Coach Kurt Holliday thought the Seward boys’ cross country team had a shot to finish second in Class B at state.
The Bluejays proved him right, scoring 90 points to edge Elkhorn by one for the trophy.
“The boys came through,” Holliday said.
It was touch-and-go for awhile, however. As the boys crossed the one-mile mark, the Jays were in fourth as a team. At the two-mile mark, they were third behind Northwest, which was fading, Holliday said.
Seward was battling Elkhorn, Omaha Skutt and Alliance, as well as Northwest.
“Every place mattered,” Holliday said.
Austin Koch set the pace, finishing 14th with a school-record time of 16:37.37. Cale Greisen was next, placing 27th, with Lucas Zitek 38th and Mason Luebbe 39th. All three either tied or broke their personal best times, Holliday said.
The key runner was Micah Royuk, who placed 42nd. He finished ahead of Elkhorn’s No. 4 runner, pushing the Antlers back in the team battle.
“He played a big role,” Holliday said. “All he cares about is the team, and that paid off. I’m glad he finished that way.”
Mason Vest was the team’s final runner in 82nd.
“It was a pretty special moment,” Holliday said of presenting the silver medals and receiving the team trophy.
Seward last won a boys’ cross country trophy in 2003, he said.
“It’s been a long haul,” he said.
The girls’ team started the day right with Haylen Holliday finishing fifth to lead the Jays to a seventh-place team finish. Haylen’s time of 18:59.74 marked a personal best and is a new school record, Coach Holliday said. She’d been close to breaking 19 minutes for two races.
Jordyn Samuels was the next Bluejay to cross the line and was 27th. Audrey Broadwell finished her high school career in 53rd, with Aubree Solano 70th, Chloe Brozovsky 72nd and Savannah Bauer 73rd.
Broadwell and Royuk were the only seniors on the state-qualifying teams. Coach Holliday said Broadwell has run varsity all four years and will be tough to replace.
“What a year. What a career,” he said.
With almost everyone back and eighth graders knocking on the door, Coach Holliday is already looking forward to next season.
“It starts this summer,” he said.
He also thanked the parents and administration for their support of the program all season.
