Cross country: Duchesses cruise to team title, Dukes run to runner-up finish at Big Northern Conference Championships

DIXON – Battling through the wind and cold on a mid-October Saturday morning at Sauk Valley Community College, the Dixon boys and girls cross country teams showed no ill effects, as they each placed in the top two in their respective fields at the Big Northern Conference Championships.

The Duchesses claimed the team title with relative ease, scoring 30 points to pace an eight-team field, and besting runner-up Winnebago’s 43.

The Dukes garnered second place in the boys race, scoring 52 points to finish behind Rockford Christian’s 48 in a seven-team field.

[ Photos from the Big Northern Conference cross country meet ]

All seven Duchesses placed in the top 15 in their race, with five of them landing in the top 10.

Emma Smith was the leader of the group, running a 19:12.8 for third place; Kate Boss was the next-best Duchess, clocking a 19:58.3 for fifth, and Keeley Mick was a close sixth, registering a 20:00.1.

“My goal was to get first, but that didn’t happen because it was pretty cold,” Smith said. “It was definitely [harder than early-season meets], and my legs were very tight from this week – we lifted and stuff like that.”

“I thought it went really well. The course is a little different than middle school, but I liked the high school course,” the freshman Boss said. “It was a little harder [than usual running in the cold]. We had arm sleeves and undershirts, so we kind of worked through it, but it wasn’t that bad.”

Emily Conderman ran to seventh in 20:18.3, and Kamryn Rogers nabbed ninth in 20:30.6 to round out the Dixon top-10 finishers. Kait Knipple took 14th in 21:01.6, while Hannah Steinmeyer finished 15th in 21:14.2.

Winnebago had the top two finishers in the girls field in individual champion Marissa Roggensack (18:48.4) and runner-up Grace Erb (19:05.3).

The Rock Falls girls placed third as a team with 66 points, led by Hana Ford’s eighth-place time of 20:28.8.

Ford, who won the Rock River Run last month, felt this meet was tougher than most due to the temperature.

“It was very cold today, and it had a lot of straightaways,” Ford said. “For me, [it was a lot harder than early-season meets]. I’m not very good in the cold.”

Ariel Hernandez and Kat Scott finished back-to-back in 10th and 11th, running a 20:36.3 and 20:37.8. Ava Schrank recorded a 22:06.3 for 18th, Brooke Howard ran a 22:14.7 for 19th, and Gracie Rippy chipped in a 22:32.1 for 21st. Aniyah Thomas rounded out the Rockets’ roster in 43rd (24:58.3).

The Oregon girls finished sixth in the team standings with a 152, led by 13th-place finisher Ella Dannhorn’s 20:53.4. The Hawks’ Ellen Hodson cruised to 22nd in 22:42.8, Natalie Tremble came in 35th in 24:12.5, Hadley Lutz finished 36th in 24:14.3, and Abbie Ludwig secured 46th in 25:23.0. Katelyn Bowers finished 50th (25:43.7) and Valerie Nyderek was 52nd (26:38.8).

The runner-up Dixon boys were led by fourth- and fifth-place finishers Aaron Conderman (17:09.3) and Jack Johnson (17:12.2).

“I felt pretty good. I wish I would’ve had a better finish,” Conderman said. “I think the cold definitely had an effect.”

Jacksen Ortgeisen turned in a 12th-place performance, running a 17:56.9, while Westin Conatser took 15th in 18:12.8, Hayden Fulton brought home 22nd in 18:56.9, Kohlson Stumpf came in 30th in 19:41.2, and Noah Terviel took 35th in 20:07.1.

The fourth-place Rock Falls boys, who scored 66 points to finish just behind third-place Winnebago (58), had four top-20 finishes.

Jose Gomez led the way for the Rockets, running a 17:01.8 for third place, while teammate Anthony Valdivia came in 10th, clocking a 17:47.0. Also competing for Rock Falls were Gunnar Damhoff (18th, 18:23.7), Christian Cid (20th, 18:34.4), Brady Root (25th, 19:09.0), Victor Rivera (39th, 20:22.8) and Juan Hernandez (41st, 20:31.8).

Rockford Christian’s Weston Forward and Aidan Sosnowski each went sub-17 as the top two boys, running a 16:30.4 and a 16:45.8.

“I knew those two Rockford Christian kids would go out hard, so I just tried to pace behind the Dixon kid. I stayed with him the whole race until I found my second wind on the last straightaway, and I kind of just went for it,” Gomez said. “Throughout the race, I was kind of hurting, but I knew if I just kept going, I’d be good.”

While others struggle running in the cold, Gomez says he embraces it.

“I like the cold. I struggle more with the heat,” he said. “I feel like my breath is better, my legs feel better when it’s colder. All around, it’s better running in the cold for races.”

The Oregon boys placed sixth with 162 points. Aidan Guida ran a 19:16.1 for 27th, Christopher Bolisenga recorded a 19:55.7 for 31st, and Ryan Noisten clocked a 20:10.1 for 36th. Bryan Immel crossed the finish line in 49th (23:34.5), and Landen Elder finished 50th (24:56.0).