On Thursday, Oct. 5, the girls’ varsity and JV cross-country team competed at the Metro XC championships, leaving with many placers, which has been a common theme for them this season. They competed against Bellevue East, Bellevue West, Creighton Preparatory School, Elkhorn South, Gretna, Gretna East, Millard North, Millard South, Omaha Benson, Omaha Bryan, Omaha Buena Vista, Omaha Burke, Omaha Central, Omaha Marian, Omaha North, Omaha Northwest, Omaha South, Omaha Westside, Papillion-La Vista, Papillion-La Vista South and Westview.
The varsity girls had nine girls enter the race and ended up with three placing in the top 15. Junior Kate Ebmeier led the pack for Millard West, winning third place overall and first place for Millard West with a time of 19 minutes and 41 seconds. She is now ranked the sixth fastest in the state. Following Ebmeier, freshman Libby Frazer won 10th place overall with a time of 20 minutes and 12 seconds. The team won first place overall, which has been something that occurs often for them this season.
“Personally, I knew who I needed to be with and get ahead of in order to compete well in this race,” Ebmeier said. “A lot of the top runners in the state were there, so I was definitely nervous, but I knew that if I stuck to my plan and ran smart I would be happy with the results. I was very excited to end up finishing third.”
McKlem has shown time and time again her talent since she joined the XC team freshman year. She has improved by 4 minutes and 39 seconds from the metro meet last year to the metro meet this year. At this year’s metro meet, she crossed the finish line placing 13th with a time of 20 minutes and 20 seconds. Mcklem currently holds the fourth fastest time ever for sophomores at Millard West, running a time of 19 minutes and 33 seconds.
“This race felt really good and I am excited to see how the team and I perform at Districts,” McKlem said. “I knew this was going to be a hard race and I had to mentally prepare myself that this wouldn’t be my best time based on the course and windy weather of that day. In the end, I was very happy with my race and I am really looking forward to Districts.”
The JV girls entered 15 girls into the meet, with four girls placing in the top 15, all breaking varsity times. Freshman Lucia Milone showed her strength as she placed first with a swift time of 21 minutes and 24 seconds. Just shy of Milone was sophomore Emily Scott, who placed second, with a time of 21 minutes and 36 seconds. Within one second of Scott was sophomore Sammie Amenta, who ran an astonishing 21 minutes and 37 seconds, placing third. The top five runners ran a spread within 13 seconds of each other. Placing fifth overall was freshman Natalie McGranaghan, running a time of 21 minutes and 55 seconds.
Milone has proven herself this year, as she is one of the fastest runners on the team as a freshman. At this meet, she won the JV race, outrunning everyone else and achieving her second-fastest time this season. All of her times this season have been under 23 minutes.
“I was running 22 minutes at the beginning of this season and now I am running 21s,” Milone said. “My teammates and coach have taught me that there is no such thing as too fast and that you can do it if you put your mind to it. Working with this team has really improved my mental strength and helped me become a better runner this season.”
The Wildcats have their District meet coming up on Oct. 12 at Pioneers Park, where they will compete against eight different schools and secure their spots for state.
