Six Arlington High School runners earned top-10 individual finishes Thursday during their home cross-country meet at the Washington County Fairgrounds.
Of the six, senior Hailey O'Daniel claimed the top result, winning her race as both her girls team and coach Michaela Curran's boys lineup took second to Omaha Concordia.
Another Eagles 12th-grader, Gus Burns, took 10th in his final Arlington Invite race.
“It feels real good,” he said a few minutes after crossing the 5-kilometer finish line in 19:42.89. “When I started this, I was really bad. It's taken a lot of work, but it's nice to kind of see the time I've put into this over the years show a little.”
It took effort to get to Thursday's result.
“As cliché as it sounds, all it was was hard work,” Burns said.
The senior was hurt as a sophomore and came to the realization that he couldn't stand not running. Ever since, he's done his best to improve.
Burns' showing contributed to an Eagles effort led by Kolby Tighe, who took second in 17:13.19. John Morrison was fourth in 18:38.69 and Ashton Vollmer was fifth in 18:48.88.
AHS' Ethan Hilgenkamp added an 11th-place result behind Burns, while Brayden Fuchs claimed 15th.
On the girls' side, O'Daniel led from the start and by a wide margin.
“It was a mental battle for me more than a physical battle,” she said.
The returning state medalist clocked in at 20:46.86 ahead of freshman teammate Corinne May, who was second in 22:05.74 after passing a Concordia runner down the stretch.
Arlington's Whitney Wollberg and Kelise Krivohlavek took 13th and 15th, respectively, too, while Izzabella Credeur was 20th and Sofie Lewis earned 21st.
As Credeur walked by O'Daniel after the race, the senior congratulated the ninth-grader for her finish. It's when the young Eagle revealed to her teammate that she'd set a new personal record (PR).
“It's really exciting to see my teammates PR like that,” O'Daniel said after running her last Arlington Invite race at the Washington County Fairgrounds. “Couldn't be happier.”
Arlington next runs Thursday during the Blair Bears' home meet at Otte Blair Middle School. High school races start at 5 p.m.
ARLINGTON INVITE
Thursday at the Washington County Fairgrounds
BOYS
Team standings: Omaha Concordia 17, Arlington 21, West Point-Beemer 62, David City 88, Logan View 88, College View Academy 109, Conestoga 118.
Individual medalist: Payton Day, Concordia, 17:05.
AHS results: 2, Kolby Tighe, 17:13.19. 4, John Morrison, 18:38.69. 5, Ashton Vollmer, 18:48.88. 10, Gus Burns, 19:42.89. 11, Ethan Hilgenkamp, 19:57.9. 15, Brayden Fuchs, 20:09.91. Top JV finisher: 5, Rafaele Magnino, 21:52.01.
GIRLS
Team standings: Concordia 24, Arlington 31, West Point-Beemer 35, Logan View 70, David City 80, Lyons-Decatur Northeast 118.
Individual medalist: Hailey O'Daniel, Arlington, 20:46.86.
AHS results: 1, O'Daniel, 20:46.86. 2, Corinne May, 22:05.74. 13, Whitney Wollberg, 24:22.3. 15, Kelise Krivohlavek, 24:29. 20, Izzabella Credeur, 26:55.34. 21, Sofie Lewis, 27:10.82.
