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Noecker wins State Cross country title

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KEARNEY — Hartington-Newcastle freshman cross country runner Carson Noecker inked his name in the state and local record books last week.

Noecker is the new State Class C boys cross country champion. He is the first local athlete to ever earn the title.

The Cedar Catholic student, who runs for the co-op Wildcat team, led the field and won in dominating fashion.

It was a familiar scene as Noecker outdistanced Pierce runner Nate Sindelar for the title. The duo have battled for gold all year long, with Noecker winning all but one of those headto-head match-ups.

Noecker ran a 16:02.96 and dominated the field by 13-plus seconds.

He led the Wildcats to eighth place in the team standings at Friday’s state finals meet at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

“I think he was favored to win the race and I was told it was the fastest any freshman boy has run that course,” Wildcats head coach Mandy Hochstein said. “He looked smooth and comfortable. He runs his own race and doesn’t need to take the lead right away. He didn’t until the first mile marker. Carson runs well and it’s all heart. He’s a natural runner who has run a long time with his family.”

The Wildcat boys finished with runs by Brayden Kathol (18:00.61), Dagen Joachimsen (18:41.17), Cole Noecker (19:27.93), Chase Lammers (19:42.66) and Bode Noecker (19:50.08) to finish with a positive result.

Carson Noecker was able to see what he would be able to do at state after a strong performance at the Kearney Invitational earlier in the season where he won against a similarly deep field.

Hochstein was very pleased with the team’s result at the state finals.

“We were really thinking we would get in there a little higher because when we sat and looked at it, we thought we could get up to five or the top three,” she said. “We did that two years ago with very similar runners. But you’ve got the top 15 runners from every district and there might be eight kids from each district that are just individuals.

“All of the boys who ran, pretty much ran PRS and gave good races. They were disappointed that we only got eighth as a team, but you can’t be when you run the best times you have ever run. The competition gets tougher and tougher every year as the numbers grow.”

Senior Sara Riefenrath wrapped up her career with a 28th place run (21:16.8), as the Wildcats lone girl entrant.

“She is a trackster who is very talented, and she went out and ran a good race,” said Hochstein

“To start that race alone on the starting blocks is crazy. She ran quite a bit better than she did at the Kearney Invitational. She’s run some great races over all four years and has been very consistent.

“I don’t know if she ran her best race, but there are so many different factors. She ran a smart race and she ran her race,” said Hochstein.

All told, the Hartington-Newcastle program added a strong chapter to its long history.

“It was a great season,” Hochstein said. “There were a lot of team accomplishments throughout the whole season. Our district was loaded, and it was very competitive for the girls.

“The boys ran hard, and they trained hard. Overall, it was a very successful season for both the boys and girls.”

With Thursday’s state title win, Noecker has the potential to make a strong four-year run at State.

Hartington finishers

1 Carson Noecker, 16:02.96; 2. 27 Brayden Kathol, 18:00.61; 3. 40 Dagen Joachimsen. 61 Cole Noecker, 19:27.93; 5 ( 63) Chase Lammers, 19:42.66; 6 ( 65) Bode Noecker, 19:50.08.

Class C Boys

1. 43 Aurora; 2. 51 Malcolm; 3. 60 Sidney; 4. 73 Mitchell; 5. 81 Milford ;

6. 121 Douglas County; 7. 126 Wahoo;

8. 129 Hartington; 9. 135 Columbus Scotus, 10. 139 O’Neill, 11. 167 Broken Bow, 12. 170 Boys Town.

1. Carson Noecker, Hartington; 16:03.0

2. Mason Sindelar, Pierce, 16:16.3; 3. WilliamAnderson, Gothenburg,16:51.9;

4. John Swotek, Malcolm,16:56.7; 5. Dylan Riley, Aurora,17:00.7; 6. Daniel Bashtovoi, Sidney, 17:01.9; 7. Kane Fiala, Aurora, 17:02.9; 8. Elliott Reitz, Milford, 17:05.2; 9. Ashtyn Martin, Mitchell, 17:05.7; 10. Brady Thompson, O’Neill, 17:07.3. 11.Caden Knutson,Mitchell,17:08.5;12. Gabriel Estrada, Cozad, 17:11.6 ; 13. Ty Brockhaus,Malcolm,17:16.1; 14. Cameron Brauer, Sidney, 17:17.3; 15. Ryan McArdle, Douglas County West, 17:17.7.

16. Noah Kubat, Arlington, 17:24.3; 17 Luke Bonifas, Adams Central,17:28.4;

18. Dillon Beach, Malcolm, 17:32.0; 19. Lane Russell, Broken Bow, 17:34.6;

20. Max Wiarda, Aurora, 17:37.8.

21. Eric Iniguez-Jauregui, Minden,17:38.4; 22. Michael Gasper, Columbus Scotus, 17:39.8. 23. Bradley Schindel, Boone Central/Newman Grove, 17:41.0; 24. Grant Crockett, Wahoo, 17:42.4 5:42 25 Joshua Graber, Wahoo, 17:42.8; 26 Brandon Mitzel, West Point-Beemer, 17:48.8;

27. Nathan Burch, Chadron, 17:49.6; 28 Lance Olberding, Fort Calhoun, 17:50.5;