Bulldog Runners Chew Up the Track at Lennox Invitational

The Bulldogs’ cross country teams traveled to the Lennox Invitational on Thursday, September 30. In a field of runners from 12 schools, Nick Batchelor brought home first place for the varsity boys and Ashlynn Batchelor took second for the girls. The boys earned second place as a team and the girls captured fifth place.

Boys Varsity 5K Run

Nick Batchelor was once again crowned the champion in the boys varsity 5K race. He crossed the finish line at 15:44.71, way ahead of Daniel Colby of Sioux Falls Christian, who came in second at 16:19.33. Patrick Vogel, also of Sioux Falls Christian, took third at 16:27.58.

Bulldogs Payton Brown and James Batchelor earned 13th and 14th place, respectively. Brown came in at 17:23.35 and J. Batchelor clocked in at 17:23.52. Isaac Graham brought home 29th place for Milbank at 18:22.60; Bryan Meyer, 42nd at 18:54.01; Jack Sandvig, 53rd place at 19:34.98; and Grant Van Peursen, 72nd place at 20:36.50.

In a field of 12 teams, the Bulldogs took second place with 55 points. They were outrun only by Sioux Falls Christian with just 21 points. Lennox took third, Vermillion was fourth, and Dakota Valley fifth.

Girls Varsity 5K Race

Ashlynn Batchelor finished in second place for the Lady Bulldogs at 18:39.37. She was behind Ellie Maddox of Sioux Falls Christian, who finished in 18:14.02. Corinne Braun of Sioux Falls Christian was third at 19:10.28.

Maurina Street took 22nd place for Milbank at 21:22.64. Tyra Berry was 33rd when she crossed the line at 21:55.64 with Ellie Neugebauer on her heels at 21:56.17. Neugebauer took 34th. Kynlee Speidel was 39th at 22:17.82, Maiah Brown 67th at 23:41.62, and Stella Wendland 74th at 24:09.37.

The Lady Bulldogs earned fifth place as a team. Sioux Falls Christian won the meet. Lennox was third, Ethan-Parkston third, and Vermillion earned fourth.

JV Girls 4K Run

Sioux Falls Christian won the event and Milbank brought home second in the junior varsity 4K race. Lennox was third, Tea Area took fourth, and Garretson was fifth.

Zayda Townshend was the first Bulldog to cross the finish line. She clocked in at 18:17.19 to earn 13th place. Jaiden Tillotsen was next at 20th place at 18:37.93.  Jaclyn and Julia Wiik were neck in neck at 24th and 25th place, respectively. Jaclyn came in at 19:09.35 and Julia at 19:09.52.  Elexia Quintanilla was right there, too, at 19:09.52 for 26th place.
Addie Farrell came in at 35th place at 19:54.49.  Savanna Osowski won 37th place  at 19:57.32, Sophia Gastineau was 40th at 20:37.24, and Nadia Thue took 42nd at 20:44.85.

JV Boys 4K Run

The top 12 finishers in the junior varsity 4K race were all from Sioux Falls Christian. Eight of them were juniors and seniors. Will Karels was the top finisher for Milbank. He came in at 53rd place at 17:01.37. Jose Hernandez was 65th at 17:28.05 and Ryan O’Farrell was 82nd at 18:46.42.
Sioux Falls Christian won the meet. Lennox was second, Beresford was third, Dakota Valley was fourth, and Vermillion took fifth.

Middle School – Junior High Mixed 3K Run

Girls

Milbank took third place as a team behind Sioux Falls Christian and Tea Area. Four runners from Tea Area captured the top four places. Macy Mueller came in at fifth place for Milbank with a time of 13:14.80.  Ava Sichmeller was 17th at 14:15.36. Yanderyn Olivares was 18th at 14:28.59, and Camryn Sovell earned 26th at 16:08.13.

Boys

Sioux Falls Christian and Lennox shared the top six winning places for individual runners. Sioux Falls Christian won the race as a team and Lennox was second. Beckham Berry was the first Bulldog to cross the finish line. He came in at 12:18.38 for 18th place. Parker Grabow came in at 54th place with a time of 13:59.53.

Photos: top- Bryan Meyer and Ellie Neugebauer