The Wessington Springs cross country team competed in two meets last week, traveling to Miller on Monday, Sept. 28, before competing in the 281 Conference meet Wednesday, Sept. 30, in Huron.
At the Miller Invitational, Alexis Roesler finished 30th in the varsity girls 5K with a time of 25:52.1, while Ella Kolousek placed 39th in 27:54.2.
Carson Clements turned in a strong performance in the varsity boys race, contending near the front throughout the 5K course before finishing second in 17:50.1.
In the junior varsity boys 4,000-meter race, Ethan Heumiller placed fifth in 16:33.8. Lorin Schaller, competing in his first junior varsity race, finished 14th in 20:13.7.
Houston Havlik represented the Spartans in the junior high race, finishing 14th over the 3,000-meter course in 13:33.3.
The Spartans were scheduled to host the 281 Conference meet Sept. 23 at the Springs Country Club, but recent rainfall first forced the meet to be postponed to Sept. 30 and then moved to Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
The decision to move the meet was not made lightly, but the course remained too wet to safely host the races without risking damage. Thank you to Jay Ball and Gloria Vavra for the time and effort they put into trying to prepare the Springs Country Club for the meet.
At the 281 Conference meet, Roesler placed 12th in the varsity girls 5K in 25:48.1, while Kolousek finished 17th in 28:37.6.
Clements placed fifth in the varsity boys race with a time of 18:52.6.
Heumiller won the junior varsity boys 4,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 18:03.5. Havlik added a fifth-place finish in the junior high boys 2,900-meter race with a time of 14:42.9.
It is hard to believe the Spartans are entering their final week of the regular season. They travel to Howard Monday, Oct. 5, and Parkston Thursday, Oct. 8.
The Region 3 meet will be held Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Freeman following the Spartans’ move into a new region this season. The top 20 individual finishers in the varsity girls and boys races will qualify for the state meet Saturday, Oct. 24, at Hart Ranch in Rapid City.