The South Loup Bobcats had four cross country runners qualify for the NSAA State Cross Country Championships, held this past Friday at the Kearney Country Club in Kearney. It’s a tough course, and it was a hot day, but the Bobcats ran well.

For the girls' team, Ella Cool and Ivy Tullis were the qualifiers. Cool finished in 49th place with a time of 23:22.5. Tullis ran a time of 24:48.4, good for 91st place in the 122-runner field. The Class D Champion is Katherine Kerrigan of Ainsworth who finished with a time of 20:00.2.

Five of the competitors did not finish the race, so even though Cool and Tullis didn’t finish as well as they would have liked their grit and determination got them across the line.

Both girls are juniors and will be back for another season for the Bobcats.

The qualifiers for the boys' team were Logan Recoy and Josiah Coleman. Recoy turned in a time of 18:44.9 which put him in 40th place, while Coleman finished in 82nd place in the 131-runner field with a time of 19:49.7. The boys Class D State Champion is Mason McGreer of Perkins County, a junior, who ran the course in 16:46.6.

This was the last race as a Bobcat for Recoy, a senior. Coleman is just a freshman and will be looking to improve his times and be back to compete at state again next year.

Recoy turned in his fastest time of the season at the MNAC meet on Oct. 3, running 17:37.59 to win the conference championship. His time at the district meet was not far behind the conference finish at 17:39 to claim third place.

Coleman’s best race of the season came at districts where he turned in a time of 18:46.

For the girls, Cool also had her best race of the year at districts with a time of 21:37.71. That time was good for the conference championship, and a new season record for Cool.

The conference meet was the best finish of the year for Tullis who claimed the bronze medal with a time of 22:23.7.