CUSTER, WEST CENTRAL, SFC ready to CLASH at Class A cross
Oct 20, 2017
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.