WATERTOWN – Aberdeen Central runners clocked season-best times during the Watoma Invitational Cross Country Meet on Thursday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles were fifth in the girls’ team points and sixth in the boys’ division.

The top place-winner on the day for Central was Juna Ramey who was 14th, one spot head of teammate Allie Novstrup.

“Across the board we had a great day,” said Central girls’ coach Eric Pedersen. “From varsity down to middle school, we had a ton of PRs, some of those kids cutting huge chunks, like 2-3 minutes off of times.”

Pedersen said the Eagles made notable progress, pointing out finishing ahead ahead of Watertown in the final standings.

“I challenged them to make a push with their teammates and it paid off today,” Petersen said. “We beat Watertown, which is a team who’s been in front of us a lot lately.”

As a result of that teamwork, several runners cut major time off their previous best efforts.

“Everyone did their job and remained invested in the race and it paid off huge for kids like Allie, who ran her first sub 20 5K, a goal she’s been looking to hit,” Petersen said, “and Kylee Hanley who ran 20:38, another huge PR.”

Petersen was pleased with the team’s performance with the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet on the near horizon.

“I preached racing as a team this week and that paid off for us in Watertown today,” Petersen said. “I’m really happy with this performance going into ESD next weekend.”

The Central boys ran a bit short-handed because of the upcoming schedule.

“We left some out our varsity guys at home,” said Central coach Greg Murley. “I think they’re running OK, but I just want to make sure that we’re real mentally sharp heading into ESD next week.”

Murley was pleased with the group that did run, led by Sam Schultz who finished 22nd.

“I thought Sam needed a little bit a push to kind of be his own guy out here today,” Murley said. “He ran pretty well. We need him to move up just a little bit.”

A trio of other Golden Eagles also had big days.

“Ryder Davis has improved every time he’s run. He PR’d by another 40 seconds today,” Murley said. “Cody Kiesz PR’d today by about 40 seconds. Kyson Fayant PR’d by about a minute, too. Those three all ran their best times and they’ve gotten better every week, so we hope we can kind of keep that momentum going.”

The ESD will take place Saturday, Oct. 12 in Huron. That meet played a role in Central’s plans this week.

“We’re extending our training cycle,” Murley said. “Instead of getting one or two workouts in this week we were able to extend it to three by not racing.”

To see complete meet results, click on the following link:

https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/241002/results/all