Sunshine and mild temperatures, accompanied by typical northwesterly Nebraska winds, greeted Niobrara Valley Conference cross country partipcants, Thursday, as they descended on Summerland Golf Course for the annual conference meet.

North Central claimed the girls' team title, scoring 13 points, followed by West Holt, 21 and Elkhorn Valley 25.

Niobrara/Verdigre runner Delani Runnels claimed gold in the girls' race, finishing the 5K course in 19:59.

Carlee Livingston was the lone competitor for the Bobcats. She ran 26:36, finishing 24th in the field of 30.

Boyd County boys' team won its division, with 14 points. Elkhorn Valley finished as runners-up.

West Holt's Drew Martin completed the course in 17:44, finishing first.

LuAnn Schindler | SAM

Kiptyn Belzer and Jorden Cox run down the backstretch of the one-mile course at the conference cross country meet.

Zander Cepel represented the Bobcats, running 24:00. He finished 31st of 34 runners.

Junior high runners competed in separate races. Cadi Soper ran the one-mile course in 16:09, finishing 16th.

In the junior high boys' race, Kiptyn Belzer ended 21st, running 15:15. Jorden Cox ended 22nd, crossing the finish line in 15:23, while Isacc Meyer ended 23rd. He ran 17:10.

The season ends for the junior high racers.

The high school team will compete in district competition, Oct. 12, at Ainsworth Golf Course. Races are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.