WEBSTER – Deuel edged Milbank in the boys’ race, while Clark-Willow Lake claimed the girls’ crown – also over Milbank – at the Northeast Conference cross country championships Thursday at the Webster Golf Course. Aberdeen Roncalli finished sixth in the boys’ standings and fourth in the girls.

Both races had runaway individual winners, as Milbank’s Bryan Meyer won by more than 14 seconds over Tyson Hagberg of Deuel, while CWL’s Kamryn Nesheim continued her stellar season with an individual title in the girls’ race, winning by 15 seconds over Jaycee Hourigan of Deuel.

Roncalli coach Casey Steele said while the conditions for mid-October were not exactly distance-running friendly, he was pleased with the way his teams competed.

“It was pretty toasty out there today,” Steele said. “The times reflected that. You look at the winning times, and those kids have run significantly faster than they did today. That said, I was really pleased with how the kids competed today.”

Roncalli’s Addison Cassady also turned in a stellar performance, finishing fifth overall in the girls’ race. 

“The top girls in our conference are tough,” Steele said. “Addy came through first mile in ninth place, and she picked people off throughout the race to move up. It’s easy to get caught up in going out with those leaders when you’re not ready to be in that position, and I thought she did a good job of picking people off.”

Hazel Kannegieter joined Cassady in the top 15, finishing 13th overall. Bailey Nold was 35th and Norah Gonsor finished 37th to complete the Cavalier scoring.

“Hazel had a side ache throughout the race,” Steele said. “She really pushed hard through that. I’m proud of her.”

On the boys’ side, it was Isaac Price setting the pace for the Cavaliers, finishing 21st overall. Price was less than a second out of all-conference honors, which go to the top 20 finishers. Price finished in a battle for those spots with Caleb Ronne of Deuel and Grady Wagner of Webster.

“I think he feels pretty good about things,” Steele said. “He went out and competed hard. First mile, his time was spot on. … He got stuck between packs a little bit, and the last 400 meters, he ran down a kid.”

Leo Madsen was 26th overall for the Cavaliers, and Ethan Gonsor was 30th. Ben Keller rounded out the scoring contingent in 35th. 

Roncalli was without Matt Peterson for Thursday’s race, but Steele said Peterson should be back for the Region 1A meet next week on the same course.

Complete results from Thursday’s meet can be found at: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/241915/info