By Rich Winter

All cross-country season long the Custer Wildcats have looked like the team to beat in the Class A boys cross-country race. They started strong, kept getting better and they closed like a freight train placing five guys in the top-7 of a pretty competitive Region 5A meet in Rapid City.

Region 5A results: 

 1 Rush, Joe                 12 Custer                16:43.76    1             
  2 Trainor, Ty               12 St. Thomas More       17:08.97    2             
  3 Youngblood, Nathaniel     11 Custer                17:27.58    3             
  4 Oesterling, Max           12 Custer                17:35.14    4             
  5 Block, Logan              12 Custer                18:04.82    5             
  6 Glenn, Jarek              10 St. Thomas More       18:05.76    6             
  7 Oesterling, Jace          10 Custer                18:06.09    7

Despite the stellar year and the incredible toughness that coach Karen Karim has put together, whispers from the Eastern part of the state suggest that Custer is the second best team in the state behind a hard-charging West Central squad.

WHAT?

Region 2 results: 

  1 Peters, Derick            12 West Central          15:33.87    1             
  2 Peters, Braden            11 West Central          16:10.92    2             
  3 VanZee, Lance             12 SF Christian          16:34.90    3             
  4 VanderHaar, Connor        11 SF Christian          16:57.60    4             
  5 Ulrich, Carter            12 West Central          17:14.28    5             
  6 Hitt, Cooper              12 SF Christian          17:25.95    6             
  7 Ideker, Caden             11 West Central          17:31.82    7

Don't pay attention to the times, courses are different....But, pay attention to West Central having four in the top-7.

Hope people really get a chance to enjoy one more run from West Central senior, Derick Peters. This guy won the Roy Griak meet (Minneapolis), has run under 15-flat for the season and will likely be a high finisher at the Nike Foot Locker Nationals in November. He's going to crush the field, but the big question for West Central is where will Braden Peters finish?

With Custer's Joe Rush and Ty Trainor (No. 3 and No. 2 a year ago), up there fighting for spots, if Braden Peters can finish in front of Rush, we might have ourselves a heck of a battle. 

Custer has been the No. 1 team all year but Paul Ekern of the Tri-City Star and Duebrook cross-country team flipped his vote this week. 

Tri-City Star - Class A cross-country poll

West Central
Custer
Sioux Falls Christian
St. Thomas More
Beresford
Lennox

Honorable Mention – Milbank, Sioux Valley, Todd County, Vermillion, Webster Area
Title chasers – Derick Peters, West Central; Joe Rush, Custer;
 Ty Trainor, St. Thomas More 
Top ten contenders – Braden Peters, West Central; Lance VanZee,
 Sioux Falls Christian; Alec Atwood, Beresford; Camden Wulf, 
Lennox; Justin Sorensen, Vermillion; 
Noah Knapp, Aberdeen Roncalli; Maxwell Kuecker, Webster Area; 
Shay VanDenHemel, Stanley County; Kade Watson, Winner Area                        

Brian Decker's top-3:

Boys
1 West Central
2 SFC
3 Custer

Panic Button's top-5

1. Custer

2. West Central

3. Sioux Falls Christian

4. Beresford

5. Lennox

Analysis: Interesting the east river guys flipped their rankings late in the year. Maybe that is deserved because of the way West Central and SFC have been runnning. For me, I like the west-river training of hills and such and ya gotta figure that Custer sleeping in their own beds Friday night is a difference maker. 

One thing I know, Custer is going to battle: Joe Rush promises

"THE STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET IS FINALLY HERE!! I am so excited and pumped for it! I don't know how my team and I will do but no matter what, we will run our hardest and put our hearts into it! If you want to watch it is at Hart Ranch, outside of Rapid City. Custer girls will be running at 1, Custer Boys at 2:30, and awards will be at 3," Rush said on his Facebook page.

This one looks delicious....but I'm a WEST RIVER guy so go CUSTER!!!  Good luck to all Class A participants.