Bison frosh Jessa Sughroue 5th at GNAC cross country meet

Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette Michael Jordan, left, and Carson Kain race to the finish at the GNAC cross country meet in Kearney on Friday. Jordan and Kain placed 44th and 45th with times of 21 minutes, 17 seconds and 21:20.

McCook High girls, boys teams 7th, 8th

KEARNEY -- McCook High School freshman Jessa Sughroue finished fifth at the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference cross country Friday at Kearney.

Sughroue posted a time of 16 minutes, 26 seconds in the 2.5-mile girls race.

Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette McCook senior Kelsey Schoup finished strong in the GNAC girls race. She placed 54th with a time of 23:08.

The McCook Bison girls team finished seventh in the eight-team meet with 143 points and the Bison boys were eighth with 224.

Columbus won the girls title with 40 points, followed by Norfolk 63, Kearney 79, Scottsbluff 113, North Platte 129 and Lexington 136. Hastings was eighth with 190.

Norfolk won the GNAC boys title with 44 points, followed by Kearney 48, Scottsbluff 71, Lexington 90, North Platte 128, Columbus 156 and Hastings 189.

McCook's Molly Peck placed 21st with a time of 17:40, followed by Renetta Rawlins, 34th, 18:08; Hailey Buddenberg, 41st, 19:01; Laura Brooks, 42nd, 19:04; Kelsea Geschwentner, 47th, 19:41; and Kelsey Schoup, 54th, 23:08.

Jake Metcalf was the top McCook boys runner. He placed 39th in the 3.1-mile race with a time of 19:58.

Michael Jordan was 44th, 21:17; Carson Kain, 45th, 21:20; Nate Priebe, 47th, 21:35; Riley Haney, 49th, 21:45; Nate Morgan, 50th, 22:13; and Clay Jordan, 54th, 23:09.

"We did not run as well as I had hoped we would as a team," said McCook coach Tom Sughroue. "I think the weather had a lot to do with the way we ran today (Friday).

"It was hot and windy and we just didn't run well in those types of conditions.

"We run best when it is cooler. We need to run much better on Thursday (the district meet at Ogallala) if we plan to qualify for state as team.

"I was very impressed with the way Jessa Sughroue ran. She ran a smart race with a strong finish. She is starting to figure out what her running style is.

"Jessa placed fifth as an individual -- that is a great finish for such a tough course. I cannot remember the last McCook girl that placed at the conference meet.

"Districts and GNAC are the toughest meets we run in all year long. With GNAC done, we need to really focus on districts.

"We spend all season preparing for one or two meets, but we need to get through the first (districts) to get to the second (state).

"Our district is one of the toughest in the state. We will need to be mentally focused to compete Thursday."

Norfolk's Emilee Aschoff captured the GNAC girls championship. She posted a time of 15:58.

Columbus' Jena Schwalenberg placed second with a time of 16:02, Norfolk's Melissa Parks was third in 16:12 and Columbus' Gabby Goc was fourth in 16:19.

Scottsbluff's Jaime Torres claimed the GNAC boys championship.

He won the title with a time of 16:50.

Rounding out the top five for the GNAC boys were Norfolk's Jon Metcalf, 17:14; Kearney's David Prater, 17:18; Norfolk's Joe Metcalf, 17:23; and Lexington's Santiago Perez, 17:32.

Kearney's Matt Trampe placed sixth in the boys race with a time of 17:33.

The state cross country meets for Classes A, B, C and D are slated for Oct. 18 at Kearney.