Cross Country Teams Battle at Little Hawkeye Conference Meet

On Monday night, the Oskaloosa Middle School cross country teams competed in the Little Hawkeye Conference (LHC) meet at Newton. Facing off against some of the toughest competition in the conference, both teams put in strong performances despite dealing with illnesses that kept some runners from competing.

The girls’ team secured a 7th-place finish, with standout performances by Preslie Bryan, who placed 13th with a time of 12:08.3, and Hazel Adam, who came in 21st at 12:29.1. On the boys’ side, the team finished 5th, led by Kylor Andersen-McVay’s gutsy 18th-place finish in 11:15.8, followed by Noah Ruckman in 23rd at 11:40.7.

Reflecting on the meet, Coach Betsy Luck praised the team’s hard work throughout the season. “This was the final meet for the full team. I’m so proud of the work that this team has put in this season. We were small but mighty. They learned how to compete and what it takes to be a cross country runner.”

While this was the last race for most of the runners, five athletes will advance to compete at the middle school state meet this weekend in Ankeny.