Boscobel runners took the first place individual wins for both boys and girls cross country teams at the home meet held on the Ryan Zimpel Memorial Cross County course Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 6.

The boys’ team took first overall with Dakota Kauffman leading the boys pack, finishing in first with 16:14.6. Kauffman set a new record for both the course and the meet with this performance.

He was followed by Jordon Molzof in sixth place with 17:23.1; Seth Laxton in eighth with 17:25.4; Noah Toye in 12th with 18:35.6; and Dakota Kull in 15th with 18:40.1.

The girls’ team placed second overall, coming in behind the state’s second ranked team, Westby.

Mackenzie Kauffman led the girls, finishing first in 20:18.1. She was followed by Molly Pegram in fifth place with 21:53.6; Rachel Davis in seventh with 22:04.9; Abby Manning in 12th with 22:21.5; and Leah Wacker in 14th place with 22:39.5.

“I was really impressed with the performance of our runners, all of whom shaved off anywhere from one to four minutes from their first competition on the course this year,” said coach Skyler Reynolds. “We saw this in both our varsity and JV runners.”

This was the first competition for the team in 10 days. They were able to take Homecoming Week off, which the coach saw as a positive.

“There was really great energy in the school, and I think it was important for them to be able to participate fully,” Reynolds said. “That said, they were still very focused at practice and I think they showed a lot of excitement to be back in the race this week.”

The coach expects to see the best times coming in at the end of the month. Progress from practice and competition is where he expects it to be, Reynolds noted.

The Bulldogs ran against Westby, Prairie du Chein, North Crawford, Fennimore, Iowa-Grant/Highland, Kickapoo/LaFarge, Riverdale, Southwestern/Benton/Cuba City, Wauzeka-Steuben, and Tri-State Homeschool.

The Boscobel cross country teams will next run at the Riverdale REMS Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 9 a.m.