WEBSTER – They weren’t quite able to win the individual race, but the Ipswich Tigers led a parade of five straight girls’ runners across the finish line at the Region 1B cross country meet Wednesday morning.
The defending State B champions were in prime form on the way to a dominating performance in winning the girls’ team title.
The Tigers had five of the top six finishers led by Isabella Galbraith in second. Teammates Jayla Stiles, Kalynn Oban, Jennay Gisi, and Addison Galbraith came in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
“We did so good,” said Isabella Galbraith. “I really just wanted a first for our team. … I think this shows a lot to the other teams.”
Oban enjoys being part of a strong team effort.
“It’s really nice having teammates close,” Oban said, “and always being able to compete with them in everything.”
Oban said the Tigers try to stick with Isabella Galbraith, who is always at or near the front in every race.
“Bella, we try to stick with her at the start and then me and Jayla will go with each other,” Oban said. “We know Addison and Jennay have our backs right behind us.”
Gisi, a freshman, is the elder stateman of the group, comprised mainly of eighth-graders.
“It’s really fun,” Gisi said of running with the younger girls. “They’re really silly.”
Despite being slightly older, Gisi said she does not feel like the leader of the squad.
“It’s more of our top runner Bella,” Gisi said. “She’s more of a leader.”
No matter who is the official leader, the Tigers have once again shown they are an elite squad and seem to be hitting their stride late in the season.
“Our mile pace has gone up a lot from the beginning,” Oban said. “We’ve got out faster, because we know towards the end of the season there’s a lot on the line.”
Galbraith ran another strong race, but was unable to reel in Deubrook Area standout Nora Olsen, who led from start to finish.
“I tried to catch her, but she was too far ahead,” Galbraith said. “I think I need to gap less next time.”
Olsen had a goal of setting the tone early and not relinquishing the lead.
“It was just trying to set the pace out front and run my race,” Olsen said of her strategy, “and not let them get in my head.”
Olsen is also a key member of a solid Deubrook Area volleyball squad and played in a match Tuesday night, just hours ahead of the region meet.
“Our coaches are just really good about giving us breaks when we need them,” Olsen said of the demanding schedule, “and just having a really good team really helps, too, because everyone’s up with me during practice every morning.”
Olsen, who will be among the favorites to win the individual championship at the state meet next weekend in Rapid City, said she enjoys one sport a bit more than the other.
“I like volleyball better,” Olsen said, “but cross country’s fun, too. … I like the team aspect of volleyball.”
James Valley Christian, powered by race winner Kaden Ober, won the boys’ team title with Leola-Frederick runner-up. The junior led from start to finish to win his second straight region title.
“I just got out hard like I normally do and then pushed the second mile, and I just kept the pace,” Ober said. “It felt pretty good.”
Ober said he plans to use a similar strategy at the state meet.
“Probably the same plan,” Ober said, “just get out hard and stick with that front group, and push that second mile.”
Ober said he runs for a higher calling when competing.
“I just want to give all the glory to God,” Ober said. “He’s the one who put me in this spot and allowed me to be able to run like this, so all the glory goes to Him.”
Castlewood’s Nolan Edison finished second in the race. The senior said he is used to competing against Ober.
“I’ve ran with him before and next week I’ll run with him, again,” Edison said. “I’m going to be in that front pack. It’s my last race ever in high school, so might as well give it all I’ve got.”
Edison, who finished 17th at last year’s state meet, said there is a big difference competing in a race with all of the state’s premier runners.
“Coming from a small school, we’ve never run in big races like this. … It’s fun,” Edison said. “You get to face all new kinds of competition and I like competition.”
Aberdeen Christian will send two boys to state as Andrew Schwab finished 12th and Joseph Richards was 19th.
“The boys ran great today. Both of them fighting injuries, neither one ran at the conference,” said Christian coach Adam Franken. “Just kind of pushing through that, not running for a week and a half to two weeks. It was a tough day and they battled. Andrew’s probably best finish of the year.”
Schwab said he doesn’t come into a race with a certain pace in mind.
“I kind of just go with the flow,” Schwab said. “I run whatever pace and just catch up to whoever’s in front of me or try to, and that’s my pace usually.”
Schwab is coming off limited action because of a pinched nerve in his back.
“I had fresher legs for sure. I honestly felt really good going into it,” Schwab said. “I didn’t feel that bad. I think the hardest thing was breathing, but it wasn’t that bad.”
The sophomore ran in the state meet last year and would like to move up in the field this time around.
“Last year I was in the 80s, so I kind of want to try to get to the 60s this year,” Schwab said, “and I want to try to run a sub 18 or 17:50, somewhere around there.”
Clara Herreid represented the Knights in the girls’ race.
“It’s just a joy to have her running on the team and always has a positive attitude,” Franken said. “Even when things maybe don’t go her way, still looking at the bright side of things and understanding what’s really important in life.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
