The O’Neill Eagles opened the 2026 cross country season Thursday at the St. Paul Cross Country Invitational, and the Eagles made an impressive statement with strong performances from the high school and junior high teams.
The O’Neill boys captured the team championship, while the high school girls and both junior high teams each finished third in their respective competitions. The meet awarded medals to the top 15 individual finishers.
High School Girls Finish Third
The O’Neill girls finished third as a team among 13 schools competing. Sophomore Kiarra Kennedy led the Eagles with a third-place medal, completing the race in 21:17 among 59 runners.
Emma Bowder followed with an 18th-place finish, while Lynn Miner placed 25th and Emma French finished 27th.
The Eagles will look to build on the strong opening performance as the season progresses.
Eagle Boys Capture Team Championship
The O’Neill boys opened the season by winning the team championship, led by senior Max Berg. Berg finished third individually with a time of 17:55.
The Eagles placed four runners among the top 15, with Kyler Wettlaufer finishing sixth in 18:49, Alonso Hernandez placing eighth in 18:49.02, and Paul Fonseca earning 12th place in 19:07.
Other O’Neill runners included Tyson Becker, 20th; Lane Dougherty, 26th; Jase Sanders, 32nd; Brock Latzel, 33rd; Alex Otte, 41st; Evan Cole, 42nd; Alex Nelson, 74th; Gavin Kruse, 77th; Liam Kennedy, 78th; Kaleb Asche, 83rd; and Tucker Cook, 85th.
With four medalists and a deep group of runners contributing to the team score, the Eagles got their season off to an excellent start.
Junior High Girls Take Third
The O’Neill junior high girls also finished third as a team. Josie Troester led the Eagles by earning a third-place medal.
Other O’Neill finishers were Madison Wettlaufer, 12th; Erandi Pantogo, 14th; Aiyana Brown, 30th; Madia Sanchez, 38th; Remi Kurtz, 39th; Mya McCormick, 40th; Ruby Jackson, 41st; Humaya Hernandez, 48th; and Elizabeth Trejo, 52nd.
Junior High Boys Place Third
The junior high boys rounded out the team performances with a third-place finish. The Eagles had two individual medalists, led by Nolan Jessen in seventh place and Leo Calvo in ninth.
Other O’Neill runners included Coltyn Romesser, 31st; Charlie Kaufman, 38th; Alvaro Garcia, 43rd; Justin Luzania, 44th; Bennett Phillips, 46th; Hector Garcia, 48th; and Lars Miner, 50th.