It was a day of mixed emotions at the Wayne Country Club for the Wayne cross country team.
The Wayne High boys put together a solid team effort to win the C-3 district title, placing all four scoring runners in the top 15 of individual qualifiers for next week’s state meet in Kearney.
Drew Miller, who had sat out the past few weeks due to an injury, returned to form and finished seventh to lead the Blue Devils in a time of 17:59.63.
Alex Frank followed Miller home in 12th place at 18:17.28, with Emmanuel Gonzalez (18:21.61) and Alejandro Archundia (18:24.52) following in 14th and 15th to give Wayne 48 points. Boone Central and Bloomfield/Wausa tied for second with 59 points to claim the other two team spots.
Rounding out the Blue Devils effort were Boden Dobbins in 38th place and Camden Hall in 39th position.
The Wayne High girls’ defense of last year’s state title came up short as they finished fourth with 71 points, placing behind qualifiers Columbus Scotus (21), Columbus Lakeview (55) and Hartington-Newcastle (59).
Ava Elliott led the way for Wayne with an 11th place finish in 22:37.13 to qualify as an individual. Essynce Owens-Webb finished two spots outside the top 15 plateau, finishing 17th in 23:08.39.
Rounding out the scoring for Wayne where Lilyan Hurner in 23rd place (23:28.34) and Josie Ley in 24th (23:36.61). Also running for Wayne were Kennasyn Blecke in 31st and Norah Armstrong in 35th.
The State Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 20 at Kearney.
