Tight pack leads Loyal-Greenwood girls to fourth place

With a majority of the Loyal-Greenwood cross country team finishing in the top half of competitors at the Neillsville-Granton invitational, the girls team placed fourth overall on Sept. 13. The core of the Greyhound girls squad finished only a few places apart at Levis Mound to help the team stay competitive against some tougher opponents.

Summer Smith continues to be a front runner for the Loyal-Greenwood team, traversing the hilly course in 23:07.9 to take 11th place in the 86-runner field. The team’s next runners, Leah Scherer, Bailey Eckes, Maci Bogdonovich and Addison Holm, all placed within 10 places of each other. Scherer led the group with her 24th place finish at the 25:06 mark, followed closely by Eckes in 26th place (25:18). Bogdonovich placed after her in 27th with her time of 25:23.6 and Holm rounded out the grouping with her 31st place finish at the 25:54.3 mark.

The Greyhounds’ last four competitors at the invite finished the race over the course of the next three minutes. Katlund Etlicher placed 43rd with a time of 26:34.2, and Halle Aumann came in right after her (26:35.7) to place 44th. Aubre Robida ran a 27:41.2 to take 57th and Alexis Meyer placed 60th with a time of 27:55.5.

In the boys race, the trio of Greyhounds faced a field of 108 runners. Taking fourth place overall was Connor Genteman, who ran a 18:24.2 for his placing. Cody Eckes ran to a 48th-place finish with his time of 21.55.4 and Lucas Nielsen placed 78th with his time of 23:21.3.

In the girls race, Loyal-Greenwood earned 102 points to place fourth, finishing behind Tomah (96), Cadott (83) and Fall Creek (67). Also competing at the invite were Bangor (103), Marathon (111), Augusta (124), Chippewa Valley Lightning Bolts (171) and Marshfield Columbus, Neillsville-Granton, Osseo-Fairchild, Auburndale, Mondovi, A.C.H.M. Lincoln and Stanley-Boyd, which all fielded incomplete girls teams.

In the boys competition, Loyal-Greenwood and A.C.H.M. Lincoln fielded incomplete teams. Neillsville-Granton was 13th (293), Osseo-Fairchild was 12th (240), Marshfield Columbus took 11th (230), Augusta was 10th (207), Stanley-Boyd finished ninth (203), Cadott was eighth (200), Mondovi was seventh (183), Fall Creek took sixth (182), Tomah was fifth (162), Chippewa Valley Lightning Bolts placed fourth (154), Auburndale took third (96), Marathon was second (91) and Bangor finished in first (88).