Linn brought home five individual All-Conference honors and a runner-up varsity girls team finish Saturday at the Brian T. Simpson Invitational at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, which also served as the Wildcats’ Central State 8 Conference meet.

The invitational featured runners from multiple conferences, with non-conference competitors removed afterward to determine conference standings and All-Conference honors. Linn’s varsity girls placed 13th among 15 teams in the overall invitational with 314 points before finishing second in the conference standings.

Lily Baker and Kylie Messenger earned All-Conference honors for the varsity girls. Baker led Linn with a 64th-place overall finish in 24:41.5, while Messenger placed 81st in 25:21.0. Elyse Brandt was 97th in 26:17.1, Adalyn Brandt placed 98th in 26:20.2, Charli Lenger was 99th in 26:26.2, Allie Hackmann finished 112th in 27:23.3 and Enslee Stevenson was 148th in 35:41.5.

Jackson Hamburg led the Linn varsity boys and earned All-Conference recognition with a personal-best 19:10.2, placing 60th overall. Vince Tschappler also recorded a personal best, finishing 130th in 21:11.6. Emmit Mehmert placed 185th in 24:11.2, while Samuel Heckman was 194th in 25:06.2.

The middle school Wildcats added two more All-Conference performances in the 3,000-meter races. Kensington Kramer earned the honor after placing 13th overall in a personal-best 13:18.0, leading a Linn girls group in which all four runners recorded personal bests. Daphne Baker placed 70th in 16:04.9, Grace Hall was 74th in 16:09.9 and Jaeden Theissen finished 82nd in 16:40.6.

Landon Engelhardt earned All-Conference honors for the middle school boys after finishing 22nd overall in a personal-best 12:20.9. All four Linn boys recorded personal-best performances, with Thatcher Gray placing 85th in 14:19.1, Collin Kempker 126th in 16:30.8 and Jagger Maasen 146th in 19:02.3.

Linn coach Tasha Haslag said the results reflected more than the medals and team finish.

“I am incredibly proud of these kids and everything they continue to accomplish,” Haslag said. “They have worked hard all season, and seeing that hard work pay off with All-Conference honors and a second-place team finish is exciting. But what makes me even prouder is the way these kids support each other.”

Haslag said the runners have developed a closeness that has helped drive their progress.

“They have become a family, and they continue to show up, push themselves, and encourage their teammates,” Haslag said. “Every single runner contributes to what makes this team special.”