special to the i-r

NORTON — The Ellsworth cross country team ran at the regional meet Oct. 26. The girls’ team finished sixth out of eight teams and the boys placed 10th out of 11.

“The girls’ and boys’ fields were very tough. Individuals and teams competing at Norton will be state championship contenders,” head coach Eric Coonrod said. “We had many personal or season best times, and this time of year is when you want to turn in your best performances.”

In the girls’ race, the team started strong. By the one-mile mark, sophomore Molly Ehrlich had her top-5 finish well-established and freshman Lakyn Beckman had worked her way into the top 10-12.

As the race went on, Ehrlich separated from her very solid competitors in fifth, sixth and seventh places and Beckman outpaced several other runners through the second and third miles.

Ehrlich ran the entire 5k in 20:17, a personal record. She placed fourth overall, and qualified for state.

Beckman ran the course in 20:35, also a personal record. She placed eighth, and qualified for state.

Ehrlich and Beckman will compete at the state meet Nov. 2 at historic Rim Rock Farm, Lawrence.

Other girls’ results Sage Gray, 36th, 22:52 Brooklyn Lackey, 53rd, 24:21 Kate Rathbun, 60th, 25:38 Reese Grothusen, 62nd, 26:28 Addison Thomas, 67th, 27:43.

The boys’ race featured even stiffer competition, with the front runners finishing in around five minutes.

Freshman Wesley Rathbun found himself in the middle of a big pack of runners in the 20th-35th place range at the one-mile mark.

Senior Trenton Holms competed strongly in his final regional and what would be the final cross country race of his career.

Rathbun finished fastest on the team, running the 5k in 18:26 and shaving 30 seconds off his PR. Holmes finished in 50th, finishing 19:33, 20 seconds faster than his PR.

Other boys’ results Tegan George, 60th, 20:10 (PR) Dalton Weder, 82nd, 22:36 (PR) Anthony Jundt, 88th, 23:59 (PR) Korrie Christian, 89th, 24:37

Ehrlich places third at league meet

DOWNS — The Ellsworth cross country teams competed at the Lakeside Invitational Oct. 17, which doubled as the NCAA League Meet since all schools from the league compete there as well.

The meet awards medals to the top 25 in each of the varsity races. After scoring was complete, NCAA schools were filtered out to compare league finishes. The top 10 finishers in each varsity race in league scoring were recognized with All-League honors.

Sophomore Molly Ehrlich earned her first All-League medal, after missing the top 10 by a few seconds her freshman year.

Freshmen Wesley Rathbun and Lakyn Beckman each just missed the top 10, each finishing in 11th place.

Lakeside Invitational places with NCAA League places in parentheses Girls: Molly Ehrlich, 21:24, sixth place medalist, (third medalist) Lakyn Beckman, 22:09 (PR), 18th place medalist, (11th) Sage Gray, 24:29, 35th, (21st) Brooklyn Lackey, 26:26, 50th, (27th) Kate Rathbun, 27:32, 59th, (30th) Addison Thomas, 29:04, 68th, (34th) Reese Grothusen, 29:39, 69th, (35th)

Boys:

Wesley Rathbun, 19:30, 19th place medalist, (11th) Trenton Holmes, 20:55, 40th, (19th) Tegan George, 22:34, 62nd, (28th) Dalton Weder, 24:08, 78th, (36th) Anthony Jundt, 27:03, 85th, (38th) Korrie Christian, 27:53, 87th, (39th)

Team scoring:

Girls, third place in league Boys, fifth place in league