CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS — Champions in the Neligh-Oakdale cross country invitational (above) were, back row: James Doyle (left), Connor von Rentzell, Hudson Schultze, Graysen Schultze; front row: Bodie True, Kaden Polt, Karter Johnson, Johnson Chishiba. In

Osmond boys are first, girls sixth at Neligh-Oakdale

NELIGH — The Osmond cross country teams competed at the Antelope Country Club on Monday, Sept. 14, in the Neligh-Oakdale invitational.

Boys’ Competition

Many Tiger runners had strong final kicks to hold off the competition. Johnson Chishiba finished comfortably in front of Thiele of Summerland, but was 25 seconds behind Bennet of Elkhorn Valley. Johnson’s time was 17:22.

Graysen Schultze was only 12 seconds behind Thiele, but Orton from North Central was on his heels. Graysen finished in fourth place in a time of 17:56.

Karter Johnson also had one of those furious finishes. Halfway through the race, Karter trailed two Elkhorn Valley runners, but passed them with 1,200 meters to go.

All three runners opened up their strides sprinting to the line as Karter held off Warneke by one second. Karter placed ninth in a time of 18:42.

Kaden Polt also collected a medal, finishing in 17th place in a time of 19:33. He was in the front of a large group of eight runners to finish within 25 seconds of each other.

Bodie True finished in 25th place in a time of 20:23; he held off Alex Thiele of Summerland by one second.

Hudson Schultze had a twosecond cushion over Wentworth of Burwell, placing 28th in 21:20. James Doyle came in 43rd place in a time of 21:57, and Connor von Rentzell, 49th in 24:43.

The boys’ winning score was 15. Elkhorn Valley was second with 22 and Neligh-Oakdale, third with 26 points.

Girls’ Competition

For the girls, Riley Wagner finished in ninth place in a nice time of 23:42. Jozie Kumm missed a medal by two spots, placing 22nd in a time of 26:27, and Hayle Krienert held off Welniak of Burwell for 25th place. Hayle was clocked at 27:05.

Junior High Division

In the junior high division, Osmond’s Keli Aschoff was the girls’ champion, winning the race in 9:57; second place was 10:07.

Andrew Bucklew just missed a medal by one place, coming in 11th in a time of 9:31.

“We ran much better today, getting out well and finishing strong,” praised Coach Joe Ortmeier. “We still have work to do, but this was good for team confidence. Also congratulations to Keli for winning her division.”

Team Scores:

Boys

First — 15 Osmond

Second — 22 Elkhorn Valley

Third — 26 Neligh-Oakdale

Fourth — 41 Boyd County

Fifth — 43 North Central

Sixth — 54 Summerland

Seventh — 70 Lutheran High Northeast

Eighth — 85 Burwell

Ninth — 91 Creighton

10th — 91 Randolph