WEBSTER – A pair of runners made the most of their chances to claim championships at the Region 1A Cross County Meet on Wednesday afternoon.

After not winning races at the Northeast Conference meet last week on the same exact course, Ryder Graff of Sisseton and Jaycee Hourigan of Deuel each found the fastest way to the finish line at the region meet.

Hourigan, who won her first region title in her final attempt, had a solid plan heading into the event.

“My coach and I were talking about this race,” Hourigan said, “thinking everyone is going to pack up at the start and he was right.”

Hourigan took control at a mile marker when she realized no one was pushing the pace.

“My coach was telling me, if someone was slowing me down I had to pass them,” Hourigan said, “so once I realized no one was going, I was like fine, let’s take it into my own hands. Let’s go out. Take a strong surge and let’s try to lead this thing in.”

Hourigan, who said she has run the Webster course three times a year since sixth grade, envisioned how things would shake out before going out and making it happen.

“I came out confident. I pictured in my mind where I was going to go with this race. I pictured where I was going to take off,” she said. “I envisioned myself running this course, because I’ve run it at least 21 times in my career.”

Graff also had a plan for how things would shake out in the boys’ race, breaking free a couple of Deuel runners to claim the win.

“I just stuck with them the whole race,” Graff said. “I knew that I could beat them all year and I was just going to beat them again.”

He had a little extra motivation this time around.

“They actually beat me at the conference,” Graff said, “which also helped me just run as hard as I could today.”

He said the difference between the NEC and the region was the start of the race.

“The conference I came out a little too fast and tried to lead the race,” Graff said. “Today I knew it was windy so I just stuck behind them for the first loop and a half, and then made my move.”

It was a photo finish for second place in the girls’ race as Aberdeen Roncalli’s Addison Cassady sprinted past Clark-Willow Lake’s Kamryn Nesheim to take the runner-up spot.

“I didn’t even know I had what I had,” Cassady said of her closing kick to nip the NEC champion from last week. “She’s an amazing competitor.”

The battle to the finish was something that the Roncalli freshman will remember.

“I’ve always wanted to run with Kamryn, because we’re in the same grade,” Cassady said. “She’s always been amazing. It was really cool to run beside her.”

Roncalli coach Casey Steele was impressed by his runner’s strategy saying, “I’ve not a seen a ninth-grader run a smarter race in my life, and so competitive.”

Cassady made up a lot of ground heading down the home stretch.

“With about 600 meters to go she was in third place by 50 meters,” Steele said. “I said if you’re going to have any chance, you’ve got to go now. And she just steadily shifted gears and went after her, and had a tremendous kick.”

Roncalli’s Matt Peterson also had a memorable day, finishing in top 20 to qualify for state after back-to-back years of finishing 21st just one spot out of qualifying.

“You might catch me crying, I feel so happy about this. I’ve been training so hard for this,” Peterson said. “We were 50 meters out and there was two kids in front of me. I started screaming at myself, ‘Not again!’ Literally out loud. They were like, what the heck were you yelling about?”

It was a tight pack at the finish, but Peterson was determined not to be left out this time.

“It got to the point where I could see the shadows behind me,” Peterson said.

It was almost a family sweep for the Hourigan family as Jaycee’s brother Caden finished second behind Graff.

“I was fighting the entire time,” Caden said. “The wind here is just killer. It was so bad.”

Hourigan and Graff ran close to each other for the majority of the race, before Graff eventually pulled away.

“I kind of felt it slip away during one of the downhills towards the end, 600 meters out,” Hourgian said. “I could see Ryder start to take off.”

The region meet comes in the middle of an extremely busy week for Groton’s Faith Traphagen, who competes in three fall sports: cross country, volleyball and soccer.

The Tigers have two volleyball matches this week and will play for the Class A girls’ soccer championship on Saturday night in Yankton.

“I’ve actually never been to a cross country practice yet this year, not one have I gone to,” Traphagen said. “Once a week I make myself run before school.”

Traphagen is headed for the state meet after a seventh-place finish at the region. She would now like to hit the trifecta this fall.

“I got to state in both of these sports, so I’m praying for the volleyball one,” Traphagen said. “That one will be a little more tough. That would be cool.”

Great Plains Lutheran won the boys’ team title, while Clark-Willow Lake topped the girls’ field. Roncalli finished fourth in the girls’ division.

“The hidden gem of the day: our girls were fourth with two seventh-graders running in there,” Steele said. “That really put together a nice race and just finished out of the money.”

Hazel Kannegieter finished 16th for the Cavaliers, meaning Roncalli will take three members to the state meet next weekend in Rapid City.

“If you’re going to travel with three kids,” Steele said, “they couldn’t be three nicer ones.”

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

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/242499/results/all