Brothers Ely and Lance Olberding left their house on the way to school Thursday morning and knew it was going to be a good day at the Fort Calhoun Invite.
They were getting a cool cross-country race at Fort Atkinson, not a sweltering hot 5 kilometers.
“You don't get this lucky very often,” Ely said of his Pioneers' typically warm event.
Coach Kyle McMahon's FCHS boys took advantage, too, besting second-place Arlington by eight places. Coach Michaela Curran's Eagle girls, meanwhile, edged the third-place Pioneers behind first-place Douglas County West.
Individually, Olberding finished second to Platteview's AJ Raszler, who ran the 5K course in 16:32.9. The second-place Calhoun senior clocked in at 16:48.2, while AHS' Nolan May was third in 16:49.1 and Lance Olberding was fourth in 16:53.4.
Ely Olberding said he took advantage of the steep, tree-covered hill on the east end of Fort Atkinson to earn his spot.
“We don't run the hill that often, but, when we do, it's just a mental edge on our opponents,” he said. “We try and be mentally tough in those situations.”
Arlington's Kevin Flesner notched a fifth-place finish in 17:23.4, while the Eagles' Kolby Tighe (12th), Luke Hammang (13th) and John Morrison (15th) also notched top-15 results. Dallin Franzluebbers was 18th, too.
The Pioneers' Travis Skelton took ninth in 17:39.6 as well. Will Dennis and Lawson Tjardes then placed 10th and 11th in 17:40.6 and 17:41.2, respectively, ahead of Gage Nixon in 21st. Their combined efforts helped the Olberding brothers' team to the meet title.
“It's just an honor to race with those guys,” Ely Olberding said.
On the girls' side, Arlington senior Keelianne Green topped teammate Hailey O'Daniel by 29 seconds for first place. The senior, who stopped the clock at 19:11, also felt much better running under cloudy skies.
“I would like it to be a little chillier, but it's so great coming from 90 degree weather,” Green said.
The Eagle battled the same Fort Atkinson incline as the Olberdings for her win.
“That hill is a great challenge,” Green said. “I really like it because it is in the perfect part of the race. It's not right at the beginning. It's right at the end. You get to it and it's really quick to the finish.”
O'Daniel finished in 19:40, while the 17th-place AHS runner — Brynn Eckhart — clocked in at 21:56.8. Whitney Wollberg was 20th, Kelise Cook-Krivohlavek was 22nd and Kynlea Kleveland took 40th.
Bria Bench, meanwhile, led Calhoun in third with a time of 19:48.9. Kaitlyn Thalman added a ninth-place result in 21:17.8 and Bella McLaughlin crossed the finish line in 21:29.7 for 11th.
Dala Drowne added a 19th-place effort ahead of Harley Schwarte in 23rd and Emily Barta in 24th.
The Pioneers' Ella Bouwman was also the top junior varsity finisher in the girls' race, while Kylie Perfetti was third. Seth Waters, meanwhile, led the FCHS JV boys in fifth.
“Fort Calhoun, this is the place to be, man,” Ely Olberding said. “Look at the community here, supporting us.”
