Titans perform strong at Conference Meet

The Tea Area High School cross country team traveled to Mitchell on Saturday, Oct. 11, to compete in the ESD Championship Cross Country Meet. The event featured 433 athletes from the ten ESD schools across six races. The Titans turned in several outstanding performances throughout the day.

The varsity girls opened the meet, facing an incredibly competitive field that included 17 of the top 26 runners in Class AA.

The Titans ran strong from start to finish and placed fifth as a team in the conference. Senior Jaycie Babb led the team, getting out fast and pulling away from the field in the final mile to earn third place overall in a near personal-best time of 18:15.39. Freshman Jayna VanLaecken used a strong middle stretch to move up the field and finish 11th with a new personal best of 19:06.17, ranking No. 2 all-time in school history for the 5K. Sophomore Grace Bialas used a great finishing kick to take 27th (19:58.54). Sophomore Logan Castle ran strong throughout for 47th (21:15.08), followed by sophomore Abby Hilleson, who finished 53rd (21:54.22). Senior Brooklyn Reiners ran a season-best 22:06.84 for 57th, while senior Meredith Decker finished 70th (23:41.04).

The varsity boys followed, looking to build on the girls’ success. Senior Jack Campbell led the Titans, using a strong start and steady middle to place 24th (17:05.39). Junior Reid Hammerquist finished close behind in 31st (17:15.38), while freshman Reece Christian moved up late in the race to take 35th (17:28.08). Juniors Tate VanLaecken and Jonah Klemisch also ran well, placing 37th (17:36.43, PR) and 38th (17:38.43), respectively. Junior Kaden Christian claimed 54th (18:05.53), and senior Jacob DeYoung rounded out the effort in 72nd (19:35.95). The varsity boys placed sixth in the conference.

The JV girls continued the strong day for Tea Area. Freshman Lola Underberg used a great midrace move to finish as runner-up, clocking a 50-second personal best of 16:17.23, which ranks No. 2 in school history for the 4K. Freshman Gretchen Curtis also had a breakout race, cutting nearly 40 seconds off her previous best to take fourth (16:22.13, No. 3 school rank). Freshman Grace Chapman continued her streak of personal records, finishing 14th in 17:28.78. Freshman Ella Kamps ran near a PR to take 24th (19:03.18), while freshman Natalie Hyronimus set a new PR (19:06.21) for 25th. Senior Kiley Pendergast placed 30th (20:04.93), and senior Morgan Sehr ran a season-best 20:37.33 for 34th. The JV girls finished second in the conference.

The JV boys also impressed, with all five Titans recording season or personal bests. Eighth grader Reed Cerny led the way, using a strong final 800 meters to move into medal position and finish ninth in a new personal best of 14:31.04, the No. 2 school ranking. Fellow eighth grader Caden Schuster also set a PR (15:19.21) for 30th. Junior Malachi Kaiser recorded his third straight PR (15:25.65) for 33rd. Junior Jaxon Johanneson ran a PR 15:54.67 for 44th, and sophomore Kadin Zolnowsky posted a season-best 16:38.73 for 48th. Junior Victor Bruggeman also ran a personal best (19:46.0) to take 61st. The JV boys finished fifth in the conference.

The middle school girls fielded 10 runners, led by sixth grader Genevieve Decker, who used a strong finishing kick to place in the top 10 with a new personal best of 12:29.79, ranking No. 8 in school history for the 3K. Seventh grader Carly Castle set a new PR of 12:49.69 for 22nd, while seventh grader Angelina Dusa finished 32nd (13:07.53). Seventh grader Emilia Marandici ran a personal best 14:39.71 for 66th. Sixth graders Vayda VanBeek (71st, 15:02.41) and Samanth Klemisch (73rd, 15:13.93) also posted PRs. Sixth grader AvaLynn Ullom placed 82nd (16:59.1), followed by fellow sixth grader Olivia Brockman, who ran a PR 17:14.31 for 83rd. Sixth graders Thaiann Ekthanitphong (85th, 17:17.16) and Lindsey Reemtsma (88th, 18:06.66, PR) rounded out the lineup. The middle school girls finished sixth in the conference.

The final race of the day featured the middle school boys. Sixth grader Caleb Jelen led the team with a 17th-place finish (11:28.43). Eighth grader Grant Woodis ran well, narrowly missing a PR to finish 47th (11:59.53). Eighth grader Jace Ullom set a new personal best of 12:58.17 to take 72nd.

The Titans will compete in the Roger Loecker Meet in Huron on Thursday, Oct. 23. Varsity girls will begin at 4 p.m., followed by varsity boys, JV girls, JV boys, middle school girls, and middle school boys. The State Meet will be held in Huron on Saturday, Oct. 25.