B-H Runner Advances To State

    Britton-Hecla’s cross country team has qualified one runner for the state Class A meet in Rapid City last week Wednesday.
    Jeris Stark earned her first state trip her senior season by placing 17th in the 54-runner field with a time of 22:33.50 over the 5K course at Webster.  The top three teams and top 20 individuals advance to the state event.
    All three classes will be run at the Hart Ranch Camping Resort.  The Class B girls kick things off at noon, followed by the Class A girls at 12:30 p.m., Class AA girls at 1 p.m., Class B boys at 1:30 p.m., Class A boys at 2 p.m., and Class AA boys at 2:30 p.m.
    “Jeris ran a great race at the region,” said B-H coach Stephanie Symens.  “She stayed nice and loose and pushed herself and has been working hard all season for that moment. Our whole team ran well at the regional and we ran nice times despite the wind.”
    Eighth grader Livia Knecht was the only other girls varsity runner for Britton-Hecla and finished 25th in 23:43.67, just 45 seconds out of the 20th  qualifying time.
    Joseph O’Brien was the Braves only varsity boys competitor and placed 41st in a 52-runner field with a time of 22:24.01.
    Competing in the girls junior varsity race Mka Kilker led the way over the 3K course with a clocking of 17:00.23 to finish 15th.  Avery Leonard was 19th in 17:28.06, and Ceci Anderson 29th in 20:55.64.
    Great Plains Lutheran took the boys team title with 28 points, edging Deuel with 29, Milbank 30, Florence-Henry 67, Clark-Willow Lake 109, Webster Area 109, Aberdeen Roncalli 110, and Tri-State 110.
    Clark-Willow Lake was the girls regional champ with a score of 25, followed by Milbank at 37, Deuel 45, Aberdeen Roncalli 74, Florence-Henry 77, Great Plains Lutheran 89, Redfield 114, and Tri-State 133.