The O’Neill Eagles traveled to Kearney to compete in the highly competitive UNK Cross Country Invitational, where the boys faced one of the largest Class C fields of the season. With 40 Class C schools represented and 399 runners finishing the boy’s race, O’Neill turned in a strong team performance, placing sixth overall. Only 17 Class C schools from across the state were not represented at the meet.

Senior Max Berg led the Eagles, finishing 31st overall, followed closely by senior Paul Fonseca in 32nd. Freshman Kyler Wettlaufer continued his strong season with a 37th-place finish, while Alonso Luna Hernandez placed 57th.

The Eagles also received strong efforts from the remainder of the team. Jordani Perez finished 104th, Tyson Becker 126th, David Garcia 169th, Brock Latzel 182nd, Alex Otte 214th, Lane Dougherty 229th, Jase Sanders 233rd, Evan Cole 268th, and Angel Sanchez 271st.

Three O’Neill girls also competed in the meet. No team score was kept for the Eagles, but Kiarra Kennedy earned a medal by placing 17th in the field of 230 runners. Emma Bowder finished 125th, while Lynn Miner placed 208th. The top 20 individual finishers received medals.

Coach Hilker was pleased with the overall effort but knows the Eagles still have room to improve.

“I really felt like both teams ran better, even with a couple of individuals struggling to run to where they felt they needed to be. We need to have the mindset that we still can improve!”

The Eagles will return to competition Thursday at the West Holt Invitational. The first race is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. The West Holt course will be altered because of the rain the area has received.