The Centennial girls’ cross country team turned in its best finish in school history Oct. 23, placing third overall and ending four points out of the runner-up spot.
“I don’t think the girls realized how close they could come to placing in the top three going in,” Coach Rob Johansen said. “I have a couple of girls that get really nervous and I did not want to add more pressure to them than just running at the meet. The team scores always take care of themselves.”
Stella Steele finished her freshman campaign with a fourth-place finish in 20:07.6, a new school record. She ran as high as third and as low as fifth, Johansen said.
Nya Fischer just missed a medal in 16th place with a time of 21:15.1.
“I really had her lost in the numbers as she kept passing runners near the end. There were other girls going down in the race at that point that made it tough to know where they were at,” Johansen said. “She was super disappointed to learn she was 16th overall, but as coaches we were thrilled with her time and place.”
Josie Butzke was Centennial’s third scorer and placed 38th in 22:03.6. Johansen said she improved her time and had hoped to finish in the top 50.
“She did more than that,” he said.
He said the girls found the best time of the season, districts and state, to turn in their best runs. Johansen added that Centennial’s district had five of the top six teams in Class D – first and third for the girls and the top three for the boys.
Carter Fritz represented the boys’ team and won his first state medal, placing 13th in 17:25.5.
“The windy conditions made for some slower times than his time last year, but he and I were okay with that as we cannot control the weather,” Johansen said. “Carter ran a smart race getting himself in the top 10 early enough and gave himself some buffer room to still medal. It was his third state race, so third time must be a charm.”
