On a hot and sunny Thursday morning, the Royals cross country teams took their talents to St. Olaf College at the St. Olaf High School Showcase meet. The Royals boys team went into the meet ranked 14 in the nation by DyeStat.com, a cross country ranking and statistics website, and with senior captain Owen Hoeft ranked second individual in state.

Hoeft broke through the finish of the five kilometer race in first, with a time of 16:18.9. Teammates Jack Henschel, Hunter Staack, and Sam Branson, seniors, finished third, fourth, and eighth, respectively. Eli Hoeft, freshman, came in 38th place as the Royals’ fifth fastest runner.

These finishes led the boys team to a winning cumulative score of 54, beating the second place team Hudson High School by 59 points.

Bit Klecker, junior, finished second overall in the girls meet with a time of 19:54.1. The girls team tied for second place with Perham High School, but Lily Den Hartog, sophomore, won the tiebreaker with a finish in 50 place.

On Sept. 10, the Royals will host the next meet at Gale Woods Farm for the Bauman Rovn Invitational.