ELDORA – Running on a cold, windy Saturday morning might not have been ideal for many of the competitors at the South Hardin Invitational, but it didn’t faze the Webster City squads one bit.

Maybe teeth chattering is the way to go.

Both the Lynx girls’ and boys’ squads turned in arguably their finest performances of the season at Pine Lake Golf and Country Club, as they brought home runner-up accolades.

The WCHS girls closed the gaps between its first and fifth runners en route to 86 points and a silver showing behind sixth-ranked (Class 2A) South Hardin (66 points) and ahead of third-place finisher and 13th-ranked (2A) East Marshall (101).

The WCHS boys ran an even tighter pack with just 22 seconds separating its first through fifth runners. The Lynx accumulated 66 points to sit behind only third-ranked (2A) East Marshall (45).

“Our girls had perhaps our best team race of the year,” WCHS head coach Tony Bussan said. “Our depth showed throughout the morning of excellent racing by the boys.”

Freshmen took the lead for the two crews; Haley Johnson jumped in front of Courtney Biere and crossed the finish line in 13th, while Tyler Bultena led the swarm of purple and gold with a 10th-place result.

Johnson completed the girls’ 4K race in 17:26. Bultena finished up the boys’ 5K in 18:52.

Biere didn’t let Johnson get too far away, as she came home in 17:36 to place 18th. Larae Ebrecht (17:46) was 10 seconds behind Biere in 21st, while Ashley Flaws and Cassidy Bultena scooped up the final two spots in the top 25 with matching clockings of 17:57.

“The difference in our ability to score was made by Cassidy Bultena, as she was able to stay with our pack and ended with a strong kick as well,” Bussan said.

The Lynx boys’ second, third, fourth and fifth runners all crossed the finish line within 10 seconds of one another. Connor Foster (19:04) was the first of that group to reach the end in 12th position. Seth Crouthamel (19:10) was next in 13th, followed by Demar Lemus (19:14) and Jacob Perin (19:14) in 15th and 16th.

Cole Zahn (18th, 19:28), the Lynx No. 6, also placed in the top 20.

WCHS also did quite well in the junior varsity races. Esler Mejia (19:40), Aaron Halbach (19:54), Cole Youngdale (19:59), Jason McVicker (20:17) and Cole Nokes (20:25) swept the top five positions. Kenady Highland (19:37) was fourth in the girls’ race.