By 605 Sports Staff

SIOUX FALLS — At Saturday’s Nike Heartland cross-country race held at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, two South Dakota prep athletes stood tall. 

Saturday’s meet featured elite runners from all over the upper midwest. 

Hill City’s Luke Rupert won the boys race covering the 5,000-meter course in 15 minutes :16.16 seconds, ahead of Minnetonka, Minnesota’s Sean Fries (15:26) and Norfolk, Nebraska’s Isaac Ochoa (15:26). Grady Loos of Rapid City Stevens (15:36) and Bismarck, North Dakota’s Owen Hintz (15:39) rounded out the top-five finishers. 

In the girls race O’Gorman’s Libby Castelli claimed the title running the 5,000-meter course in 17:31, finishing ahead of Spearfish’s Peyton VanDeest (17:47) and Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide (17:59). Rapid City Stevens’s Kandance Holso was the next South Dakotan to finish, coming across the line in (18:34) to claim sixth place. 

The Sioux Falls Christian girls won the team championship scoring 100 points to edge Harrisburg who scored 105 points. 

Top South Dakota boys teams: 4. Sioux Falls Lincoln, 173; 5. Rapid City Stevens. 199; 6. Hill City, 216; 7. Sioux Falls Christian, 250; 8. Sioux Falls Washington 258; 9. Brookings 263; 11. Rapid City Central, 283; 14. Sturgis 310; 15. Philip, 398. 

Top South Dakota girls teams: 1. Sioux Falls Christian, 100; 2. Harrisburg, 105; 4. Rapid City Stevens, 128; 6. Sioux Falls Lincoln. 176; 8. Chamberlain, 205; 9. Hill City, 214; 10. Sturgis, 234; 13. Tea Area, 283; 15. Rapid City Central, 396; 16. Canton, 414. 

Top South Dakota boys results: 1. Luke Rupert, Hill City, 15:16; 4. Grady Loos, Rapid City Stevens, 15:36; 10. Miles Lechtenberg, Sioux Falls Lincoln 15:49; 11. Ty Petroco, Sturgis, 15:53; 12. Leighton Aves, Hill City, 15:57; 15. Quin Brunch, Sturgis, 16:03; 17. Tate Grabow, Hill City, 16:06; 19. Bennett Wassenaar, Sioux Falls Christian, 16:10; 20. Nathan Thompson, Sioux Falls Lincoln; 21. Miles Brekhus, Rapid City Stevens, 16:10; 23. Kieran Weigelt, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 16:12; 27. Cole Reilly, Sioux Falls Washington, 16:15; 28. Ernest Ting, Brookings, 16:17; 29. Blake Maas, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 16:17; 30. Joseph Levesque, Sioux Falls Lincoln, 16:19; 34. Levi Vander Leest, 16:28. 

 Top South Dakota girls results: 1. Libby Castelli, O’Gorman, 17:31; 2. Peyton VanDeest, Spearfish, 17:47; 3. Ella Boekelheide, Northwestern, 17:59; 6. Kadance Holso, Rapid City Stevens, 18:34; 7. Abby Cutler Hill City, 18:43; 8. Sadie Pettengill, Sioux Falls Christian, 18:46; 9. Gracie Uhre, Stevens, 18:46; 10. Hannah Genrich, Harrisburg, 18:52; 11. Kinsey Evans, Chamberlain. 18:54; 14. Ellie Maddox, Sioux Falls Christian, 19:16; 15. Jerica Glasser, Sioux Falls Christian, 19:17; 16. Rarity Cournoyer, Red Cloud, 19:17; 17. Kori Keil, Spearfish, 19:18; 18. Jaycie Babb, Tea Area, 19:20; 20. Emery Larson, 19:23; 22. Autumn Baker, Kimball/White Lake, 19:28; 23. Grace Philips, Chamberlain, 19:29; 25. Autumn Gilhody Harrisburg, 26. Brinna Sheldon, Rapid City Stevens, 19:38; 27. Heidi Olson, Mobridge-Pollock, 19:39.