Cross Country: Watertown girls record best conference finish since 2003

Roger Merriam, Watertown Public Opinion
·3 min read
Watertown runners, from left, Emma List, Isabella Horning, Grace List, Olivia Anderson, Victoria Smith, Ava Jensen and Kate McElroy open the varsity girls' 5,000-meter race earlier this fall in Watoma Invitational cross country meet in Watertown. The Lists, Horning, Anderson, Smith and McElroy and Jayda Jensen helped lead the Arrows to a third-place finish in the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet at Brookings on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2022.

BROOKINGS — For the second year in a row, Watertown High School's girls cross country team continued to show its improvement with a solid performance Saturday in the Eastern South Dakota Conference meet at the Edgebrook Golf Course.

The Arrow girls had four all-conference (top 15) performers and matched their best finish in the ESD since 2003 by finishing in third place with a score of 82. Brandon Valley won its fourth-straight title with a score and Harrisburg took second out of eight teams with a score of 48. Watertown was fourth a year ago in its best finish since 2009.

Watertown's boys finished seventh out of nine teams with a score of 160. Yankton won with a score of 60, followed by Brandon Valley at 76 and Aberdeen Central 88.

Brandon Valley freshman Addison Scholten repeated as the girls division champion, winning the 5,000-meter race in 18 minutes and 56.94 seconds. Watertown senior Emma List (eighth, 20:18.76), junior Victoria Smith (ninth, 20:24.65), seventh-grader Olivia Anderson (13th, 20:31.54) and eighth-grader Kate McElroy (14th, 20:33.11) each earned All-ESD honors. Smith and McElroy are repeat All-ESD runners from last year.

Harrisburg senior Cashton Johnson won the boys race in 16:01.73. Watertown freshman Ty Sullivan earned All-ESD honors by taking fifth in a time of 16;53.86.

Watertown's Grace McElroy won the junior high girls' 3,000-meter race in 11:33.5.

The Watertown runners are slated to compete Thursday in a meet at Huron's Broadland Creek Golf Course, the site of the state meet on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Girls Division

Team Scores: Brandon Valley 32, Harrisburg 48, Watertown 82, Pierre 116, Aberdeen Central 125, Yankton 149, Huron 176, Brookings 186.

Top 15 Individuals (All-ESD) — 5,000 Meters — 1. Addison Scholten, Brandon Valley, 18:56.94; 2. Presli White, Harrisburg, 19:36.83; 3. Addison Reilly, Harrisburg, 19:44.98; 4. Sarah VanDeBerg, Brandon Valley, 20:04.32; 5. Bria Miller, Harrisburg, 20:09.60; 6. Lillian Rude, Brandon Valley, 20:09.81; 7. Devyn Van Roekel, Pierre, 20:17.68; 8. Emma List, Watertown, 20:18.76; 9. Victoria Smith, Watertown, 20:24.65; 10. Reagan Askdal, Brandon Valley, 20:28.81; 11. Shelby Bergan, Brandon Valley, 20:29.59; 12. Juna Ramey, Aberdeen Central, 20:30.55; 13. Olivia Anderson, Watertown, 20:31.44; 14. Kate McElroy, Watertown, 20:33.11; 15. Thea Chance, Yankton, 20:39.56.

Other Arrows: 41. Grace List, 21:56.10; 42. Isabella Horning, 22:06.61; 61. Jayda Jensen, 24:43; 69. Ava Jensen, 27:04.60.

Boys Division

Team Scores: Yankton 60, Brandon Valley 76, Aberdeen Central 88, Harrisburg 104, Pierre 108, Brookings 146, Watertown 160, Huron 167, Mitchell 237.

Top 15 Individuals (All-ESD) — 5,000 Meters — 1. Cashton Johnson, Harrisburg, 16:01.73; 2. Jared Lutmer, Pierre, 16:20.44; 3. Dylan Payer, Yankton, 16:43.46; 4. Mikah Peters, Brandon Valley, 16:51.18; 5. Ty Sullivan, Watertown, 16:53.86; 6. Zach Fedde, Yankton, 16:54.36; 7. Tino Lopez, Aberdeen Central, 16:58.79; 8. Cheech Harman, Huron, 17:00.33; 9. Paul Kern, Brandon Valley, 17:04.19; 10. Tyler Groen, Brandon Valley, 17:06.51; 11. Hunter Patton, Mitchell, 17:07.81; 12. Harrison Krajewski, Yankton, 17:15.14; 13. TJ Lien, Huron, 17:18.35; 14. Caleb Morris, Pierre, 17:21.98; 15. Camden Coughlin, Brandon Valley, 17:23.26.

Other Arrows: 35. Dane Stark, 18:14.79; 37. Bayley Steiner, 18:18.56; 42. Gabe List, 18:38.99; 44. Chris Bevers, 18:44.96; 45. Isaiah Norton, 18:48.62; 63. Briley Martin, Watertown, 19:14.89; 65. Ayden Steiner, 19:29.02; 66. Ben Peterson, 19:45.24.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Five Watertown runners earn All-ESD honors with top 15 finishes.