The West Holt junior and senior high Cross Country teams travelled to O’Neill on Friday, Sept. 15 to take on some tough competition in one of their largest meets of the year.
The muggy, long day of racing began with the girl’s competition. For West Holt, this was where they found most of their success on the day, with three varsity runners placing in the top 15, as well as two junior-varsity runners placing in the top five of the J-V division.
Leading the Lady Huskies was Maddie Davis, who did what she’s done all year long. Davis was able to find her pacing early and contain that third-place spot nearly the entire race, finishing 20 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher.
Behind Davis was the freshman, Felycia Kerkman, who posted a time of 23:02.20 to earn 10th place for the Huskies as well as Ava Hoffman who rounded out the top three for the Huskies with a finish of 14th place.
In the J-V division, Kearsten Keogh came in first place with a time of 24:47.40, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second place, and Rylee Poessnecker in third place with a time of 25:57.20.
The Huskies would place third as a team, losing to Crofton and Ainsworth, two frontrunners for the 2023 girls class D state championship.
Following the Lady Huskies was the varsity boy’s race. To nobody’s surprise, it was Drew Martin throwing haymakers for the Huskies, finishing in second place with a strong performance of 17:55.10. In 15th place, the only other medalist for the Huskies, was Carter Gotschall with a time of 19:35.30. Rounding out the top three for the Huskies was Alex Gotschall in 27th with a time of 20:38.30. The Huskie boys would finish fifth place as a team out of nine competing teams.
Following the high school races was the junior high races, beginning with the girls. The West Holt girls entered the competition having not lost a race all season long, but were faced with the tall task of defeating Crofton.
The Huskies would have a good showing, with Leah Pistulka earning third place, Sadie Keogh earning eighth, Eisley Mlady ninth, and Emma Peek, Bergan Keogh and Olivia Rentschler earning the 13th, 14th and 15th place medals. But all those placings weren’t enough to knock off Crofton, who would give the Lady JH Huskies their first second-place finish of the season.
To finish the day it was the boys’ Junior High race. Unfortunately, with only two runners, the Huskies weren’t able to put together a team score. Finishing the day strong for West Holt was the duo of Ian Cambras and Alex Vrooman, who finished in 22nd and 27th place in the field of 34 runners.
The Huskies now prepare to go down south for a trip to Ord on Friday, Sept. 22 for the Ord Invitational.
Full individual and team results for the West Holt Huskie from the O’Neill Invite are as follows:
Girls High School
Place Name Time
3 Maddie Davis 21:19.60
10 Felycia Kerkman 23:02.20
14 Ava Hoffman 23:28.10
17 Emerson Mlady 23:49.00
20 Anel Monasterio 24:17.90
24 (1 JV) Kearsten Keogh 24:47.40
31 Hannah Olson 25:39.20
34 (3 JV) Rylee Poessnecker 25:57.20
Team Standings
Place Team Points
1 Crofton 18
2 Ainsworth 30
3 West Holt 44
Boys High School
Place Name Time
2 Drew Martin 17:55.10
15 Carter Gotschall 19:35.30
27 Alex Gotschall 20:38.30
45 Ian Shane 21:53.20
53 Huner Wettlaufer 22:14.10
Team Placings
Place Team Points
1 Bloomfield-Wausa 32
2 Pierce 38
3 Valentine 47
4 O’Neill 61
5 West Holt 81
Girls Junior High
Place Name
3 Leah Pistulka
8 Sadie Keogh
9 Eisley Mlady
13 Emma Peek
14 Bergan Keogh
15 Olivia Rentschler
26 Calla Mitchell
34 Paisley Mitchell
37 Jocelyn Monasterio
43 Valeria Austria-Nava
Team Placings
Place Team Points
1 Crofton 21
2 West Holt 26
3 Bloomfield-Wausa 46
4 O’Neill 63
Boys Junior High
Place Name Time
22 Ian Cambras 7:47.10
27 Alex Vrooman 8:28.80