It was the Oskaloosa girls and Pleasant Ridge boys cross country teams that took home the NEKL Titles in 2023 on Thursday hosted by Jackson Heights. 

GIRLS: Oskaloosa had three of the top four finishes including the individual champion in Katelyn Vogel with a time of 20:58.34. Taylor Peterson finished in third place and Emma Vogel finished in fourth place. 

Brooklyn Schmelzle of Valley Falls finished in second place while Alexis Blackard of Pleasant Ridge finished in fifth place. 

Rounding out the top 10 runners were Bailey Jenkins of Jefferson County North, Rebekah Caplinger of ACCHS, Katie Peterson of Oskaloosa, Clare Trotter of Maur Hill-Mount Academy, and Ava Handke of ACCHS. 

ACCHS finished in second place behind Oskaloosa in the team standings followed by Valley Falls in third place, Pleasant Ridge in fourth place, Jefferson County North in fifth place, and Jackson Heights in sixth place. 

BOYS: Jefferson County North finished with the top two runners as it was Lucas Meredith who won the individual title with a time of 17:24.59 followed by his teammate Isaac Kane in second place. 

Federico Boccolari of Oskaloosa finished in third place, Nate Linck of Jackson Heights finished in fourth place, and Cooper Wischropp of Horton finished in fifth place. 

Rounding out the top 10 runners were Andrew Stewart of Pleasant Ridge, Coben Hoppe of Pleasant Ridge, Grayson Coleman of Valley Falls, Hank Lance of Pleasant Ridge, and Max Kane of Jefferson County North. 

Jefferson County North finished second place in the team standings behind Pleasant Ridge followed by Horton in third place, McLouth in fourth place, and Jackson Heights in fifth place.