By Anne Homan
After phenomenal performances from both the Lennox High School boys and girls cross country runners at last week’s Region 3A Meet, the entire girls and boys’ teams qualified for the State A meet to be held this Saturday, Oct. 24 in Rapid City.
The LHS girls got things going early as Emily Plucker set the pace, capturing the Region 3A individual title, clocking a time of 19:29.70 to win the 5K event. Kelsey Schmidt wasn’t far behind, taking fifth place in the competitive field with a time of 20:11.50. Alicia Ruud also finished in the top ten for the Orioles, clocking a time of 20:42 to take ninth place. Josephine Plucker took 25th (22:32.30); Esther Christion 31st (22:38.50); and Graycee Postma 34th (23:04.20).
The strong performances gave the LHS girls first place in the team standings, one point ahead of Tea Area who finished second. Beresford took third, Vermillion fourth and Canton rounded out the top five. With the Region title, the entire Lennox girls’ team will be competing at State this weekend.
For the LHS boys varsity, Caleb Sayler led the way with a sixth place finish and time of 17:28.37 in the 5K race. Jaren Hartman took 12th and Cloy McVey finished in 13th with times of 17:52.43 and 17:52.53 respectively. Isaac Bambas finished in 18th with a time of 18:05.79. Landon Atkins took 21st (18:18.40), and Noah Sayler 27th (18:56.71).
As a team the LHS boys captured runner-up honors behind Region Champions, Vermillion. Dakota Valley took third, Beresford fourth, and Ethan Parkston rounded out the top five. With the runner up honors, the entire boys’ team qualified for the State Meet.
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