A pair of runners at opposite ends of their careers won individual races at the Salmi-Sahli Invitational Cross County Meet at Lee Park Golf Course Thursday afternoon.
Seventh-grader Kate McElroy of Watertown ran away with the girls' race, while senior Hayden Shaffer of Pierre beat the boys' field. Aberdeen Central swept the team titles.
It marked just the third ever varsity race for the 13-year-old McElroy who was determined to lead the pack throughout the event.
"I didn’t want to let them get too far in front of me," McElroy said, "because that has happened in a race where I just let a girl go in front of me, and I said I could catch her later, but I wasn’t going to let it happen again."
Aberdeen Roncalli's Paige Schmidt finished fourth in her season debut. The Cavaliers have had a couple of meets canceled this season.
"It was a lot of fun. It’s nice that it’s at home," Schmidt said. "It’s exciting that our season is starting and it’s normal this year after 
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