(Kearney) -- The Plattsmouth boys placed two in the top 10 and took a third place finish at the Nebraska State Cross Country Championships on Friday.
The Blue Devils’ Samuel Campin ran a 16:48.4 to finish in fifth while Kaleb Wooten added a 10th place run in a time of 16:57.4 on a very cold day at the Kearney Country Club.
“It was just a matter of adapting and pushing through it,” Campin said. “Finishing strong throughout the race, drafting off people and slowly moving up in the race.”
Elijah Dix (26th), Carter Moss (44th), Jacob Zitek (47th) and Ian Kalagias (73rd) also ran for the Blue Devils in the Class B race to score 78 points. Nebraska City’s Sabir Musa was 74th in the race.
“They warmed up right,” Coach Todd Nott said. “I watched them. They were ready to roll. If they warm up right, these guys can run naked.”
Two KMAland runners earned a placement medal in the Class C girls competition with Conestoga’s Danie Parriott running a 20:06.1 in finishing fifth while Auburn’s Sydney Binder capped her freshman year with a 15th place medal in a time of 20:32.1.
“I feel very accomplished just to qualify for state,” Parriott said. “It’s an amazing feeling to qualify, but to place is even better.”
Binder is a member of one of the more famed families in Auburn. Cousin Cam and brother Ryan were both on Auburn’s back-to-back state champion basketball teams while another cousin Allie was an accomplished runner at the school before competing for Nebraska as a distance runner.
“It feels pretty good,” Binder said of her finish. “I feel pretty proud of myself to do this as a freshman. Allie is someone I look up to.”
The Ashland-Greenwood girls had 174 points and placed 14th in Class C girls, led by a 19th-place finish by Jaiden Tweton. Syracuse’s Ellie Wilkinson was 34th while Louisville’s Sophie Korytowski and Charlee Peacock placed 53rd and 64th.
Darby Walsh (60th), Trinity Rowley (82nd), Dayna Wilson (89th), Mollie Konen (106th) and Jasmine Khalil (114th) also ran for the Bluejays on Friday.
Palmrya freshman Emily Frey was a seventh-place finisher in the Class D girls race, posting a time of 20:26.3. Her teammate and classmate Ava Palm just missed out on medaling in finishing 16th with a time of 20:48.6.
“It was amazing,” Frey said. “I felt really good to be running with everyone else.”
Johnson County Central senior Ashlei McDonald finished her career in style with an eighth-place finish in 20:27.1. Palmyra ended up 10th and with 83 points in the team race, as Macy Cuda (104th) and Lydia Long (117th) also ran for the Panthers.
In other races….
-Chloe Schaulis of Nebraska City was 30th and Natalie Briggs of Plattsmouth placed 60th in Class B girls.
-Louisville’s boys placed 15th with 244 points behind Jaxson Barnes (80th/53rd in displacement scoring), Eric Heard (82nd/55th), Talon Ball (84th/57th), Tyler Yuans (107th/79th), Chase Savage (115th/86th) and Scott Blumer (118th/89th). Falls City’s Eli Bottom was 57th while teammate Jared Hawley placed 109th.
-Drew Moyer of Palmyra came in 24th in the Class D boys race.
View the complete results from the state meet linked here and video interviews with the Plattsmouth boys, Parriott, Binder, Frey and Palm below.
