Girls cross country finishes as state runner-up

The girls cross country team finished as the runner-up at the State Championships on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Kearney Country Club. The Warriors recorded their best finish at state since 2008, when they placed third. Westside had three medalists among the top seven runners. Several school records were broken with the team’s second place performance. The Westside boys team also had a strong day at state and placed tenth.

Westside’s Stella Miner had the highest placement ever by a Warrior runner at the state meet. The junior finished as the state runner-up with a time of 18:30. Junior Claire White wasn’t far behind and placed third with a clocking of 18:45. Freshman Mia Urosevich competed in her first state cross country meet and finished in seventh place with a time of 19:11. After winning the Metro and District titles, head coach Theresa Gosnell was thrilled with the team’s best finish in school history. 

“I’m really excited for all the girls,” head coach Theresa Gosnell said. “They put in the work and got it done.”

The performances by each runner are history for Westside. The Warriors had three runners in the top ten, which had never been done before this year’s meet. White placed fifth as a freshman and third as a sophomore. This year White did not expect to finish among the top runners.

  “I was shocked to place third,” White said. “It really wasn’t something I was looking to get, so getting third two years in a row feels great.”

The team credits all the hard work they put in over the offseason for their success this season. The runners held early morning workouts at the school during the summer. 

“It’s really nice knowing everything we put in over the summer worked,” White said. “Three months of constant mileage, it really feels nice to have something to show for it.”

The spotlight this year is the girls runner-up finish, but the boys still had a solid season finishing in tenth place at state. Coach Gosnell said before the meet that the boys wanted to prove they were a top ten team in the state. 

“They went out there and worked their hardest,” Gosnell said. “They got what they worked for.” 

The best finish on the Westside boys team was junior Jayden Wall, who ended up with a time of 16:44 and took 14th place. The next best finishers were sophomores Connor Gross and Ryan Kugler. 

“State is always a fun experience to see how good you are against some of the best,” Wall said. “I’m aiming for a top ten finish next year.” 

Westside returns all of their cross country runners next year and will be a strong contender for a state championship.