Season opener a good start for Longhorn XC at DCS Invite

Chase County’s cross country season kicked off last Thursday with a 3.2K at the Dundy County Stratton Invitational.
Temperatures were again warm, so the distance was shortened both due to the heat and its earliness on the schedule. Most meets on the schedule are a 5K distance.
In the boys’ varsity division, all six Longhorn runners medaled after finishing in the top 15 and took the team championship. The boys’ race fielded 25 runners.
Sophomore Navy Smith was first across for Chase County in third place.
Finishing fifth, just 15 seconds behind Smith, was fellow sophomore Trevin Moreno, followed by Andrew Wiest eighth, Colin O’Neil ninth, Kobe Norman 12th and Peyton Dubas 14th.
Chase County Coach Carl Zuege said Smith’s summer work and the miles he put in showed up last week.
“He’s developed into a faster, stronger runner,” Zuege said.
Moreno also ran well, though was bothered with some heat issues late in the race, he said.
“I’m happy with the aggressiveness,” Zuege said of Moreno.
Rounding out the top three for the Longhorns was Andrew Wiest, another sophomore. He, too, put in a lot of miles over the summer, Zuege said.
Absent from the boys’ roster in the opener was freshman Haven Hauxwell, who dominated the junior high divisions last year.
Zuege said they are hoping he’s back this week as he works through some muscle issues, which the coach said are not long-term.
Two other Chase County runners, Brayan Reyes and Salvador Venegas, joined the team late, and competed in the JV division Friday. Zuege said their JV times would have placed them 10th and 11th in the varsity meet. Cole Pankonin also ran JV.
On the girls’ side, senior McKenzie Vogt led Chase County with an eighth place finish.
Also medaling with finishes in the top 15 were freshmen Tessa Smith and Paige Nickless, 10th and 11th. Faith Hauxwell just missed the medal stand in 16th, while Maddie Hanes was 22nd overall.
Zuege noted Vogt and Hanes are the only runners who’ve seen varsity competition before. He said the girls’ team is a hardworking one that will see some growing pains this season.
“But I’m so happy to have the five out we have,” he said.
The DCS girls’ field of 26 runners were led by Cambridge, who took the team championship 10 points ahead of Chase County.
Chase County was the only Class C team at the meet, so officials used Class D scoring, Zuege noted, meaning only the top three runners instead of four were used in team scoring totals.
Six boys on Chase County’s junior high team ran the untimed 1.25 mile course at DCS. Four of them were in the top 10.
On Friday, Chase County will be at a larger meet in Cambridge, which is expected to field 13 teams, and will again, use Class D scoring.
Varsity/JV girls start the meet at 10 a.m. CT, followed by varsity/JV boys and a junior high race. All will be timed.
Dundy Co. Stratton results:
Boys’ varsity team scores—1. Chase County 18, 2. Arapahoe 40.
Boys’ varsity results—1. Trey Robertson, 10:59, Wallace; 2. Gavin Gunderson, 12:10, Cambridge; 3. Navy Smith, 12:13, Chase County; 4. Dash Richards, 12:26, South Platte; 5. Trevin Moreno, 12:28, Chase County; 6. Cole Barnett, 12:33, Southwest Public; 7. Campbell Schutz, 12:44, Arapahoe; 8. Andrew Wiest, 12:50, Chase County; 9. Colin O’Neil, 13:10, Chase County; 10. Austin Thompson, 13:32, Southwest Public; 12. Kobe Norman, 13:41, Chase County; 14. Peyton Dubas, 13:47, Chase County.
Boys’ JV results—1. Brayan Reyes, 13:17, Chase County; 2. Salvador Venegas, 13:24, Chase County; 3. Cole Pankonin, 14:52, Chase County.
Girls’ varsity team scores—1. Cambridge 30, 2. Chase County 40, 3. Hitchcock Co. 50.
Girls’ varsity results—1. Ashley Robertson, 14:30, Wallace; 2. Brenna Deterding, 14:45, Cambridge; 3. Dajana Garrison, 14:52, Wallace; 4. Kori Koeppen, 14:58, Cambridge; 5. Ryleigh Hanson, 15:06, Wallace; 6. Chayse Keith, 15:12, Hitchcock County; 7. Rachel Harris, 15:18, Cambridge; 8. McKenzie Vogt, 16:06, Chase County; 9. Britany Lofton, 16:22, South Platte; 10. Tessa Smith, 16:42, Chase County; 11. Paige Nickless, 16:47, Chase County; 16. Faith Hauxwell, 17:09, Chase County; 22. Madelynn Hanes, 19:07, Chase County.