Arlington front-runners Hailey O'Daniel and Kolby Tighe don't typically eat dust, but they did all the way to the finish line Thursday during the Nebraska Capitol Conference Cross-Country Championships at Sycamore Farms.
Nobody beat coach Michaela Curran's lead Eagles, but the all-terrain vehicle setting the pace of the race produced a cloud of dirt to race to the finish through. O'Daniel and Tighe did successfully, leading their AHS squads to second- and third-place team finishes, respectively.
Coach Kyle McMahon's Fort Calhoun teams, meanwhile, secured a second- and a third-place finish as well.
“To keep running and not walking,” Eagles senior Kelise Krivohlavek said when asked about Thursday's biggest challenge across 5 kilometers. “It's really hot outside.”
As noted, though, the heat wasn't the only obstacle Arlington and Pioneer runners' faced.
“The dust and there was a lot of sand on the course,” said FCHS freshman Lauren Lammers when asked what she found difficult about the race. “It's kind of hard to stay straight when you're running in the dust.”
She noted how focused breathing was necessary in the conditions, too.
Footing, the Pioneers' Seth Waters said, was important as well.
“When the course got soft, my spikes couldn't get any grip in,” he explained. “That was rough at the end.”
Even so, Waters' third-place overall finish helped his Calhoun team finish just one point out of first place. He clocked in at 17:41.05, while teammate Chris Post-Whiteowl was fourth in 17:48.16.
The Pioneers' Travis Skelton was ninth, Will Dennis 10th and Merritt Olberding 11th, too. Matthew Kelly earned 14th.
On the girls' side, Lammers secured eighth in 22:40.11, leading her team to its third-place result.
“Just keep my eyes up and look at the girl in front of me,” she said when asked how she earned her finish. “And I tried to just focus a lot on my form because that's what my coaches tell me to do.”
Raeann Massey added an 11th-place result for Calhoun, while Emily Barta was 12th and Emma Ochoa Gomez took 16th. Anna McMahon and Sidney Mattison were 24th and 25th, too.
O'Daniel's winning time for the Arlington Eagles was 20:18.31. She finished ahead of third-place teammate Corinne May, who clocked in at 22:11.72, while Krivohlavek was 13th and Whitney Wollberg took 19th. Izzabella Credeur and Sofie Lewis finished in 26th and 31st, respectively.
Together, Coach Curran's girls team finished second by tiebreaker.
Tighe's victorious time, meanwhile, was 17:09.91. He led his team to a third-place result.
AHS' John Morrison was eighth in 17:54.24, too, while Ashton Vollmer was 13th and Gus Burns was 19th. Ethan Hilgenkamp took 22nd and Brayden Fuchs was 23rd.
The Class C District 2 Meet is next for both the Eagles and Calhoun. It's 5 p.m. Thursday at Omaha Concordia.
NEBRASKA CAPITOL CONFERENCE XC MEET
Thursday at Sycamore Farms, Waterloo
BOYS
Team standings: Syracuse 25, Fort Calhoun 26, Arlington 41, Raymond Central 87, Louisville 90, Yutan 114, Douglas County West 129, Logan View 139, Conestoga 170.
Individual medalist: Kolby Tighe, Arlington, 17:09.91.
Arlington results: 1, Tighe, 17:09.91. 8, John Morrison, 17:54.24. 13, Ashton Vollmer, 18:23.8. 19, Gus Burns, 19:02.54. 22, Ethan Hilgenkamp, 19:43.92. 23, Brayden Fuchs, 19:45.21.
Fort Calhoun results: 3, Seth Waters, 17:41.05. 4, Chris Post-Whiteowl, 17:48.16. 9, Travis Skelton, 18:02.06. 10, Will Dennis, 18:03.61. 11, Merritt Olberding, 18:07.89. 14, Matthew Kelly, 18:32.08.
GIRLS
Team standings: Syracuse 33, Arlington 33, Fort Calhoun 43, DC West 67, Yutan 69, Logan View 84, Raymond Central 129.
Individual medalist: Hailey O'Daniel, Arlington, 20:18.31.
Arlington results: 1, O'Daniel, 20:18.31. 3, Corinne May, 22:11.72. 13, Kelise Krivohlavek, 23:21.8. 19, Whitney Wollberg, 24:27.79. 26, Izzabella Credeur, 25:42.04. 31, Sofie Lewis, 26:28.39.
Fort Calhoun results: 8, Lauren Lammers, 22:40.11. 11, Raeann Massey, 23:09.06. 12, Emily Barta, 23:19.61. 16, Emma Ochoa Gomez, 23:48.09. 24, Anna McMahon, 25:24.75. 25, Sidney Mattison, 25:38.7.
