2026 Cross Country at Niobrara Valley Conference
October 14, 2026
October 8, 2026 was a great day to be a Spartan as the Boyd County Cross Country Team headed back to Ainsworth to compete in the Niobrara Valley Conference meet. NVC honors are determined by placings. Medals one through ten are considered All Conference Honors and medals eleven through fifteen are All Conference Honorable Mention.
The varsity girls stepped onto the course for the first race of the afternoon. Senior Kaci Koenig led the Lady Spartans to the finish. K Koenig ran the 5000 meter course in 24:22 for 7th place. She was almost a minute faster on the course compared to running in Ainsworth at the beginning of September. Next in for the Lady Spartans was freshman Savannah Zeisler. Zeisler took over a minute and a half off her September time placing 10th with a 26:01 time. Trina Bennett, freshman, grabbed the 13th place medal with a time of 27:28. Following closely behind Bennett was senior Addi Janousek who took over two minutes off her previous time in Ainsworth this season. Janousek placed 14th with a time of 27:42. The last Lady Spartan took nearly four minutes off her September time, Corinna Reiser placed 19th with a time of 34:46. The Lady Spartans finished as NVC Runner Up in the team competition! Ainsworth took home the Championship plaque with 14 points, Boyd County tied for second with Niobrara/Verdigre with 17 points, but the Boyd County 4th runner, known as the pusher, broke the tie giving the runner up plaque to Boyd County.
The varsity boys found themselves in a similar situation. The boy’s team also claimed the NVC Runner Up plaque. The boys competed hard against a strong Ainsworth team. Ainsworth won the meet with 14 points and Boyd County had 15 points. Individually the boys had great races as well. Junior Aidyn Garwood placed 3rd with a time of 19:31. Hayden Warnke, sophomore, ran in the chute for 5th place in a time of 20:10, and freshman Case Reiman placed 8th with a 20:43.
The junior high girls were next to lace up their shoes. Their course was the longest of the season, 3000 meters. Baleigh Koenig, 8th grader, continued her competitive streak winning the junior high girls race with a time of 13:23. Fellow 8th grader Kyra Reiser also competed hard and claimed 11th place with a time of 18:17. In the boy’s race 8th grader Gage Schochenmaier picked up the 6th place medal with a time of 12:37. 7th grader Asher Bruggeman came through the finish with a time of 13:44 in 13th place. This was the last junior high race for those not competing at the junior state meet.
Congratulations to the Spartans on their team and individual success! The varsity runners will race again in district competition on Thursday, October 15th at 3pm.
