BROOKINGS – The Aberdeen Central boys finished second and the girls were fifth at the annual Russ Strande Invitational cross country meet in Brookings Thursday afternoon.

The Golden Eagle boys tallied 57 points behind a pair of top-five finishes. Tino Lopez finished third overall, while Christian Wells was about a second and a half behind in fifth place.

In all, Central put all seven runners in the top 20.

“We had a great day at all levels,” said Central boys’ coach Greg Murley, noting the sub-varsity competitors also had strong performances. “The weather was beautiful and we had great competition. We are looking forward to continuing our progression and to return to Brookings soon for the ESD meet.”

Joseph Perkins won the junior varsity race for the Golden Eagles.

Brandon Valley took the top spot in the team race with 37 points.

On the girls’ side, Juna Ramey and Morgan Van Veen led the way for the Golden Eagles, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively.

“Juna and Morgan had strong races,” said Central girls’ coach Bill Martens. “Both of them each had a personal best time.”

Kiana Joerger just missed a top-25 showing, finishing in 26th place, followed by Alivia Burgard in 36th and Alyssa Roehrich in 37th.

“We had some big gaps between runners,” Martens said.

Central will head to the Watoma Invitational in Watertown Thursday in a final tune-up before returning to Brookings for the Eastern South Dakota Conference championships on Saturday, Oct. 8.

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

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/210012/results