The Lady Bulldogs as a team and individual runner Ashlynn Batchelor took first place at the NEC cross country meet in Webster on October... Lady Bulldogs Win NEC Cross Country Title

The Lady Bulldogs as a team and individual runner Ashlynn Batchelor took first place at the NEC cross country meet in Webster on October 7.  Head Coach for the Lady Bulldogs, Eric Townshend, said, “Including Batchelor, the girls’ team placed eight runners in the top 20. That’s incredible!”  Six girls from Milbank earned top-13 finishes.

Coach Townshend added, “The girls repeated as NEC team champions and have now won four of the last five NEC team titles.  We knew going in we were going to be in a great position to win both of the team titles and the runners performed very well. (See separate story on the boys’ team here on The Valley Express.)    Bachelor clocked in at 19:26.28 — a full minute ahead of the second-place finisher, Jaycee Hourigan, from Deuel.  Maurina Street of Milbank was in fifth place at 22:06.50, and Tyra Berry came in at sixth at 22:18.25. Kynlee Speidel took 10th at 22:56.98; Maiah Brown,12th at 23:13.05; and Ellie Neugebauer,13th at 23:29.28.

Elexia Quintanilla crossed the line at 19th with a time of 24:24.07; Jaiden Tillotsen, 20th at 24:24.56; Ashlyn O’Farrell, 23rd at 25:14.20; Jaclyn Wiik, 25th at 25:19.63: Julia Wiik, 26th at 25:25.35; Stella Wendland, 27th at 25:47.94; Zayda Townshend, 29th at 26:04.71; Savanna Osowski, 30th at 26:06.91; and Nadia Thue, 35th at 30:09.05.

The Lady Bulldogs earned the NEC championship title by tallying a total time of 1:26:48.01. They averaged 21:42.01. Aberdeen Roncalli was the runner up. Clark Willow-Lake came in third and Webster Area was fourth. 
Coach Townshend also commented on the boys’ performance at the conference meet, “The boys team won the NEC team crown and have now won three of the last four NEC team titles.  Nick Batchelor completed a four-peat as the individual champion, and the boys’ team placed six runners in the top 20.

“Now our sights are set on the regional team titles,” Townshend said. “It’s going to be a tough task to come home with both of those titles. The top three teams and top 20 individuals from the regional meet qualify for State in Sioux Falls.”

                          JV Lady Bulldogs Take First
Macy Mueller took second place for the JV girls 3000 Run. She came in at 15:42.61 right behind the winner, Isabella Wicker of Deuel, who clocked in at 15:25.40. Ava Sichmiller of Milbank was fourth at 16:14.98. 
Sophia Gastineau was eighth at 17:15.95; Addie Farrell, ninth at 17:17.45; Yanderyn Olivares, 12th at 17:39.00; and Cameryn Sovell, 20th at 19:39.18. 
The Lady Bulldogs’ JV team won the meet. Deuel was the runner-up and Clark-Willow Lake took third.

The next meet for the Bulldogs is the Region 1A meet in Webster on Thursday, October 14. The event starts at 3:30 p.m. with the varsity girls race, followed by the varsity boys race, and then the JV races.  
The 2021 Cross Country State Tournament will be held on Saturday, October 23, in Sioux Falls and Yankton.

Staff

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