Brothers Quincy and Ryder Dorson will represent New Franklin at the Class 1 State Cross-Country Meet after qualifying at the Class 1 District 3 meet on Saturday. Quincy, a sophomore, captured the individual district championship with a time of 16 minutes, 56.80 seconds, smashing his previous personal record and setting a new  school record for New Franklin. Dorson entered the race seeded around in the bottom half, but surged past favorite Hunter Schwartze of Vienna midway through the race and finished alone at the front of the pack.

“There was Quincy finishing all by himself. It was unreal,” recalled New Franklin coach Allison Allgood. “He was seeded around fifth or sixth but came out on Vienna favorite Hunter Schwartze’s heels for the first couple miles. Then, finally got around him.”

Ryder Dorson, a freshman, also earned a trip to the state meet, finishing 15th with a personal-best time of 18:43.48. The Bulldogs placed fifth overall as a team, falling just short of qualifying but marking a successful return for the program in its first full season in several years.

“I’m proud we made it that close to all qualifying,” Allgood said. “It was a day of excitement for some and let-downs for others, which is usually how it goes. I’m so proud of all the runners on a great season overall. XC is long and draining.”

Also competing for New Franklin were Mason McGruder, who placed 47th in 20:46.41; Haden Davis, 50th in 21:12.07; Phoenix Decena, 70th in 23:07.66; and Jackson Siebrandt, 79th in 24:00.82. McGruder and Decena each recorded personal bests.

The Dorson brothers will be back in action Saturday at the Class 1 State Championships at Gans Creek in Columbia.