The ACGC cross country teams return to the fields tonight as both the girls and boys will be in action at the West Central Valley Invitational.

For the first time since the pre-season rankings, the ACGC girls team has returned to the top 15 in Class 1A, taking the final spot in the Iowa Association of Track Coaches’ weekly poll. The top-ten finishes by junior Kate Crawford and senior Lauryn Embleton at last week’s Charger Invite certainly helped them return to the top 15.

Embleton, who has her sights set on a top 15 finish at state next month, climbed another spot to number 23 on the individual rankings. Head coach Colin Shawgo is hoping for more from the senior as the season continues, despite some setbacks. “She’s got a couple lingering injuries that look like they aren’t going to go away. So she’s had to be really tough all season long. That’s been her ‘M O’ her entire career. So for her to go out and prove it again and again that she should be a top 15 runner at the state level is really cool and seeing her progress even though she’s dealing with injuries is awesome.”

Despite winning the home tournament, the boys team continues to slip to number 14 in Class 1A. Individually Noah Nelsen rose up to number seven while Kate Crawford stays at number five for the girls. The WCV Invitational begins at 4:30pm at the 5×80 Golf and Country Club in Menlo. Participating schools include the Chargers, host Wildcats, and Earlham, Nodaway Valley, Ogden, Orient-Macksburg, Panorama, Paton-Churdan, and Van Meter.