PIERRE – Aberdeen Central had runners that took second place in both the boys’ and girls’ races during the Pierre Invitational cross country meet on Friday.
Carson Urlacher was runner-up in the boys’ race, while Allie Novstrup finished second in the girls’ race.
Pierre runners won both races, Caleb Morris in boys and Emery Larson in girls.
“The Morris kid’s a really a solid runner. He had a great track season,” said Central boys’ coach Greg Murley. “Last year he did both soccer and cross country, and this year he’s just doing cross country, so he’s a much better runner than he was.”
That said, Urlacher pushed him to the limit losing by less than a second at the finish.
“Carson gave him everything he wanted on his home course,” Murley said. “Carson ran really well. He ran a smart race. You can see that his hard work paid off over the year.”
Central’s Max Nelson also had a top-10 finish, coming in ninth.
Murley was pleased with the times his runners ran in the season-opening meet.
“The conversion times for our 4 or 5 guys are right around 17 minutes,” Murley said “so that’s a really good starting point for us.”
Novstrup also pushed Larson, one of the state’s premier runners, in the girls’ race and led the Golden Eagles by executing the pre-race strategy.
“She ran like an incredibly, well-paced strategic race,” said Central girls’ coach Eric Pedersen. “I told them at the beginning you guys have got to set the tone early. That’s one of the things that we’ve been working on the past couple of years is being out with that pack, so you don’t have so much work to do later.”
Evie Novstrup also recorded a top-10 finish, coming in seventh. Pedersen noted her time was well ahead of last year’s season-opener.
“I went back and looked last year,” Pedersen said, “Evie ran 16:50 last year and ran 15:54 this year, so almost a minute faster. So props to her.”
The Golden Eagles will compete in the Augustana Twilight meet next Friday in Sioux Falls. There is no other meet like it on Central’s schedule.
“Next week is one of those bright, shining meets that everyone kind of gets pumped for. … The competition is unbelievable there,” Murley said.
The twilight meet is something that everyone enjoys, according to Pedersen.
“It’s super neat. It’s one of those ones where the kids are always super excited to go and even us as coaches, too,” Pedersen said. “It’s definitely one of a kind.”
BOYS’ RACE
Top 10 finishers
1, Caleb Morris, Pierre, 12:13.68; 2, Carson Urlacher, Aberdeen Central, 12:14.21; 3; Baylor Burns, Philip, 12:15.46; 4, Eric Errea, Rapid City Central, 12:59.46; 5, Jack Peterson, Philip, 12:59.81; 6, David McKinley, Philip, 13:07.62; 7, Aidan Hermsen, Rapid City Central, 13:08.30; 8, Samuel Sheehy, Rapid City Central, 13:14.93; 9, Max Nelson, Aberdeen Central, 13:18.08; 10, Jacob Fox, Rapid City Central, 13:21.01.
Other Aberdeen Central runners: 11, Esten Foss, 13:25.40; 14, Ryder Davis, 13:38.74; 15, Kyson Fayant, 13:39.90; 22, Hayden Werlinger, 14:21.68.
GIRLS’ RACE
Top 10 finishers
1, Emery Larson, Pierre, 14:50.14; 2, Allie Novstrup, Aberdeen Central, 14:50.58; 3, Gwen Richter, Pierre, 15:00.96; 4, Izzy Fischer, Rapid City Central, 15:25.37; 5, Adalynn Fischer, Rapid City Central, 15:53.39; 6, Hadley Temple, Rapid City Central, 15:53.83; 7, Evie Novstrup, Aberdeen Central, 15:54.37; 8, Macy Copeland, Rapid City Central, 16:01.42; 9, Elaina Rounds, Pierre, 16:18.18; 10, Devyn Van Roekel, Pierre, 16:20.40.
Other Aberdeen Central runners: 11, Grace Preszler, 16:21.99; 14, Khloe Cochran, 16:59.37; 20, Elsa Schiferl, 18:01.20; 21, Dannica Sheets, Aberdeen Central, 19:06.62; 22, Lilly Flood, 19:26.11.
