Runners step up in first meets

The Custer High School cross country team kicked off its season in Newcastle, Wyo., and Douglas this past weekend with most of the Wildcat runners going to compete in Newcastle and three varsity boys going to Douglas for their first meets.
In both meets, the teams were very competitive.
In Newcastle, junior Keira Alfson came away with the first place spot in the varsity girls race with a time of 23:50.06, nearly a full minute ahead of the second-place time and two full minutes ahead of freshman teammate Mikayla Dennis, who earned third with a time of 25:51.74.
“That was awesome. [Alfson] looked great, so that was very exciting,” said head coach Karen Karim.
As for Dennis, Karim was also impressed.
“That was the first time she had ever even been to a cross country race. I was pretty excited with that,” said Karim.
Mackenzi Ham, also a freshman, earned fourth place with her time of 26:04.78.
Freshman Lexi Wilkins ran her race in 26:38.76 to give her seventh place.
Holly Nielsen, a sophomore, got 10th place with her time of 28:31.15.
Olivia Wilkins, a senior, got 12th place with 31:34.72.
In the JV girls race, freshmen Evelyn Garcia earned second with 29:29.49, and Fiona Weber earned seventh with 33:25.56.
Overall, for the girls team, “that’s right where we want them to be this time of year,” said Karim.
Seniors Ava Miller and Maya Tennyson did not compete in this meet, but Karim is looking forward to hopefully having a full team at the Augie Twilight race in Sioux Falls this weekend.
The boys also had a strong showing in Newcastle, even with three teammates competing in Douglas.
Peyton Krueger, a freshman, sailed into the first place spot with a time of 18:53.17.
“He’s never run a cross country race before, so that’s pretty awesome to have a ninth-grade boy step up and look that good,” said Karim.
Zane Gunnel came in fourth place with a time of 20:47.41. This was also Gunnel’s first ever race.
Saylor Rice earned seventh with a time of 21:23.15.
“[Rice] ran a lot this summer, and he’s just looking stronger and better,” said Karim.
Teammates Ayden Dooley and Conner Lundy were just behind to earn eighth and ninth place, respectively with times at 21:50.82 and 22:06.97.
Jared Cooper came in 12th with a time of 23:09.07 and Jayse Noem finished 13th at 23:09.35.
In 16th was Tyler Cooper with a time of 24:28.85.
In the JV race, Joseph Prince came in second with a time of 22:03.73.
Ian Schiffer earned third, running a time of 24:29.98.
Jaxson Pomarleau came in ninth place with a time of 27:37.25.
“It was just a positive for all those guys to get a good start and get medals,” said Karim of the boys team’s showing in Newcastle.
The top three varsity boys went to Douglas to race that same day “just because the competition is that much tougher,” said Karim.
They were also very competitive.
Sean Shipp was the top runner for the Wildcats, earning fourth place with a time of 16:52.98.
“He’s right in the range with all those really good runners. He put himself out there as a real contender I think,” said Karim.
Austin Drew came across the finish line in 22nd place with a time of 18:40.98. Teammate Kian Rusch was not far behind, coming in 24th with a time of 19:01.62.
“Kian had that knee surgery after wrestling season, so it’s just great to see him at that level already,” said Karim.
Next, the team heads to Sioux Falls for the Augie Twilight meet at Yankton Trails Park this Friday.
“We’re looking forward to going to Augie this week. The competition will be crazy, but it will be a great experience for the kids,” said Karim.