(Rapid City) Central, of course, is running awfully well, and Sturgis has been running very well. Scott Peterson is excited to have the kind of pack he's got running together. It's exciting to see those boys pepping up.

I can't remember the last time we took a break midseason like this. I'm hoping we can step up and improve where we've been. We've run tired early in the season, more so than what I would have expected. We've had some good workouts and we've lightened up a little bit. It's time for the kids to start picking it up.

It's going to be a very good race. Central and Roosevelt are all quite similar. All three teams have good front scoring. It's just a matter of whose secondary scorers are going to step into the middle of the fight.

Everybody wants to run well on the course so they have a good feeling for coming back in a month and running well again. They want to set themselves up for the state meet. That's going to make it a little more competitive that way, too.

All of a sudden it's nine to nothing before we even step on the floor. Our girls got a little scared, which I guess is natural in a situation like that.

They are a machine. We're going to show up and try to give them a battle.