GRAND FORKS — Two Eastern Dakota Conference runners had big leads down the stretch at Lincoln Park on Saturday.

Fargo Shanley’s Mykenna Johnson and Luka Rout of Fargo Davies were sure-fire winners at the EDC championship, but it was Red River’s Peyton Thompson who delighted the home spectators.

The seventh-grader clinched a personal best 19:07.4 for a third-place finish and led the charge for the Roughriders to finish third in team points.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

“I feel like we’ve been a little underestimated throughout the year, and it was nice to see them all have a good day all together,” Red River girls coach Nicole Kopff said. "It was a tight team race."

Along with Thompson, Jocelynne Hoefs finished 10th with a time of 19:35.11 for a personal best. Mattea Green, Ava Parks and Emma Howard each finished 12th, 16th and 19th, respectively.

Red River even held the team lead in points after the first mile and confirmed those five runners would be in the mix after the second mile. The Roughriders would eventually finish just one point shy of second-place Shanley’s 59.

It was a point of pride for a group that lost a strong group of seniors just a few years ago.

“It is easy to think when people graduate that it is harder now to get there," Kopff said. "With this group, regardless of how they finished last year, they came in with the idea that we are going to be a prideful team no matter what the place is or what the score is. We’re going to act as one."

Davies would top the team scores with a 53. Brynn Braaflat, Brielle Stevens, Kaitlyn Ballinger and Addison Brock finished seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th. Elania Melendez was just behind them at 18th.

After the Eagles swept the top five in the junior varsity race, they pulled out just as impressive a feat in the varsity race. Luka Rout, who bested his time last week at the Border Battle, posted a time of 15:28.3 as he cruised for the medal.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Kaj Naujokas and Chance Johnson were nearly side by side at the finish. Naujokas’ 16:27.1 was just two seconds ahead, putting him in fourth place. Keagan Thomson placed eighth with a 16:38.2, while Kasen Currence and Jack Anderson finished 10th and 11th.

Red River’s Cohen Dunnigan completed another third-place finish for the school with his time of 16:15.1. He was able to stride ahead by four spots as he pushed himself following the first mile.

“We went out in the box for the first mile and it was nice to keep the wind off us for a little and I only wanted to get faster from there. I was just trying to keep it going and I knew Scott (Johnson) would be behind me,” Dunnigan said.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Johnson would go on to finish in sixth with a time of 16:30.4. The two were neck-and-neck throughout the race.

Central’s Grant Martin and Ben Sickler also secured Top 20 spots, as they finished 13th and 19th.

Red River just missed out on a third-place finish in team points, as its 129 were outside of Sheyenne’s 120.