Greene County moved up a class this season in cross-country from 2A to 3A, and the top runner for the Rams, junior Noah Hinote, answered the challenge of being in a bigger class  of competition. Hinote captured the fifth and final spot for a boy runner not on a State Qualifying team at the 3A qualifier on Wednesday near Winterset at Lakeview Golf Course. He was 18th overall in 17 minutes, 31 seconds for the five kilometers, (3.1 miles), which is also Hinote’s personal best time, and a new record for the years the Rams have competed as Greene County. He was a 2A State qualifier in 2022.

Junior Gavyn Winters was 43rd in 18:59, followed by freshman Brady Carstensen, 51st in 19:21,  senior Kolby Angell finished 56th in 19:49, and freshman Eli Carstensen placed 76th in 21:43.

The team champion was Lewis Central (Council Bluffs) with 39 points, followed by Glenwood at 57, and Winterset with 62. All three of those boys’ team qualify for State. North Polk (Alleman) was fourth at 108, folloed by 117 for Kuemper Catholic (Carroll), Atlantic 170, Ballard (Huxley) 206, Greene County 244, Clarke (Osceola) 268, Boone 286, Des Moines Hoover 298, and 299 for Creston.

Greene County had just three girls, not enough for a team score. Sophomore Becca Anderson was 50th in 23:49, with sophomore Ava Minnehan placed 58th in 25:02, and freshman Evelyn Snyder was 67th in 27:48.

Hinote will run on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Kennedy Park north of Ft. Dodge in the 3A boys’ portion of the two-day Coed State Meet.