-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Anthony Valles of St. Edmond compete in the boys 5k run during NCC Conference on Tuesday at Lakeside Golf Course

Anthony Valles went out and dominated the North Central Conference boys cross country meet here Tuesday at Lakeside Golf Course.

After getting an early glimpse at the layout last week during the Fort Dodge Invitational, the St. Edmond runner blitzed the rest of the field, crossing home in 16:46.7 for the title.

Teammate Liam Shannon was second overall as the 14th-ranked (Class 1A) Gaels placed third as a team behind Clear Lake and Algona. Shannon had a time of 17:37 with Webster City’s Justin Callahan scoring bronze.

Last year, Algona claimed team gold followed by Clear Lake and St. Edmond. The Bulldogs were seeking a fifth conference title overall.

Webster City was fourth overall followed by Humboldt, Iowa Falls-Alden and Hampton-Dumont/CAL.

Valles joins two-time race winner Aaron Lursen, Harrison Mayer and Cody Solverson as past champions from St. Edmond. Lursen won each of the two most recent races while Mayer captured his gold at Lakeside.

“That is some pretty strong company for Anthony,” SEHS head coach Mike Szalat said. “He had quite the performance. We felt like he had a great shot at winning the race, but this was the first time he’s gone out and really hasn’t had anybody to run with him.”

The remaining five Gael runners all placed inside the Top-33 with Thomas Cosgrove earning 14th in 18:31. Levi Odor-Westrum was 23rd in 19:12 followed by Thomas Knobbe in 27th (19:57), Erik Larson in 32nd (20:27) and Jonah Carlson in 33rd (20:37).

“Liam has a lot of talent and he really put together a strong race,” Szalat said. “Thomas (Cosgrove) had a really good meet and was within striking distance of his PR I know he’s been frustrated this year, so it was good to see him have a race like this.

“Our gap continues to get better and five of the seven had a PR so that’s a great night.”

Szalat also pointed out that between the boys and girls, five of the 16 runners made the all-NCC team.

“That’s pretty impressive considering the field and size of the other schools we are going against,” he said. “It really is a credit to the way these kids work and how much time and effort they put in.”

All five counting scorers for Clear Lake placed in the Top-10 with the sixth and seventh runners also coming across in the Top-24. Algona had its five counters in the Top-15 and all seven in the Top-25.

For Algona, Isaac Wilson and Gavin Weber each cracked the Top-10, with Wilson placing seventh in 18:09 and Weber eighth in 18:10. Ryley Riggert was 11th followed by Barrett Morgan in 12th. Jace Mortensen finished 15th, Joseph Ricklefs was 18th and Brenden Lucas 25th.

Along with Callahan’s third, Aiden Rahe finished 16th and Jack Barner was 17th. Kyzer Zinnel placed 36th, Owen Patterson was 39th, Kaden Peterson 47th and Leland Eggers 48th.

Humboldt’s top finisher was Justin Ash who placed 19th in 18:53. Jaden Himrod finished in 22nd, Gabe Thumma was 26th, Hayden Hansen 28th, Peyton Van Pelt 30th, Carson Chambers 35th and Austin Little 38th.

The next time St. Edmond heads into action will be at the 1A state-qualifier hosted by South Hardin on Thursday, Oct. 19. Joining the Gaels will be Baxter, BCLUW, Belle Plaine, BGM, Colo-Nesco, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, GMG, HLV, Iowa Valley, Meskawaki Settlement, Montezuma, North Butler, North Mahaska, North Tama, Pekin, South Hamilton and Waterloo Christian.

Algona, Humboldt and Webster City will all compete on Wednesday, Oct. 18 in Spencer in a 3A qualifier.