It was a cool, overcast day last Friday, Oct. 24 as the men’s Bobcat Cross Country team hit the course at the Class D NSAA State Championships, but that didn’t keep them from putting a bright finish on their successful season.

Over 130 boys joined the ranks of men’s Class D state-qualifying teams and individuals in the 5000-meter race in Kearney. South Loup had four representatives at the state race, with two of the four wrapping up their season with personal bests.

Setting the pace for the Bobcats was sophomore Jaden Baker, the first to cross the line from the South Loup lineup. He placed 41st, and handed in his fastest time of the year at 17:51.81, averaging 5:45 min/mile while gathering 25 points for the team. Baker has shaved over two minutes off his slowest time of the year, marked at the UNK meet on Sept. 29, and was just 40 seconds off the pace of the first-place runner Friday with two more years of improvement left on his high school career.

Next on the South Loup team was junior Walter Bierman. Bierman has stayed steady throughout the year for the Bobcat team, placing in the top ten in three races. He also ran a personal best at the state championship run, posting a time of 18:18.33, beating his next best run by 25 seconds. Grabbing a spot at 54th, he tallied 35 points for the team.

Josiah Coleman served as the anchor for South Loup, finishing in 88th with a time of 18:53.70, adding 56 points to the team score. The senior wraps up his year as a steady influencer who also nabbed three top ten spots throughout the season. His personal best was logged at the conference run, where he gathered a fourth-place medal with a time of 18:27.60.

Senior Eli Rogers finished his season strong, running home just 10 seconds short of his PR for the year. His best run was also clocked at the conference run, where he took home the eighth-place medal for a 21:09.00 effort. He posted a time of 21:19.58 at state to round out his year, an improvement of more than three minutes over his slowest finish.

The Bobcats ended up with a team score of 116 points, good for 13th place overall. Doniphan-Trumbull took the gold, earning 24 points, and Tri County nabbed second with 35. Cornerstone Christian rounded out the top three teams in Class D, with a team total of 43.

On the individual side, the top three places went to a trio of juniors. Sliding across the wire first was Kaser Johnson from Doniphan-Trumbull with a time of 15:42.48, keeping a 5:04 min/mile pace. In second place was Elijah Goodell from Perkins County with a 16:00.85, and on his heels in third ran Coltan Ham of North Platte St. Patrick’s. Ham clocked a time of 16:01.70.

Congratulations on a fantastic season, Bobcats!