I/G girls third, boys fourth at DC championship meet

With three runners finishing in the top-10, the Independence/Gilmanton girls cross country team finished third at the Dairyland Conference Championship meet hosted by Cochrane-Fountain City on Thursday.

Just 14 points separated I/G (50 points) and meet champion Cochrane-Fountain City (36), while Augusta was between them (44). Whitehall was the only other team with enough runners to qualify for the team standings; it finished with 100 points. 

Allie Sylla led I/G by taking fifth overall with a time of 20:28. She earned first-team All-Dairyland Conference honors. The top five finishers earned first-team All-Dairyland Conference honors, and the next five earned second-team honors.

Anna Kent finished seventh (21:10), and Sophia Kampa was eighth (21:31). Paige Pronschinske was I/G’s fourth runner, finishing 20th overall with a time of 23:42, and Shawnna Whitewater was 36th with a time of 28:41. 

Lexi Kurth led Whitehall and finished 21st overall with a time of 23:47. She was followed by Anna Kurth (26th, 25:37), Natalie Herber (30th, 27:27), Marisol Guzman (38th, 31:05), and Symphony Hass (41st, 31:56). 

Jadrean Borreson led the Blair-Taylor girls by taking 17th with a time of 23:30. Ali Jorgenson finished 31st in 27:43, and Aleah Polege was 40th with a time of 31:26. 

The I/G boys finished fourth overall with 118 points, while B-T was seventh with 140 and Whitehall took eighth with 170. Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran was the top boys team, dominating with 32 points. Melrose-Mindoro took second with 57, and Augusta was a distant third with 112.

Jayden Harez led the Indee boys team and earned second-team all-conference honors by finishing ninth with a time of 18:52. He was followed by Stian Howard (14th, 19:16.6), Carson Klimek (31st, 20:54), James Wolfe (34th, 21:28), and Maddox Pronschinske (36th, 21:32). Jordan Boncimino (48th, 23:16) and Jurgen Fankhauser (53rd, 25:04) were the team’s sixth and seventh runners. 

Caiden Lien finished 13th overall to lead the Wildcats with a time of 19:16, less than one second better than I/G’s Howard. He was followed by Landen Kidd (19th, 19:47), Aaron Pabst (30th, 20:53), Jeremiah Oestreich (41st, 22:03), Wyatt Schrock (44th, 22:17), and Harley Sweet (52nd, 24:07). 

Junior Chris Mann finished 21st overall to lead Whitehall with a time of 20:08. Alam Sandoval was second on the team and 27th overall with a time of 20:44, followed by Gage Garbers (35th, 21:28), Finn Anderson (47th, 23:15), and Colby Santos (51st, 23:35).