RAPID CITY -- Taking home a trophy on Saturday would be welcome, but for many teams, simply getting to Hart Ranching Camping Resort healthy is the first goal. It’s the home of the state cross country meet, which begins with the Class B girls race at 10:30 a.m. Central.

“You could get a phone call and say someone was close contact and the whole team chance is gone, or it could impact the whole team,” Freeman Academy/Marion coach Suzanne Koerner said. “Just want to get there and be healthy. I’m not too worried about what’s going to happen. I just want to get there.”

The Bearcats took home the Region 3B title on the boys side, with Platte-Geddes and Mitchell Christian also qualifying. Burke edged Kimball/White Lake by one point on the girls side, while Platte-Geddes also qualified for the state meet.

Region 3B has been a quality measure of talent in the past. The Burke boys won the Class B state title last year, as Platte-Geddes and Freeman Academy/Marion both finished in the top five. There were three Region 3B girls teams in the top 10 at last year’s state meet, as well.

“I think Kimball/White Lake will be coming with a great team. Platte-Geddes has been right behind us all season,” Burke coach Laurie Kenzy said. “This region is tough. You come out of this region and you’re sitting pretty. This is always a tough region, so you’re probably contenders if you come out of this region.”

Led by first-place finisher Hallie Person, who took third place at state last year, Burke had three runners in the top-10 at the girls region meet. Kimball/White Lake was the only other team to place three in the top 10.

Freeman Academy/Marion has set itself up strong, as well, with three runners in the top-11 at the region meet. Titus Roesler topped Bon Homme’s Nate Hall to win the region meet by 43 seconds. Hall placed ninth and Roesler took 10th at state last year. Mitchell Christian’s Nathanael Anderberg and Max Reynen pace the Golden Eagles.

“I suppose top five would be a really good goal,” Roesler said. “Hopefully I improve -- last year I was 10th.”

In Region 2B, Canistota’s Kara Roshone paced the Hawks with a second-place finish, despite finishing in 89th at state a year ago. Howard’s Emma Neises, who took 10th at state, also earned a top-five placing.

On the boys side, Canistota had the individual winner in Josiah Schroeder. He is looking to improve on last year’s 16th-place finish. Teammate Connor Hutcheson earned seventh at the region meet, too.

Chamberlain girls eye top-three finish

RAPID CITY -- The Chamberlain High School cross-country team hopes to make the next step today at the state meet.

Last season, the Cubs captured third place in the Class A portion of the state cross-country meet. Armed with top-15 finishers from last season -- Allison Hough and Kinsey Evans -- Chamberlain should be in the mix once again.

“Last couple of years we finished in third place,” Chamberlain coach Holly Evans said. “We would like to be ahead of that. It will be tough when you are competing against Hill City, Custer, Sioux Falls Christian.”

Last season, Hough came in fourth place at state and Evans finished in 13th place. At the recent Region 4A meet, Evans placed second and Hough finished third. Evans covered the 5,000-meter distance in 19-minutes and :50 seconds, while Hough clocked in at 20:45.

“They both have years of experience at the state meet,” Holly Evans said. “So I am excited for them to be able to go compete as well as with the rest of their team.”

The Chamberlain girls won the region team title, with Aine Graesser (fourth) and Kylah Biggins (fifth) also powering the team title.

Individually, Lennox’s Ali Bainbridge returns after winning last year’s state title. Hill City’s Abby Cutler and Lead-Deadwood’s Sara Jones also return after finishing second and third, respectively.

Chamberlain’s Dominic Santiago paces the boys team. He’s coming off the Region 4A title and is hoping for better results than last year’s state meet. Santiago, who entered last season’s race with the top region time, suffered an Achilles injury during the event and finished in 68th place.

Evans said a top-10 finish is a realistic goal for Santiago, adding that’s also Chamberlain’s Declan Tveit goal for state.

“I know that’s been his goal is to be a medal winner,” Evans said. “So we have a little work to do this week and recovery to make sure everybody stays healthy.”

Winner Area’s Kade Watson took second in the Region 4A meet, while he also finished seventh at state last season.