Nick Batchelor Earns All-State Honors at State Cross Country Meet

Milbank eighth grader runner, Nick Batchelor, was the lone Bulldog to earn All-State honors at the State Class A cross country meet in Rapid City Saturday, October 21. He finished 25th overall in the boys varsity race.

“Being a top 25 finisher at the state meet, especially as an eighth grader, is a huge accomplishment,” stated Milbank head cross country coach Eric Townsend. “Nick ran his best race of the season at state. He has been our top boys runner all season. He has improved much from a year ago, and has developed into one of the team leaders. He will be expected to remain in that role for the coming years.” Nick was the first top 25 finisher for Milbank since Austin Berens in 2012.

Both Bulldog teams performed well at the state meet, according to Townsend. The girls team captured a 10th place finish, while the boys took 13th overall. “I am very proud of both team’s efforts and places. The girls ran slightly better than at the region meet, and the boys were nearly the same as regions. We were one of only seven Class A schools to have both teams at the state meet. I am proud of that.”

The girls team placed 10th with 174 points. Hill City was crowned the Class A champion with 33 points. The boys took 13th place with 216 points. West Central was named the Class A champion with 34 points. There were 123 individual runners in both the boys and girls 5K races.

Following are the complete results for the Bulldog runners:

Girls

Team scores – Hill City, 33; Custer, 64; St. Thomas More, 67; SF Christian, 106; Winner Area, 109; Beresford, 115; Flandreau, 117; Ethan/Parkston, 126; Lennox, 140; Milbank, 174; Chamberlain, 195; Dell Rapids, 227; Mt. Vernon/Plankinton, 229; Todd County, 231; Deuel, 245; Aberdeen Roncalli, 251.

Varsity 5K Race – 39. Danica Schulte, 21:09.08; 52. Maurina Street, 21:38.01; 67. Taylor Thue, 22:02.58; 68. Amaya Street, 22:02.84; 75. Ashlyn O’Farrell, 22:14.05; 120. Maiah Brown, 24:52.07.

Boys

Team scores – West Central, 34; Custer, 54; SF Christian, 61; Beresford, 77; St. Thomas More, 80; Lennox, 105; Vermillion, 136; Webster Area, 153; Todd County, 165; St. Francis Indian, 168; Hot Springs, 188; Sioux Valley, 213; Milbank, 216; Stanley County, 238; Redfield-Doland, 249.

Varsity 5K Race – 25. Nick Batchelor, 17:30.64; 81. Alex Farrell, 18:51.09; 93. Luke Wold, 19:04.09; 102. Zippy Bock, 19:22.23; 112. Carter Hartman, 19:53.62; 113. Ben Harstad, 19:54.15.

Photo – All-State runner Nick Batchelor. Photo courtesy of Laurie Batchelor.