Boys win Custer meet in a pack

It was out of the frying pan and into the sprinkler for the Custer Jr./Sr. High School cross country team as they transitioned from running in the heat to running in the rain last week with a meet in Custer and another in Huron.
The Eldon Knudson Invitational Cross Country Meet was at Rocky Knolls Golf Course Sept. 17.
“I thought they had a good race. If you compare times from previous times on that course, not only the girls but the boys too, they were fast times considering we had run very conservatively the first mile,” said head coach Karen Karim. “We’re ahead of where we were last year at this time.”
Mikayla Dennis took the lead for the ’Cats in first with a time of 21:08.0, catching up and passing some of the top runners in the region.
“I was proud of her effort there,” said Karim.
Makenzi Ham was next across the line in eighth at 22:23.7.
“I think Makenzi’s time on that course was even faster than she ran at conference towards the end of last year,” said Karim.
Leah Pomarleau, an eighth-grader from Hermosa, had never run a high school 5K or a varsity race, and she placed 21st with a time of 24:21.3.
Kendra Thorp and Evelyn Garcia closed out the race for the Wildcats, placing 27th at 25:46.3 and 29th at 26:53.1, respectively. The girls placed third as a team. 
In the junior varsity race, Bella Carrier placed seventh at 26:03.0, and Holly Nielsen placed 11th at 28:52.9.
“We looked at the Custer meet as being a really good effort for us, and we continued that when they went over to Huron,” said Karim.
The boys started conservative and finished in first place as a team in Custer. Carter Cooper placed fifth at 17:36.2, Adam Hohn placed sixth at 18:00.2, Peyton Krueger placed seventh at 18:06.2 and Zach Cooper placed ninth at 18:09.1. Zane Gunnell was close behind in 16th at 18:55.7.
Another pack of ’Cats raced across the finish line next with Conner Lundy in 23rd at 19:48.5, Austin Drew with a season best in 26th at 20:05.6, Easton Dooley with a season best in 27th at 20:11.4 and Jared Cooper in 31st at 20:32.5.
Meanwhile, in the junior varsity race, Ayden Dooley placed first with a time of 20:04.2, followed by Brooks Wheeler in second with a time of 20:11.0.
“The times were pretty solid for the kind of race that we were running on that course. We were happy with their effort, and we’ve just got to keep progressing in the right direction,” said Karim.
From there, the Wildcats headed to Huron for the Clyde Cotton Invitational Sept. 19. Karim said it was a very competitive race with a lot of AA schools. The top 20 varsity runners and top 15 junior varsity runners medaled.
“With the soggy ground and conditions, the times were good that the kids ran over there,” said Karim.
For the Wildcat girls, Dennis placed 10th at 20:15.96. 
“It was a great effort for her and a good race on some tired legs,” said Karim.
Ham placed 47th at 22:24.92.
In the junior varsity race, all three girls achieved season best times. Thorp placed 15th at 24:01.43, Garcia placed 34th at 26:37.68 and Nielsen placed 35th at 26:49.02.
“It was fun watching (Thorp) race after people in order to medal in that race. I thought she had a good effort there,” said Karim.
As for the boys, Karim said they did a good job running as a team in the varsity race.
C. Cooper went after it from the beginning and put himself in the top 10. He finished eighth with a personal best of 16:29.47.
“He raced against some pretty good runners when you get into that top group in a meet like that. I was really proud of his effort,” said Karim.
The next pack of boys really helped push Custer to third place as a team. Krueger placed 18th with a season best of 17:09.59, Hohn placed 20th with a personal best of 17:18.31 and Z. Cooper placed 21st with a season best of 17:18.32.
“Adam and Zach had the exact same time, so they used the photo finish for giving them a medal,” said Karim. “The kids have done a good job with racing as a team.”
Gunnell took 38th with a time of 18:07.90.
“He’s coming on stronger each week. He’s probably what got us our third place overall, which is a great team finish for us,’ said Karim.
Finally, Lundy finished 61st with a season best of 18:52.97.
“That’s what we want to see right now,” said Karim.
All the junior varsity boys achieved season best times as well. A. Dooley placed ninth at 19:25.28, J. Cooper placed 17th at 19:54.52 and Wheeler placed 18th at 19:57.54.
“All the kids seemed to have had good efforts in that meet in Huron. I was happy with the outcome of both of our meets last week,” said Karim.
Next up is the Rapid City Area Schools Invitational High School Cross Country Meet at Hart Ranch Sept. 24. This course will be the location of the conference, region and state meets this season.
Karim said it will be a big meet with good competition and AA schools coming from out of state as well as across South Dakota.
“I’m just hoping to keep improving and not have anybody get hurt. We’re looking toward the end of the season at this point,” said Karim.