The cross country season came to a close with the state meet on Saturday at Parkhurst Recreation Area in Jamestown. Devils Lake was represented with 10 boys and 10 girls competing in the meet. The boys’ team finished 13th out of 22 teams, while the girls finished 12th out of 21.
Sophomore Zane Bennett recorded a time of 17:10.2, placing him 43rd out of 200 runners. The time was about nine seconds short of his season record, which he set at the EDC meet. It was more than 30 seconds faster than his time at the state meet last year. He was the Firebirds’ top runner all season.
Noah Azure and Joel Nelson finished close together, at 103rd and 105th, respectively. Nelson, a standout basketball player and track athlete, only joined the team late in the season but ended up as the Firebirds’ third-fastest runner at the meet.
The lone Devils Lake boy to set his personal record was sophomore Aiden Ackerman, who posted a time of 18:29.8. His previous best had come at the EDC meet with an 18:36.7. He finished 114th overall, directly behind senior Gerardo Sanchez at 113th.
The girls’ top two runners were both eighth-graders, with Riley Schmiess and Tenley Triepke. Schmiess posted a time of 20:11.1, putting her 24th out of 184 runners. She previously broke the girls’ school record with a 19:27.5 at EDC. Triepke had a 20:30.3, setting her personal record and placing her 38th. Her previous best had been 20:43.7, set at the EDC meet.
Juniors Livia Nelson and Elizabeth Orness were the two Firebird girls, besides Triepke, to break their own personal records. Nelson finished at 21:46.2, placing her 89th and breaking her record, also set at the EDC meet, by more than three seconds. Orness’s previous personal record was also broken at EDC, and she outran it by more than 20 seconds at the state meet with a 24:15.8.
Bismarck and Williston were the Class A boys’ and girls’ state champions, respectively.
On the Class B side on Friday, the top team from the Lake Region was Langdon Area/Munich, which finished 15th out of 61 teams in the boys’ race. Senior Brock Freer placed 16th out of 327 runners with a 17:11.8.
Bowman County and Hillsboro/Central Valley were the Class B boys’ and girls state champions, respectively.
The full results for both classes, boys and girls, can be found on athletic.net.