When North Platte runner Evan Caudy was asked about how he felt he did during the North Platte Cross Country Invite at Oregon Trails Golf Course in Sutherland, he hesitated a bit before answering.
“Going into this season, you always have bigger goals trying to do better than you did last year,” Caudy said. “It wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be, but I know this isn’t the meet that is as important. Going later into the year is where I definitely need to start getting where I need to be for district.”
While he may not have liked the time he got, Caudy did like the result. The Bulldogs senior won the North Platte Invite by 33 seconds over second place Daine Wardyn of Broken Bow.
Caudy led the pack of North Platte boys that placed five runners in the top 11 and won the boys title. Zarah Blaesi and Marissa Holm led the North Platte girls, who also won the team title, with second and third place finishes. The Bulldogs had four girls in the top 10.
“Good start to the year,” North Platte coach Jake Hasenauer said. “Evan went out there and didn’t really have anyone to run with, so running a (16 minute, 40 seconds) was good. Other four boys, had some fresh faces this year, and all looked aggressive.
“Girls, I think they’re finally seeing that experience pay off,” he added. “We’ve had the same girls in that top group for a couple years.”
Blaesi was the first North Platte girl runner to break 20 minutes, and Holm joined her on Saturday when she posted a time of 19:59.57.
Ogallala’s Lindee Henning cruised to a victory on the girls’ side after crossing the finish line at 19:33.15. She was the only Ogallala runner to place in the top 10.
“I feel pretty good,” Henning said. “(The course) was OK. It was a lot harder than I thought it was, but it was OK.”
The St. Pat’s boys, led by Jarrett Miles’ 17:17.31 third-place finish, placed four runners in the top 20. Dax Connick finished in 12th, followed by Billy Tolstedt in 16th and Porter Connick in 17th. The Irish came in third.
The girls didn’t place any runners in the top 10, but the Irish did see freshman Braelyn Gifford beat out senior Kate Stienike by a second for 13th in her first race. The Irish finished fifth.
“They did actually just about what we expected,” St. Pat’s coach Tim O’Neill said. “They worked super hard, had some PRs even. Everybody’s trying to get things figured out. It was amazing. They all worked really hard. They gave their best effort and that’s what we’re really looking for. Attitude and effort in that first race, and they killed it that way.”
North Platte Invite
Boys team results
1, North Platte, 19; 2, Broken Bow 23; 3, St. Pat’s, 45; 4, McCook, 86; 5, Ogallala, 99; 6, Sutherland, 103; Sandhills Valley, 122.
Boys individual results
(top 15)
1, Evan Caudy, North Platte, 16:41.46; 2, Daine Wardyn, Broken Bow, 17:14.53; 3, Jarrett Miles, St. Pat’s, 17:17.31; 4, Quade Lowe, North Platte, 17:32.38; 5, Rian Teets, North Platte, 17:44.47; 6, Jesse Gallian, Broken Bow, 17:59.50; 7, Zek Christiansen, Garden County, 18:01.03; 8, Noah Osmond, Broken Bow, 18:12:03; 9, Brock Oeltjen, 18:12.91; 10, Gabe Jenny, North Platte, 18:14.38; 11, Rayce Moerke, North Platte, 18:18.07; 12, Dax Connick, St. Pat’s, 18:25.56; 13; Josiah Wilkinson, McCook, 18:38.34; 14, Treyton Hurlburt, 18:54.94; 15, Jackson Sinsel, Sutherland, 18:59.49.
Girls team results
1, North Platte, 19; 2, McCook, 34; 3, Ogallala, 66; 4, Broken Bow, 68; 5, St. Pat’s 68; 6, Sutherland, 83; 7, Hi-Line, 118.
Girls individual results
(top 15)
1, Lindee Henning, Ogallala, 19:33.15; 2, Zarah Blaesi, North Platte, 19:47.74; 3, Marissa Holm, North Platte, 19:59.57; 4, Samantha Rodewald, McCook, 20:05.00; 5, Evelyn Blaesi, North Platte, 20:47.90; 6, Story Rasby, Sutherland, 20:51.42; 7, Sienna Dutton, McCook, 20:51.94; 8, Grace Cappel, McCook, 21:18.90; 9, Nelia Rivas, North Platte, 21:19.68; 10, MaKinley Tobey, Broken Bow, 21:23.30; 11, Lauren Henning, Ogallala, 21:30.98; 12, Karyn Burkholder, Cozad, 21:34.76; 13, Braelyn Gifford, St. Pat’s, 21:34.94; 14, Kate Stienike, St. Pat’s, 21:35.99; 15, Mallory Applegate, Cozad, 21:39.67.
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