By Marisa Dawson, Photos Courtesy of BHS Cross Country

Bennington High School’s cross country teams got their first look at Class A competition Thursday, Sept. 3, competing at the Charlie Thorell Invite at Plum Creek in Seward.

The Badgers came away with a fifth-place finish from the girls and an 11th-place finish from the boys, while several runners posted personal-best times in warm conditions.

The girls’ team finished with 104 points, placing fifth behind Omaha Marian, Seward, Elkhorn North and Kearney.

Selah Carson led the way for Bennington, finishing fifth individually in 19:54. Maddie Scott followed in 15th at 20:41, with Lucy Lampe placing 33rd in 21:42. Mazlyn Cornett finished 52nd in 22:11, while Brooklyn Houston and Ella Mlady rounded out the varsity lineup.

Head coach Joe Schumm was pleased with the way the girls opened the season, particularly given the quality of the field.

“The girls had a very good day compared to some of the other races this morning,” Schumm said. “I thought the girls ran very well today, all the teams in front of us will more than likely be in Kearney at the end of the season, so that is good company to be in.”

Carson was particularly impressive in her season debut, cutting nearly a minute from her time at the same meet last year. Scott also showed significant improvement, shaving close to 30 seconds off her previous time.

“Selah especially ran well, shaving almost a minute off last year’s time, and Maddie Scott was as solid as ever with her performance, shaving close to thirty seconds off last year,” Schumm said.

The team also had three runners establish career personal records Thursday, with Carson, Gideon Rogers and Parker Houston all reaching new marks.

While the results provided plenty to build on, Schumm said the girls still have room to improve as the season progresses.

“We still have room to improve, and we are missing a couple of pieces to our varsity, but this was a good start for us,” he said.

One area Schumm identified for improvement is the gap between Bennington’s second and third runners.

“The girls ran really well, but I’d like to see the gap between our second and third runners get closed up, and I’m sure it will,” he said.

The boys finished 11th with 195 points in a field led by Seward and Lincoln North Star.

Thomas Morgan paced the Badgers with a 17th-place finish in 17:19. Carter Boyer finished 52nd in 18:32, followed by Keaton Striffler in 61st at 18:45. Parker Houston was 73rd in 19:04, Brayden Kramer placed 84th in 18:38, and Gideon Rogers finished 99th in 19:58.

Although the boys did not put together the performance they were hoping for, Schumm said there were encouraging signs heading into the rest of the season.

“The boys ran a strong race, but we did not put our best race together,” he said. “May have been a combination of the heat, illness, and other factors that were out of our control, but I loved the competitive attitude we had coming in and I know that we can quickly improve our performances in the next couple of weeks.”

Morgan stood out against a talented field, while the coaching staff is already looking at ways to strengthen the varsity lineup.

“Thomas ran very well against a very talented field, and we’ll look at some of our JV runners to move up and help strengthen our varsity runners,” Schumm said.

Schumm said the boys started the race in a strong position, with the team staying closely grouped through the first mile before separating later in the race.

“I am not too worried about it,” he said. “We know we are better than what we showed, so improvement should come quickly.”

Thursday’s meet also represented an important first step for the Badgers as they began competing in Class A. With larger schools and different competition ahead, Schumm said the team is approaching the season with a somewhat different perspective.

“We are looking at our races a little differently this year as we move up to class A, making comparisons to different programs and setting goals for districts, etc.,” he said.

For Bennington, the opening meet provided both benchmarks and motivation. The girls showed they can compete with several of the teams expected to be in the postseason mix, while the boys have an early opportunity to build on their opening performance.

“We know where we need to improve and what we can celebrate and build on,” Schumm said.