Boys Town
Boys Town, NE

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Boys Town Cross Country Team
Wins Third Consecutive
District Championship

The Boys Town High School Varsity Boys Cross Country Team celebrated its third district championship in three years on Thursday, Oct. 14. This year's District Cross Country Meet also saw Boys Town host for the first time ever.

The team scored a total of 39 points, just four points less than Arlington High School (the lowest score wins). A maximum of six boys and six girls were allowed to represent Boys Town.

Boys Town recently hosted its first District Cross Country Meet.

Individually, team members Roger, Misael and Adam finished in the top 10 with 6th, 8th and 9th place, respectively. Stephanie from the Boys Town High School Varsity Girls Cross Country Team also placed, taking 12th place as the girls' team took 5th place overall.

Ron Stargel, Boys Town Cross Country Coach, said all six of the boys had improved their times before the District Meet. He knew the boys' race would be close and that the runners would have to improve to beat their rivals.

"When the [boys'] race was over, I didn't think we won," he said. "I thought Arlington had us, I really did. I was surprised. I was really proud of the kids, and they were really excited."
Stargel was proud of the girls' team, too, even though it didn't qualify for State this year. The awards ceremony took place immediately afterwards, where the top three teams and top 15 individual runners in the Class C-1 division were recognized and qualified for the State Cross Country Meet to be held in Kearney, Neb., on Friday, Oct. 21.

Dr. Bob Reznicek, Boys Town's Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, said Boys Town will consider hosting the District Cross Country Meet again if the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) asks.

"We felt we have a challenging course that is spectator-friendly," Reznicek said. "The meet takes an enormous amount of extra work by many, many people and I believe things ran very smoothly [Thursday]."

Reznicek estimated about 350 people attended the meet, which was planned by several Athletic Department personnel members and cross country coaches, along with Boys Town maintenance, grounds, painting and plumbing staff who "lent a hand to get things in 'tip-top' condition." The Boys Town Cheerleaders helped present the individual medals during the awards ceremony.

Stargel said coaches from rival schools were pleased with the course and made several comments about the meet's efficiency and the welcome attitude Boys Town presented.

"Our kids compete with character," he said. "I said, 'Make sure you get up and down the line, talk with these other kids.' I think we did a great job of that, and when we lined up for awards, our kids actually got handshakes and hugs. [When they were] going hard against somebody, that kind of interaction in the awards line was really good to see."

The coaches will prepare the runners on Monday and Tuesday in one last training routine before cutting back on workouts to keep well-rested and ready to go. The team will leave at 6:30 a.m. Friday. Stephanie will compete at noon and the boys' team will race at 1 p.m.

Stargel said the week will be an exciting one, with plenty of good competition.

"We were third in the state last year out of twelve, so I'm hoping for just the top four or six finish," Stargel said. "Anything after that is gravy. So we'll just do our best and hopefully just improve a little bit more this week, and just go out there are have some fun."