Rangers run for it at Douglas

The Hill City Rangers cross country team kicked off its season at the Douglas Early Bird Invitational last Saturday held at Prairie Ridge Golf Course.

On the girls varsity side, senior Andee Frandsen led the Rangers with a 16th place finish in 21:11.75, followed closely by junior Aspen Veneklasen finishing 22nd (21:38.21), Jaelyn Peters at 25th (21:50.74) and sophomore Phoebe Bentley-Buschur in 37th (23:08.55). 

In the junior varsity division, Hadley Walker earned a sixth place finish with a time of 22:30.57, while the middle school girls were paced by Nora Moss, who placed eighth in the 3,000 meter race with a time of 14:27.65.

The boys varsity turned in a strong performance, highlighted by two top-10 finishes. Senior Tate Grabow claimed second place at 16:00.85, while fellow senior Dax Frandsen crossed the finishl ine in 10th (16:55.33). Freshman John Titus Isakson also finished in 32nd place finish with a time of 18:39.79. 

The middle school boys race, Jackson Duprey led the way for the Rangers, placing fourth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 12:04.81.

“These early races are just about getting experience,” said head coach Joe Noyes. “Race experience, learning how to race, how to get into it, kind of gage your fitness, where you’re at. We were really pleased.” 

With several runners still recovering from injuries and a couple absent for the race, the Rangers only ran seven of the 15 varsity runners at the meet. 

“It was a really good first meet,” said Noyes. “A lot of it is just getting the jitters out.”

The next meet will take place in Spearfish for the Northern Hills Invitational cross country meet Friday, Sept. 5.