SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central had a pair of top ten finishers and a runner-up team finish at the Eastern South Dakota Conference cross country meet at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls on Saturday.

The Golden Eagle boys’ team finished runner-up, totaling 69 points, two shy of champion Brookings (67). Central boys’ coach Greg Murley gave credit to Brookings, but noted that falling just short of the title was a little difficult to swallow.

“Losing by two points stings a bit, but Brookings ran very well today,” Murley said.

Overall, Murley was pleased with the team’s performance.

“We ran very well today,” Murley said. “I’m very proud of how our kids competed. We knew we needed to run well and our kids did just that.”

Individually, Pierre’s Jared Lutmer won the title with a time of 15:19.9. Central’s Joseph Perkins earned a fourth-place finish with a time of 16:01.8.

For Central, Tate DeVries and David VanVeen finished in 13th and 14th places, respectively, while Christian Wells (18th), Carson Urlacher (20th), Sam Schultz (22nd), Max Nelson (23rd), and Esten Foss (24th) all earned top 25 finishes. Other finishers included Patrick Severson (33rd), and Tino Lopez (35th).

Murley said the team will grow from the meet.

“We are using this as a learning opportunity and motivation as we near the end of our season,” Murley said.

On the girls’ side, Juna Ramey led Central with a tenth-place finish, finishing with a time of 19:10.7.

Brandon Valley won the team title with a score of 21, while Mia Wentzy of Brandon Valley won the individual with a time of 18:09.4. Central finished fifth with a team score of 134.

Central girls’ coach Eric Pedersen felt good about how the team performed.

“I felt like the kids were coming into the week ready to push the pace and that happened today,” Pedersen said. “We talked (Friday) night about controlling what can be controlled during the race and doing your part to help the team get where we want.”

Other Central runners included Morgan VanVeen (22nd), Alyssa Novstrup (33rd), Khloe Cochran (39th), Alivia Burgard (42nd), Alexis Ketterling (48th), Allison Brenner (49th), Isabella Vrbka (51st), Liz Preszler (56th), and Angie Lopez (64th).

Pedersen noted that several runners hit personal bests during the meet.

“For six out of ten in our varsity race, this was their first varsity conference meet race experience,” Pedersen said. “So, for seven out of ten to have huge PR’s today shows how much this younger group is learning.”

Central will compete in the Roger Loecker Invitational in Huron on Thursday before gearing up for the state meet.

“We look forward to the next two weeks in preparation for the state meet,” Murley said.

For complete results, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/227006/info