Raiders Cross Country Team Tops Class C Rankings

Sidney’s Boy’s Cross Country varsity team is following up a state championship season by again topping the Nebraska Cross Country Coaches Association (NXCCA) Class C Coaches Poll, with strong finishes throughout September. Head Coach Donna Weideburg’s runners have consistently packed the top ten, pushing the Red Raiders to the top for the poll with 50 overall points and five first place votes by the coaches polled. The Raiders girl’s squad has shown consistent improvement as the season has progressed, challenging the top teams in each competition.

On September 14 the Red Raiders took top honors at the Chadron High School Cross Country Meet at Chadron State College. Sidney’s first place score of 24 was followed by Mitchell with 53 and Gering with 65. Rapid City Christian’s Ethan Roberts and Simeon Birnbaum took first and second place, while Sidney placed four runners in the top 10. Sophomores Cam Brauer and Daniel Bashtovoi placed third and fourth, while sophomore Mitch Deer placed seventh and senior Ben Bashotovi placed 10th. The Sidney girls placed seventh, while Gering took top honors followed by Hill City and Chadron. Sophomore Lydia Peters was Sidney’s top runner with an 11th place finish.

Sidney followed up on September 17 with a 39 point second place showing at the McCook Invitational at Heritage Hills Country Club, losing out to an outstanding North Platte team that took first place with 14 points. Evan Caudy and Joel Bradley finished first and second for North Platte, while Brauer placed fourth and Daniel Bashtovoi placed eighth to lead the Raiders. The Sidney girls placed fourth with 61 points, led by Lydia Peters with an eighth place finish, senior Angela Arnett with a 13th place finish, and junior Kimberly Gutierrez finishing in 25th place.

On September 26 the Raiders earned a 22 point first place finish at the Ogallala Invite, besting McCook and Broken Bow on the strength of four top 10 finishers. Brauer placed third, Daniel Bashtovoi followed in fourth place, with Mitch Deer taking seventh and Ben Bashtovoi taking eighth place to power the Sidney win. The Sidney girls placed fourth with 78 points, being edged out for third place by a 76 point finish by Saint Patricks. Lydia Peters again led the Sidney squad with an 11th place finish and Angela Arnett had a strong showing, finishing in 20th place.

Finally, on Monday the Sidney boys took top honors out of 34 teams at the UNK High School Invitational. The boys had two top 20 finishers, led by Brauer with a sixth place finish, and Daniel Bashtovoi with a 17th place finish. The Sidney girls placed 19th out of 27 teams, led by Lydia Peter’s 20th place finish.

Weideburg was pleased with the team’s performance, saying, “There was great competition at UNK, and we looked forward to seeing Malcom and Aurora for the first time on the boy’s side. Even with one of our varsity runners out with an injury an another battling significant blisters, I am so proud of how they come together week after week to be ready to give it their all. The girls have come together nicely this season, and I’m thrilled with the way they’re running. We are ready to go for this weekend’s Western Conference run at Chadron.”