Central McLean runners post strong finishes at Southern McLean Invitational
Central McLean cross country runners turned in several strong performances Sept. 17 at the Southern McLean Invitational held at Painted Woods Golf Course.
Leading the Cougar boys was freshman Thaddeus Voth, who broke into the top 10 with an eighth-place finish in the varsity 5,000-meter race. Voth crossed the line in 19 minutes, 11.9 seconds against a competitive field that featured runners from Beulah, Southern McLean, Shiloh Christian and several other area schools.
Sophomore Gage Ellis also earned a top-20 finish for Central McLean, placing 18th overall in 20:58.8. Senior Evan Haseleu rounded out the Cougar boys' varsity contingent with a 29th-place finish in 24:26.2.
On the girls side, sophomore Eleanor Carlson paced Central McLean with an 11th-place finish in the varsity 5,000-meter race. Carlson completed the course in 24:18.8, narrowly missing a top-10 finish in a field led by Harvey-Wells County’s Brinley Heilman.
Central McLean also received a strong effort from Kensley Ruffo in the girls junior high/junior varsity 3,000-meter race. Ruffo finished 10th overall in 15:04.73 to earn a top-10 placing.
The meet attracted teams from throughout central and western North Dakota and served as another opportunity for runners to test themselves midway through the cross country season.