HURON – While Aberdeen Central was on the short end of a tiebreaker on Saturday afternoon, the Golden Eagles definitely made their presence felt during the State AA Cross Country Meet at Broadland Creek Golf Course.
Central finished with 124 team points, the same as Brandon Valley. However, the Lynx were awarded third place on pusher points.
“Tying for third, you know, losing the tie-breaker is a little tough. But the kids ran well,” said Central boys’ coach Greg Murley. “We were prepared. We went out, we were focused.”
The Golden Eagles were led by Carson Urlacher who finished sixth in a loaded field.
“I made a couple tactical errors,” Urlacher said. “I think I could have placed better, but coming from last year, much, much better race, so I’m pretty satisfied with it.”
Runners had to endure cool conditions that featured a steady breeze out of the south, which made the last part of the race in particular a bit challenging.
“I usually do pretty good in colder conditions, but the wind, I was running by myself for a good amount of the race. No one to hide behind,” Urlacher said. “I really felt the wind today. That kind of affected me a little bit.”
A trio of other Golden Eagles packed it up to all finish in the top 25. Esten Foss was 23rd, followed by Tate DeVries in 24th, and Max Nelson in 25th.
“I think right at the end, we kind of just went with each other and passed the right people,” Foss said.
Those precious points allowed Central to finish among the top four squads and just miss out on third.
“I think I’m satisfied with it,” Foss said of the team finish. “Obviously it would have been nice to get third, or even second, but I don’t think we can be that mad about getting fourth.”
To put Saturday’s effort in perspective, the times that Central ran might have been good enough to capture a state championship a few years ago, but this year’s field was among the best in state history.
“I imagine if we would have run this six years ago, the 2019 team that got second, I think this team would compete with that team,” Murley said. “And I think that team, 400 more meters, would win it. Once again, you show up and race the guy next to you, and that’s all you can do. They showed up today and they competed.”
Sioux Falls Lincoln won the boys’ team title, and Mika Peters of Brandon Valley was the individual champion in a time of 14:59.09.
“We had a good day. No matter how we finished today, I’m proud of our kids,” Murley said. “We were focused, they work at it, they take it serious, they give up stuff to be good. I know we want to go out and do this or do that, and I know they’re at home getting rest. A lot of kids would have went out and done the fun stuff.”
The Central girls struggled a bit on the day. The Golden Eagles finished 14th as a team, led by Allie Novstrup in 32nd.
Central girls’ coach Eric Pedersen said the pace was tough to maintain.
“They got out really hard. That was crazy. Coming around the bend over there, I think Allie was sitting right around 10th, which is about where she was coming into the day,” Pedersen said. “I think that pace just stuns people a little bit, and I think that’s probably what happened with her. Finishing 32nd obviously, not ideal, not what she wanted.”
Evie Novstrup finished in 63rd to cap off a solid season.
“Evie ran a pretty good race,” Pedersen said. “She was under 21 again, which is pleasing for her even on a tough course. Who knows what she’ll run next year?”
The Golden Eagles will now take a look at their effort, get back to work, and build for the future.
“We will meet within the next couple days, kind of assess things and go over it. The thing I’ve been really pleased with these girls is their attitudes for things,” Pedersen said. “They’ve been able to roll with the punches, coming in sitting at 11th and finishing 14th, not necessarily ideal, but they still have smiles on their faces.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
