The Winside boys cross country team finished third as a team in the D-2 district cross country meet Thursday in Pender, qualifying them for next week’s State Cross Country Championships in Kearney.
The Wildcats edged Winnebago by two points for the final qualifying spot, led by district medalist Dylan Brogren, who finished seventh overall in a time of 17:57.02.
Crofton won the district with 34 points, followed by B-R/L-D with 63 points and Winside with 81. Winnebago finished fourth with 83 points.
Joining Brogren at state will be teammates Alex Carlson (21st, 18:55.39), JaShaun Vyborny (23rd, 19:04.71), Carter Jensen (35th, 19:44.97), Toby Heinemann (50th, 20:19.18) and Lane Damme (62nd, 20:55.19).
LCC placed 12th as a team in the district meet, led by Ryan Bathke, who finished 33rd in 19:39.21. Also running were Sean Aschoff (52nd, 20:28.63), Michael Kurtzhals (61st, 20:53.10), Karsen Klooz (68th, 21:10.62), Landen Boysen (72nd, 21:33.91) and Logan Hansen (92nd, 24:56.94).
In girls competition, LCC's Kayli Naeve was 42nd in 26:57.80 and Vanessa Vance was 63rd in 30:51.40.
The State Cross Country Championships will be held Friday, Oct. 20, at the Kearney Country Club starting at 12 p.m.
