By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

With the Orange Belt Conference cross country meet less than three weeks away, the preseason favorite St. Cloud girls look strong but the boys meet may become a multi-team tossup with St. Cloud, Liberty, Harmony and Gateway looking like the main contenders.

The Lady Bulldogs won easily at Harmony Wednesday, placing five runners among the top six led by freshman Octavia Gonzalez (20:19) and defending OBC champion Ashlyn Stadtlander (20:26).

Finishing fourth through sixth for St. Cloud were Anaya Reid (21:06), Katelyn Stadtlander (21:09) and Karissa Solorzano (21:10).

Liberty won the boys race at Harmony, followed by the Bulldogs. St. Cloud’s Matt Cole (16:55) won followed by teammate Antonio Montalvo (16:59).

St. Cloud Coach Kevin Harkema was encouraged by the results.

“The girls ran great and were dominant,” he said. “Bailey Morgan (who was injured) is finally starting to get back and ran well and Aaron Allcorn ran his best to date. I need to get a fifth (runner) to step up.”

Harmony coach Jacob Grantham said his team is getting better after a round of injuries hit the Longhorns squad early in the season.

“We saw some drastic dips in times,” he said. “Next week, we look forward to having our full boys squad back and all our girls team seems to be 100 percent (healthy) now. We’re looking forward to continually getting faster up to districts.”

Gateway’s girls coach, Derek Knappins, said his team continues to make progress but it is unlikely to be a contender for the conference championship.

“Maura Huddlestone has emerged as our No. 1 runner. She’s shaved three minutes off her time since the beginning of the season,” he said. “We are a young team, with a majority of our runners being sophomores and juniors, so we are optimistic about the future.”

Gateway boys coach Travis James said his team is getting better.

“We are looking to be competitive and maybe surprise some people when the time comes,” he said.

Osceola girls coach Daniel Lackey said his team is improving by the week.

“At Harmony my No. 1 runner dropped her PR by almost two minutes and others continued to improve,” he said. “I’m pleased with how the girls are progressing.”