IPSWICH – A pair of runners won first conference championships, while team champs defended their crowns during the Lake Region Conference Cross Country Meet Wednesday afternoon in Ipswich.
Jace Bender of Leola-Frederick won the boys’ race, and Isabella Galbraith of Ipswich topped the field in the girls’ race, both helping to power their squads to team titles as well.
Bender clocked a time of 17:27.7, a personal record by 11 seconds.
“I do like this course,” Bender said. “I always seem to run pretty well on it.”
The junior continued a stellar fall campaign. He credited a couple of reasons for his success.
“I put a lot more effort into practices this year,” Bender said. “I just think I’ve grown quite a bit in the last couple of years, so that helps a lot.”
Last year Frederick on the team title on its own before combining with Leola this season.
“It really helps with team points,” Bender said, “and on Saturdays we get together and run together. I enjoy that a lot.”
Faulkton’s Korbin Stark, who won the LRC title two years ago and was runner-up last year, finished second.
“All year it’s kind of been back and forth and he kind of gets out a little faster than me,” Stark said of competing against Bender. “It’s just a matter if I can make up that ground or not. He ran a great race today and props to him.”
Stark is also a key member of the Faulkton football team. Competing in two sports can take a toll.
“Physically it’s really tough, but I think the mental part of it is definitely the toughest,” Stark said. “Cross country kind of taught me if you can go out and run three and half miles after playing a football game, there’s not a lot that you can’t do, and I wouldn’t trade any of it.”
Last week, Stark spent his week preparing for a challenging football game against Hitchcock-Tulare with a cross country meet in Highmore the next day more of an after thought. Turns out he competed in both less than 20 hours a part and made a major impact in both, winning the boys’ race during the meet.
“For the week going into it I was kind of preparing to play the football game, and then Saturday I probably wasn’t going to run,” Stark said. “After the game it was tough loss and I was kind of upset. And I’m like, well, might as well go take it out on the course and ran a good race.”
Galbraith ran away from her teammates to win the girls’ race in a clocking of 15:04.5.
“I thntk it’s the workouts that really help the ending burst,” Galbraith said.
Teammates Jayla Stiles and Kalynn Oban finished second and third, respectively. Galbraith wasn’t exactly sure where the other runners were at behind her.
“Sometimes at the corners I can look and see,” Galbraith said, “but otherwise I try not to.”
Galbraith stays motivated trying to beat her teammates, but said she would be OK if one of them were to beat her.
“But, I’ll always be happy for them,” she said, “because they deserve it just as much as I do.”
Galbraith is the latest standout in a long line of elite runners for Ipswich. She enjoys being a part of the current squad.
“It feels good to have such a good a team, and they’re just so nice and supportive,” Galbraith said. “It’s so awesome.”
The race marked the first time in six years that there was a new champion after Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide won the last five LRC crowns.
When asked if she could now be the runner that wins five straight conference titles, Galbraith, an eighth-grader responded, “I hope I do each year, but I guess you never know, there could be another eighth grader pop out in a couple of years.”
Runners competed with temperatures in the 70s, a bit unseasonal for this time of the year and not ideal for distance runners.
“I’d rather have it be colder,” Galbraith said. “I feel like when it’s hot it just drains you more.”
Clara Herreid was the lone Aberdeen Christian runner competing on the day and had to deal with the strong field of competition, which will likely include many place winners at the upcoming state meet.
“It’s not fair,” Herreid said. “I don’t like it.”
Her strategy is to stay as close to the leaders as possible.
“Try my best to stick with them,” Herreid said, “but it’s tough.”
Herreid will now set her sites on Webster and next week’s region meet. She knows the challenge that awaits.
“I don’t like hills,” she said. “They slow me down a lot.”
The Knights train for those elements as best they can.
“In practice we run the overpass a little bit sometimes so that helps,” Herreid said, “but it’s not like Webster.”
Christian coach Adam Franken said that Herreid ran about the same time she always does.
“She ran a good race, right about the time she’s been running,” he said. “It’s such a tough conference with the girls that are in here. She competed well.”
The Knights were without their top boys’ runners Joseph Richards and Andrew Schwab.
“Both of the boys fighting a little injury, just trying to keep them healthy before regions,” Franken said. “I want to make sure they’re good for next week. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
