Bison run with Whippets to tight finish at Gothenburg

McCook senior Sammy Rodewald (above) and sophomore Josiah Wilkinson (below) led the Bison cross country teams again at Gothenburg on Thursday.

GOTHENBURG, Neb. — Just when McCook was sniffing a title snatch from the Minden Whippets, that old pooper scooper tie-breaker came into play on Thursday.

Both the Class C top five Bison and Whippets tallied 18 points, but Minden took home a Gothenburg Cross Country Invite team title.

Tie-breakers or ties match smelly gym socks in sports popularity.

Courtesy Photo

“We were short of one our girls and I believe that would have made a difference in the outcome,” McCook coach Tom Sughroue said. “Hopefully, we will be healthy and ready to go for the Southwest Conference (next) Thursday.”

McCook still featured four of the top 14 placers. Senior Sammy Rodewald and freshman Emma Cappel placed 2-3 behind only champion Jessie Hurt from Minden.

“I felt like we ran a much better race today than we did on Monday (at the UNK Invite),” Sughroue concluded.

The Bison boys also stepped up to finish fourth among 18 teams competing. Class C No. 1-ranked Gothenburg earned first place.

Sophomore Josiah Wilkinson finished top five and junior Grant Cappel was 17th.

“We will continue to see some good things out of both groups as we go through the next few weeks of our season,” Sughroue said. “We are rapidly approaching the district meet.”

GIRLS

Top 10 teams of 18: 1. Minden 18, 2. McCook 18, 3. Wallace 46, 4. Cambridge 74, 5. North Platte 106, 6. Broken Bow 126, 7. Lexington 146, 8. Paxton 178, 9. Sutherland 182, 10. Sandhills Valley 210; 13. Hitchcock County 262.

BOYS

Top 10 teams of 18: 1. Gothenburg 26, 2. Broken Bow 46, 3. Minden 58, 4. McCook 82, 5. Lexington 90, 6. North Platte 106, 7. Holdrege 110, 8. Wallace 146, 9. Medicine Valley 158, 10. Kearney 178; 13. Cambridge 262, 14. Arapahoe 282, 15. Hitchcock County 326.

Individual results

Girls

Top 10: 1. J. Hurt, MIND, 20:36.2; 2. Sammy Rodewald, MC, 20:43.4; 3. Emma Cappel, MC, 22:04.5; 4. T. Houchin, MIND, 22:27.1; 5. Ashley Robertson, WAL, 22:39.3; 6. Brecken Gale, MC, 22:39.7; 7. Dajana Garrison, WAL, 22:50.1; 8. L. Rehtus, MIND, 22:50.2; 9. Brenna Deterding, CAM, 23:04.6; 10. Rachel Harris, CAM, 23:05.3.

Other top area runners among 63 varsity finishers: 11. Kori Koeppen, CAM, 23:06.8; 14. Shawna Wilkinson, MC, 23:21.3; 21. Ryleigh Hanson, WAL, 23:48.3; 34. Abby Boner, MC, 25:16.8; 38. Lizbeth Cardoza, Dundy County-Stratton, 25:51.9; 42. Megan Miller, MC, 26:28.9; 43. River Einspahr, Arapahoe, 26:29.4; 45. Calista Carney, HC, 26:33.3.

Boys

Top 10: 1. Trey Robertson, WAL, 17:17.3; 2. N. Osmond, Bow, 17:41.4; 3. E. Olsen, GOTH, 17:51.3; 4. P. Graves, GOTH, 17:57.1; 5. Josiah Wilkinson, MC, 18:02.4; 6. H. Rodriguez, Lex, 18:24.7; 7. C. Jameson, MIND, 18:29.4; 8. L. Tegtmeier, NP, 18:35.7; 10. B. Oeltjen, Bow, 18:44.9.

Other top area runners among 82 finishers: 11. Kael Garrett, MV, 18:51.6; 17. Grant Cappel, MC, 19:05.4; 44. Campbell Schutz, Arapahoe, 20:29.6; 45. Josh Wilkinson, MC, 20:367.6; 46. Joe Brown, MV, 20:42.4; 48. Gavin Gunderson, CAM, 20:51.2; 50. Grant Wells, MC, 21:01.3.