Both Bulldog Cross Country Teams Headed to State Meet

“Milbank is the only school to send both a boys and a girls team to the state (cross country) meet this year,” said MHS head coach Eric Townsend. “Individually, the Bulldogs had five boys and five girls earn top-20 honors at the region meet. No other school had that many places in the top 20 in both races.”

Both teams punched their tickets to the State Class A meet by capturing the runner-up trophies at the Region 1A meet in Webster on Thursday, October 17. Nick Batchelor was crowned the region champion. Brady Femling placed fifth and Zippy Bock was 10th. Isaac Graham finished in 18th place, James Batchelor took 20th, and Alex Farrell came in at 27th.

Danica Schulte led the girls’ team with a sixth-place finish. “Danica ran her best race of the season,” noted Townsend. “She improved her time on the same course from last week by 33 seconds. She appears to be peaking at the right time of the year.” Maurina Street was close behind in eighth place and Ashlyn O’Farrell took 11th. Kynlee Speidel came in at 12th and Ellie Neugebauer was 14th. Maiah Brown rounded out the team with a 24th place finish.

“Our attention now turns to the state meet in Huron on Saturday,” Townsend said. “Both teams are looking for high finishes with the ultimate goal of earning top six as a team and getting on the awards stand. We will have to run very well to earn that, but, if we can get everyone running their best races of the season, we could be in the hunt.”

The State Class A meet takes place Saturday, October 26 at the Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron. The Class A boys’ race is scheduled for noon and the Class A girls’ race starts at 1:30 p.m.

Results from the Region 1A meet:

Varsity Girls 5K Run
Team scores – Aberdeen Roncalli, 23; Milbank, 37; Deuel, 49; Webster Area, 64; Florence-Henry, 77;
Clark-Willow Lake, 106; Hamlin, 108.
Individual finishes -6. Danica Schulte, 21:42.62; 8. Maurina Street, 21:55.05; 11. Ashlyn O’Farrell, 22:05.20; 12. Kynlee Speidel, 22:10.51; 14. Ellie Neugebauer, 22:16.72; 24. Maiah Brown, 24:05.70.

Varsity Boys 5K Run
Team scores – Webster Area, 31; Milbank, 33; Clark-Willow Lake, 37; Deuel, 77; Aberdeen Roncalli, 83; Florence-Henry, 101; Groton Area, 106.
Individual finishes – 1. Nick Batchelor, 16:46.12; 5. Brady Femling, 18:46,87; 10. Zippy Bock, 19:04.72; 18. Isaac Graham, 19:40.16; 20. James Batchelor, 19:52.57; 27. Alex Farrell, 20:20.00.

Junior Varsity Girls 3K Run
Team scores – Milbank, 10; Aberdeen Roncalli, 36; Deuel, 48; Clark-Willow Lake, 64.
Individual finishes – 1. Amaya Street, 14:23.50; 2. Ashlee Van Hoorn, 14:30.53; 3. Julia Wiik, 14:34.18; 4. Emily Van Hoorn, 14:38.05; 6. Savana Osowski, 15:11.76; 8. Rylee Scoular, 15:23.09; 10. Stella Wendland, 15:39.00; 12. Nadia Thue, 15:53.23; 14. Addy Hoke, 16:08.30; 16. Addie Farrell, 16:48.52.

Junior Varsity Boys 3K Run
Team scores – Webster Area, 26; Aberdeen Roncalli, 42; Milbank, 43; Clark-Willow Lake, 53; Deuel, 60.
Individual finishes – 4. Cade Howard, 13:30.35; 5. Ryan O’Farrell, 13:49.50; 9. Bryan Meyer, 14:17.97; 30. Sebastian Hooth, 16:02.44; 33. Will Karels, 16:55.07.

Submitted photos – Boys’ team (l. to r.) Alex Farrell, Brady Femling, Zippy Bock, Nick Batchelor, James Batchelor, and Isaac Graham.
Girls’ team (l. to r.) Kynlee Speidel, Ashlyn O’Farrell, Maiah Brown, Maurina Street, Ellie Neugebauer, and Danica Schulte.