Gering 60

4. Sidney 72

5. Hastings 105

6. Alliance 110

7. McCook 114

8. G.I. Northwest 133

Boys Individual Results

1. Mathew Barraza Scottsbluff 15.47

2. Anthony Parra Scottsbluff 16.12

3. Ben Willis-Teff Scottsbluff 16.21

4. Shane Burkey Scottsbluff 16.23

5. Brendan Taedter Scottsbluff 16.28

6. Alan Alvarez Lexington 16.29

7. John Mark Shields Lexington 16.30

8. Horacio Gaeta Lexington 16.40

9. Steven Juarez Gering 16.58

10. Hayden Lienemann Sidney 17.07.3

11. Jachob Wiedeburg Sidney 17.07.6

12. Ricardo Gaeta Lexington 17.07.8

13. Nolan Kohmetscher Hastings 17.08

14. Kip Jones G.I. Northwest 17.13

15. Jace Shaul Gering 17.14

16. Chandler Flynn Lexington 17.18

17. Aaron Pierce Gering 17.23

18. Eli Hutt Scottsbluff 17.28

19. Keenean Fogle Gering 17.35

20. Ethan Kerr Hastings 17.38

21. Brett Menuey Alliance 17.49

22. Truen Henderson Alliance 17.56

23. Arich Knaub Gering 17.57.0

24. Adryan Lucero McCook 17.57.7

25. Jacob Schaub Sidney 18.07

26. Brody McKnight Sidney 18.09

33. Ryan Birner Sidney 18.56

39. Will Castner Sidney 19.13