2016 NEKL Cross Country Meet Results (10-13-16) - click here

The start gun fired off and the Northeast Kansas League cross country teams were off and racing on Thursday looking to claim the League title. 

At the end of the day the Pleasant Ridge Rams swept the girls and boys NEKL team titles, while individually the Rams had the top boy’s runner on the day and Jackson Heights had the top girl’s competitor. 

In the boys competition Pleasant Ridge posted 35 points to win by 14 points as Jackson Heights took second place and Oskaloosa finished in third place. Maur Hill-Mount Academy, Jefferson County North, McLouth and Horton took fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place as teams. 

The race for the League title was even tighter at the top for the girls NEKL title as Pleasant Ridge took earn the League title with 42 points winning by eight points over Jackson Heights who took second place, while Maur Hill finished third and Jefferson County North fourth place. 

Pleasant Ridge Rams on their way to the top team performances were led by 11 Top 20 finishers. A time of 17:00.5 led the charge for the Rams as that was the best time of the day in the boy’s race with Luke Oatney winning the individual League title with that time. Clayton Price behind a time of 17:40.1 earned second place in the boy’s race, while times of 18:32.9 and 18:35.9 by Dayton Flack and Garrett Silvers earned them seventh and eighth place finishes. In the girls race Bridget Howard and Kaitlyn Warden placed fifth and sixth with times of 23:10.3 and 23:12.3 to lead the Rams, while Gabie Piche, Sara Nooner and Kaylie Warden finished 12th, 13th and 14th, along with Cassandra Thompson and Grace Dedeke finished 16th and 17th. 

Jackson Heights Cobras had the top girl’s performer of the day posting a time of 19:56.3, winning by over 30 seconds as Faith Little won the NEKL title. Her teammate, Skyla Howe earned fourth place with a time of 23:02.9, while Trinity McMahon, Jill Buck and Alexis Rieschick placed 15th, 18th and 19th. Dalton Chartier had the best boys performance for the Cobras placing fourth with a time of 17:55.7, while Mark Mavrovich placed ninth behind a time of 18:37.7. Lane Thomas ran to an 11th place finish, while Drew Holliday, Andrew Pino, Xavier Fritz, Ethan Fund and Kolton Brenner placed 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th. 

A pair of third place finishes led the Maur Hill-Mount Academy Ravens at the NEKL meet as Ayden Black and Grace Siebert took third with times of 17:49.5 and 22:33.2, respectively in the boys and girls race. Joining Siebert in the Top 10 for the Ravens in the girl’s competition was Dorothy Hoopes and Cat Riley who posted times of 23:22.4 and 23:23.9 to place eighth and ninth, while Caelie Haigh earned 20th place. In the boys action Isaiah Price finished tenth for the Ravens posting a time of 18:41.2. 

McLouth Bulldogs were led by a second place finish in the girls race as a time of 22:30.6 carried Ceara Funk to second place, while Dakota Driskill finished 12th in the boys race. 

Horton Chargers had Deja Tilden place tenth in the girls race behind a time of 23:27.3, while Sky Joe Coversup earned 17th in the boy’s competition. 

JCN was led by Sara Domann who with a time of 23:13 earned seventh place in the girl’s race, while Rose Wendling took 11th place. In the boys competition Andrew Noll had the best JCN performance placing 13th. 

Oskaloosa had a pair of Top 20 finishers in the boy’s competition as Braeden Pfau raced to sixth place with a time of 18:12.5 and Justin Shufflebarger placed 16th. 

Valley Falls Dragon, Justin Myers with a time of 18:09.3 earned fifth place in the boys race at the NEKL meet.