(KTNC)--The Falls City and Auburn girls' cross-country teams just missed qualifying for state in the Class C District meet at Wildwood Lake Thursday afternoon. Syracuse was the team champion in both the boys' and girls' races. 

The top three teams and top 15 individuals qualify for next week's state meet in Kearney.

In the girls' race, Syracuse won with 31 points; Lincoln Christian was second with 37 and Wahoo was third with 58 points. The Auburn girls missed a state berth by one point, finishing fourth with 59 points. Falls City was right behind in fifth place with 62 points, with Bishop Neumann, Boys Town and Douglas County West rounding out the team standings. 

Individually, Falls City junior Lainey Larsen ran a strong race to finish second in a time of 21:59.50. This is the second straight year Larsen has qualified for the state meet.

Lincoln Christian junior Collette Williams won the race in 21:18.27.

Auburn had two individual qualifiers. Senior Lindsey Mertes finished in sixth place and junior Cierra Wynn finished 13th.

The top four Syracuse runners all qualified individually, with Kimberly Lowman leading the way in fifth place. Sydney Paden finished 9th, Kaylee Hartman 10th, and Emma Porter 11th for the Rockets.

Falls City senior Krystal Samqua just missed qualifying for state, with a 17th place finish.

Syracuse was the boys' team champion with 35 points. Bishop Neumann and Omaha Concordia tied with 53 points, with Neumann officially second and Concordia third.

Falls City had 88 team points, good for a seventh place finish. Auburn was eighth with 118 points.

Individual qualifiers include Falls City sophomore Kyle Leafty, who held off a runner from Bishop Neumann down the stretch to place third with a time of 18:18.91.

Three Syracuse sophomores qualified indivdually. Keegan Pope finished second, Zane Weiler was fifth, and Cody Pester placed 12th.

In the Class D District meet at Branched Oak Lake, the Johnson County Central girls qualified for state as a team. Coach Nick Weber's team – with two sophomores and two freshmen running – finished third with 60 points. 

Malcolm ran away with the girls' team title with 21 points and Louisville was second with 54 points. Palmyra placed 8th.

Individually, Yutan freshman Emily Pogue won the race in 21:21.55.

JCC had two runners finish in the top 15. Freshman Aleisha McDonald was sixth and sophomore Angelica Wellman finished 13th. Other runners for JCC are sophomore Annika McDonald and freshman Diana Cruz.

Yutan was the boys' team champion with 29 points. Elmwood-Murdock was second with 56 points and Malcolm was a close third with 62 points.

Johnson County Central finished sixth with 93 points, Louisville was seventh with 112 points, and Pawnee City was ninth with 148 points.

Individually, JCC sophomore Samuel Saldivar qualified for state with a fifth place finish in a time of 17:58.68. 

Pawnee City junior Alex Menninga is a state qualifier after placing 10th at the district meet, with a time of 18:27.74.

The State Cross Country Meet is next Friday in Kearney.