Short-handed Bolts compete against tough competition at ACGC

GUTHRIE CENTER — Baxter seniors Brenna Thomson and Lauren Ratliff and junior Logan Berg all ran faster than runners ranked ahead of them in the latest rankings.

But short-handed rosters prevented the Bolts from finishing high in the team races at the ACGC Cross Country Invitational on Thursday.

Berg, who is ranked 14th in Class 1A, was the runner-up in the boys’ 5K, while Thomson and Ratliff were fifth and sixth, respectively, in the girls’ race. The top 10 finishers in each race earned medals.

“Logan just keeps improving,” Baxter coach Dennis Vaughn said.

Berg’s time was clocked at 18 minutes, 12.97 seconds. He was 7 seconds behind eighth-ranked Noah Nelsen of ACGC but finished 31 seconds in front of 12th-ranked Louden Foster of West Central Valley.

Thomson and Ratliff are both unranked, but they finished ahead of 24th ranked Lauryn Embleton of ACGC. Thomson was fifth in 22:40.06 and Ratliff was next in 23:10.06. Embleton was a full minute behind Ratliff in 10th.

The four runners who came in before Thomson and Ratliff are highly ranked.

Class 2A No. 6 Ella Waddle of Panorama won the race in 20:23.01. Courtney Sporrer and Taylor Sporrer, who are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 in 1A, were second and third, respectively, for Logan-Magnolia.

Class 1A No. 5 Kate Crawford of ACGC was fourth.

Temperatures hit 95 degrees at the time of the girls’ race. Four runners, including Ratliff, were taken to an emergency room after the race because of heat-related illnesses.

The Bolts were fifth in the girls’ race with 104 points. Class 1A No. 1 Logan-Magnolia won the race with 64 points.

Class 2A No. 3 Panorama was next with 71 and Collins-Maxwell finished third with 87 points. Host ACGC finished fourth with 90.

Baxter’s next best finisher after Thomson and Ratliff was sophomore Kailee Conradi, who was 18th with a time of 25:39.44.

Junior Holly Jessen finished 36th in 26:39.44 and the final scoring runner was freshman Lilie Vansice in 53rd. Vansice competed with a foot injury but crossed the finish line in 28:06.83.

“Brenna and Lauren ran very well, and Kailee is coming on nicely,” Vaughn said.

The final runner was senior Piper Larson, who finished 103rd.

Juniors Maya Phelps and Caitlyn Bruntz did not run because of injuries.

Vaughn expects Phelps to return next week.

Bruntz also could run next week for the first time this season.

Finishing after Berg for Baxter in the boys’ race was senior Josh Bruntz, who claimed a 10th-place medal with a time of 20:09.01.

“Josh grabbed that final medal and was thrilled with such a large field,” Vaughn said.

Junior Will Hitchler was next in 43rd with a time of 22:48.66. Senior McCade Gowdy finished 92nd in 26:08.76 and senior Derrick Klemme was 114th in 29:08.18.

A host of Baxter boys were not able to run because of illness, including seniors Ian Thomson and Austin Good, junior Christian Brandt and sophomores Sean Finch and Jalen Porter. Gowdy competed but was not 100 percent healthy.

Class 1A No. 12 ACGC won the boys’ team title with 70 points. Red Oak was next with 98, followed by Perry (119), Mount Ayr (122) Martensdale-St. Marys (135). Baxter finished 10th in the 13-team field with 204 points.

Baxter competes in the Nevada Invitational at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Hickory Grove Park in Colo.

“The runners who were healthy ran well,” Vaughn said. “I was proud and pleased with their efforts. We look forward to better meets with full squads.”