Tea Area High School cross country team performs strong at Clyde Cotton Invite

The Tea Area High School cross country team competed in the Clyde Cotton Invitational Meet on Saturday, Sept. 21 in Huron. The meet featured 484 athletes from schools all over SD. 

The Varsity girls’ race kicked the day off and the Titans competed extremely well, placing six athletes in the top 30 and securing the team win. The Titans were led by junior Jaycie Babb, who finished in third place at 19:27.2. Evelyn DeGeest recorded a new personal best 5K time of 20:18.6 for ninth place in her first varsity race. Grace Bialas claimed 12th place in a time of 20:30.2, with Jayna VanLaecken close behind in 17th place in a time of 20:38.3. Taylor Boehnke earned 28th place in her first varsity race, clocking a personal best time of 21:35.5, followed closely by Logan Castle, who also recorded a new personal best time (21:37.9) to earn 29th place. Abby Hilleson clocked a 22:12 for 46th place. Meredith Decker claimed 54th place in a time of 22:37.5 and Brooklyn Reiners earned 66th place at 23:18.1. 

The Varsity boys competed with six Titans in the field. The Titans were led by Jonah Klemisch’s 36th place finish in a time of 18:30.8. Kaden Christian was the next Titan to finish, grabbing 39th place in a time of 18:36.8. Tate VanLaecken earned 49th place in a time of 18:56.6. Noah Korver claimed 59th place in a time of 19:22.5. Dawson Lowery finished in 65th place in a time of 19:39.3. Jacob DeYoung earned 73rd place in a time of 20:05.2. The Varsity boys finished ninth place in the team competition. 

The JV Girls ran a 5K for only the second time this year. The Titans were paced by Daphne Decker, who clocked a season-best 24:40.6 for 15th place. Natalie Hyronimus recorded a new personal best 5K time of 26:14.8 for 24th place. Morgan Sehr also clocked a new 5K best time of 27:09.7 for 30th place. Kiley Pendergast earned 35th place in a time of 28:48.7. Harper Heier clocked a 29:48.5 for 36th place. The JV Girls were fourth in the team competition. 

Riley Clark led the Titan JV boys effort, earning 48th place in a time of 22:05, followed by Kadin Zolnowsky in 49th place in a new personal best time of 22:11.5. Jaxon Johanneson recorded a season-best time of 22:32.4. Zaiden Johnson ran a personal best time of 24:30.6 for 74th place, followed closely by Malachi Kaiser in 76th place in a season-best time of 24:47.2. The JV boys finished ninth in the team competition. 

The MS girls were led by Gretchen Curtis, who finished in seventh place in a time of 12:18.1. Lola Underberg grabbed ninth place in a time of 12:24.7. Paige Slagle claimed 15th place in a time of 12:39.3. Angelina Dusa and Lela Kamps finished back to back, with Dusa earning 21st place (13:00.5) and Kamps 22nd place (13:07.8). Sophie Sherwood claimed 25th place in a time of 13:14.2. Carly Castle finished in 43rd place in a time of 13:56.6. Callie Hawthorne grabbed 56th place in a time of 14:31.3. Ella Kamps finished in 66th (15:28.6) in her first race of the season. Michelle Tang claimed 67th place in a time of 15:30.3. Taytem Petrik grabbed 74th place in a time of 15:53.1. Alexis Knodel finished in 83rd place in a time of 17:31.5. Avery Manning finished in 89th place in a time of 18:45.8. The MS girls finished third place in the team competition. 

Grant Curtis led the MS Boys Titans with a third place finish in a time of 10:53.6. Lucas Scott grabbed seventh place in a time of 11:20.1. Jacob Klemisch claimed 19th place in a time of 11:40.7, with Micah Hyronimus close behind in 22nd place in a time of 11:44.5. Grant Woodis earned 30th place in a time of 12:05.1. The MS Boys finished second in the team competition.