BELLE FOURCHE - If the hilly terrain didn't take enough of a toll on runners at Thursday's Belle Fourche Invitational cross-country run, the late summer heat certainly did.
Sunny skies and mid-afternoon temperatures approaching 90 degrees greeted runners at the Belle Fourche Country Club.
"It was really hot," said Justin Wermers of Newcastle, Wyo., after striding past Belle Fourche's Colten Njos for a 24-second victory in the boys varsity 5,000-meter run.
"It's always tough in the heat," he said.
Wermers trailed Njos by 20 yards midway through the run, but gritted his way to the front.
"I just stayed focused and kept pushing myself a little harder than he was," Wermers said, "I came out with a strong determination."
Trailing Njos were James Grimsrud of St. Thomas More, Dan Watson of Hot Springs, and Devin Dickey of Newcastle.
Wermers and Dickey led the Dogies to a six-point advantage over Hot Springs for the team title. Douglas, Bowman County, N.D., and Hulett-Sundance, Wyo., rounded out the top five.
Njos has been running four-kilometer distances to rehab a hip injury suffered at last year's state meet. Tuesday's meet was one of the first 5-kilometer distances he has run this season.
"I just keep pushing myself," Njos said of dealing with the heat and the distance.
"I thought I would get first," he said. "I'm really mad."
The girls varsity run was something of a homecoming for former Cheyenne-Eagle Butte standout Jordan Wohlleber, now of Hulett-Sundance.
Wohlleber finished more than
1 minute, 19 seconds ahead of
second-place Bailey Eich.
"I was surprised by the heat. At first when I was warming up, I thought it would be incredibly hard, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Wohlleber said. "I noticed a little bit on the second lap that my legs started to feel like jello, but I still had a good kick at the end."
Eich moved up several spots in the downhill stretch for the finish line.
Eich and teammate Myrissa Clark kept pace for most of the race as a workout for a meet this weekend at Augustana College in Sioux Falls.
"We kind of packed it in and held back, but coach said if I felt good at about the 400 mark, I should pick it up for the finish," Eich said. "At the end I just sprinted down the hill for the finish."
Leah Deering of Custer was third, with Baillie Mutchler of Sturgis fourth.
Fifth-place Kelsey Senden led four teammates in the top 15 to give Spearfish the team title, followed by Custer, Douglas, St. Thomas More and Hill City. Elise Reed was seventh, with Nicole Lamb 13th and Aimee Owen 14th for Spearfish.
