IPSWICH – A pair of runners from Miller crossed the finish line first in their respective races at the Ipswich Invitational Cross Country Meet on Saturday morning.

Pierce Baumberger won the boys’ race, while Madeline Nye won the girls’ race.

North Central had four of the top eight runners in the boys’ division led by runner-up Gabe Johnson. Teammates Avery Wells, Drew Arbach, and Aaron Ingerson finished fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively.

Ipswich’s Madisyn Gellhaus was second in the girls’ race.

Aberdeen Roncalli had a strong showing as Addison Cassady finished fourth and Hazel Kannegieter was fifth in the girls’ race. Evelyn Martin was 24th.

Matt Peterson came in seventh in the boys’ race, with teammate Isaac Price 17th.

“Both the varsity boys and girls raced well and cut 30-60 seconds from their races on Thursday,” said Roncallli coach Casey Steele. “Most importantly, they are training hard going into our meets.”

Aberdeen Christian’s two varsity runners both placed in the top 25. Joseph Richards was 19th in the boys’ race, while Clara Herreid was 25th in the girls’ race.

“The kids ran hard,” said Knights coach Adam Franken. “There were some good runners today and we are pushing ourselves to keep getting better.”

Franken said that competing in the sport of cross country teaches the runners valuable life lessons.

“I’m proud that the kids will go out and run, and not give up even though it may hurt and in their mind they may want to,” Franken said. “We work to learn the perseverance and endurance in a race that is going to be so important later on in life when things get challenging. Knowing that our strength does not come from ourselves, but from God.”

To see complete meet results, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/240921/results/all