RAPID CITY — A sunny day, combined with a new, flat course, added up to several class records being broken Saturday at the S.D. High School Activities Association’s State Cross Country Meet.
For the first time, the meet was run at the Hart Ranch Golf Course south of Rapid City.
The relatively flat course, surrounded by hills, kept the wind to a minimum as more than 300 high school runners competed in the final cross country meet of the season.
Class A
Boys
On a day of top-flight performances, non topped the effort by West Central runner Derick Peters. Peters successfully defended the title he won last year at Broadland Creek Golf Course and finished the 5,000 meter course in a time of 15:06.20 to easily win the race while also smashing the mark for the fastest race since 1999.
West Central won the boys’ title, led by Peters’ record-breaking performance, with 34 points. Custer was second with 54, and S.F. Christian finished third with 61. Locally, Redfield-Doland finished in 15th place in the team race, with 249 points.
Peters was followed across the finish line by Alex Atwood of Beresford, while younger brother Braden Peters was third.

Girls
West River teams dominated the team standings in the girls’ Class “A” race, as Hill City totaled 33 points to claim the title. Custer was again second in the team race, with 64 points, while St. Thomas More finished third with 67.

Individually, Cait Savey of Beresford broke the tape in a time of 18:35.75, topping the best Class “A” girls time by nearly a full second. Karlee Simmons of Hill City was second, and Maddie Lavin of Vermillion was third. In all, Hill City placed four runners in the top 16 to claim the title.

Class B
Boys
The Class “B” boys team title went to Ipswich, as the Tigers edged runner up Freeman Academy-Marion by three points. Burke-South Central was third and Warner was fourth. James Valley Christian, in its bid to three-peat as Class “B” champions, finished in fifth place.
Daniel Burkharter of Bison finished in 15:41.27 to take the title by more than a minute of runner up Kray Person of Burke-South Central. Aaron Voigt of Gregory was third.
Locally, Darrian Hood led the JVC effort with a ninth place finish, while Sunshine Bible Academy had a pair of runners finish in the top 30 - Jace Burma was 14th, and Christopher Hass finished in 27th place.
Girls
Delaney Leber of Newell led the Irrigators to the team title, as she was the individual medalist, in a time of 19:52.33. Deubrook Area’s Josie Olsey was second, and 2015 state titlewinner Aleah Steger of Ipswich was third.
Newell took the team title with a meet-low 22 points on the day. Ipswich was second with 38 points and Deubrook Area finished third. James Valley Christian finished in 12th place in the team race on Saturday, led by Madelynn Brantner’s 18th place finish.

Class AA
Boys
The Class AA team race was the closest competition on Saturday.
Both S.F. Lincoln and S.F. Washington placed five runners in the top 13 of the race, but in the end, it was S.F. Washington emerging with the team title 37 to 38 for its cross-town rival.
S.F. O’Gorman was a distant third in the race with 115 points.
Individually, Lincoln’s Jack Elliot took medalist honors, crossing the line in 16:09.73 and edging Jackson Harrison of Aberdeen Central. Washington’s Bonheur Mvuyekure was third.
Girls
As she has for most of the season, Brookings runner Allie Abraham found herself in front, all alone on Saturday, cruising to a record-setting time of 18:23.48 and winning the medalist honors.
Last year’s title winner Courtney Klatt of S.F. Lincoln was second, and Aberdeen Central runner Melanie Jacobs was third.
Brandon Valley took the team title in a hotly contested battle. The Lynx finished with 99 points, while Lincoln has 104 and Aberdeen ended with 109. Huron finished in 16th place in the final team standings.
Full results can be found at sdhsaa.com.