CL X-C teams dominate at NCC Championships

by Michelle Watson

The Clear Lake cross country team dominated at the North Central Conference Championships held on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Oakridge Golf Course, in Goldfield.  Both the varsity and JV boys teams came out on top, winning team titles.  The girls barely missed championship honors, but Addison Doughan came away with the individual title.

Boys Race

The boys captured the team title by a whopping 43-points ahead of runner-up Humboldt.  The Lions ended with 31 points.  Eight teams competed in the NCC Meet.

  Jack Crane, Leo Tolentino, Joe Faber and Christopher Molander all earned All-Conference honors by placing in the top eight.  

Crane paced the Lions with a third place finish in 17:23.  Tolentino and Faber placed fifth and sixth respectively.  Tolentino ran the race in 17:40 and Faber finished in 17:49.  Rounding out the top eight was Molander in eighth place with a time of 18:01.  Vladimir Starrett just missed an All-Conference honor by placing ninth with a time of 18:03.  Also doing well were Jaden Wright, 14th, with a time of 18:22 and Andrew Mixdorf, 17th, with a time of 18:40.

“The boys raced tough up front as we attempted to go for the individual win and they raced smart to move up well and be in their best position at the finish,” said Coach Tyler Havens.

The JV boys also won their respective race with 24 points.  Five teams competed in the JV race.

Ethan Evelsizer claimed runner-up honors in a time of 19:21.  Fourth place through seventh place were captured by Clear Lake runners.  Tanner Reiman was fourth in a time of 19:56; Caleb Jones, fifth, 20:09; David Salem was sixth, 20:12; and Liam Byrnes was seventh, 20:27.

Also competing for Clear Lake was Owen Smith, 17th, with a time of 21:08.  Ethan Zickefoose ran the course in 21:52, good for 22nd place.Weston Conway and Carson Olstead finished in 29th and 30th place respectively. Cody Hua was 32nd and Priyo Joty was 37th.

Girls Race

The girls were just three points away from the team title being edged by St. Edmond, 64-61.  Eight teams competed in the NCC Meet.

“Emily McLaughlin was unfortunately out of the lineup today,” said Coach Tyler Havens.  “But the rest of the girls did a great job stepping up and performing well.

Doughan’s individual championship is just the second time in school history that a Clear Lake girl won the conference championship.  Alana Enabnit won the title in 2010.  Doughan ran the course in 19:35.

Reese Brownlee also posted a top eight finish to earn All-Conference honors.  She placed sixth with a time of 21:17.

The rest of the Clear Lake runners ran in a tight pack.  Alexis Hauge and Jadyn Heesch finished 18th and 19th respectively.  Hauge ran the race in 23:08 and Heesch in 23:09.  Anna Feuerbach was 20th with a time of 23:09 and Olivia Fausnaugh ran the course in 23:32, good for 26th place.  Ella Nielsen was 32nd with a time of 24:33.

Six teams competed in the JV girls race, but only two had enough runners to earn a team score.  Clear Lake only had three girls competing.  Kristina Miller finished in the top 10 with a ninth place finish in 27:01.  Emily Benitz and Maddie Leisure finished in 14th and 15th place respectively.  Benitz posted a time of 28:18 and Leisure in 29:10.

The team will be heading to SE Valley on Thursday, Oct. 21 for the State qualifying meet.