Perfection must wait until another day. But that's not to say the BismarckDemons didn't give it a good run.

The BHSboys and girls both scored 17 points Tuesday as the Demons ran away from the field for the championship in the Rusty Bucket run.

That gives BHSfive in a row in the 24th annual race in which girls and boys scores are combined to determine a Rusty Bucket champion.

Behind Bismarck's 34 came Century with 112 and Mandan with 313.

Josh Osoro led a wave of maroon into the chute in the four-mile boys race, finishing in a course record 14:42. BHSteammates Devin Huizenga, Christian Brown Otter and Josh Nuss followed. Huizenga was clocked in 15:20.

Osoro, a senior, said the record was lagniappe because he wasn't running for time.

"Right now time doesn't matter just as long as we work as a team," he said.

Breaking up Bismarck's pursuit of a perfect 15 were Century's Brett Kelly and Levi Sether, fifth and sixth, respectively. Still, the Demons were able to put nine men in the top dozen.

Asimilar story unfolded in the 4-Kgirls race with BHS runners snapping up 12 of the first 14 spots. Taylor Pintar edged Shanice Lambert by an eyelash (15:29.64 to 15:30.35). Alexa Wachter and BrooklynBeehler claimed third, and fourth for the Demons with Century's Melissa Uhrich and Nikki Huelsman claiming fifth and sixth.

Pintar, a junior, returned to the front of the pack in the Rusty Bucket after missing last year's run due to injury. She looked upon her battle with Lambert, which was decided by under a second, as a huge positive.

"She's new, and she's a really big help to our team this year," Pintar said. "She came here from New Town, and she's really talented, really strong."

Pintar said the Demon girls weren't running with an eye on a 15. "We're happy with 17 points. … Our goal was to win it again.We didn't really look at points," she said.

Osoro, however, said the BHSboys were definitely striving for perfection. However, he said falling short isn't the end of the world.

"That was our goal,"he said. "When another team is in the mix, it inspires us to work hard."

BHScoaches had similar reserved views of Tuesday's strong performances.

"It's rewarding, but it's only a start," said boys co-coach Darrell Anderson. "We're more concerned about the end of the year than the beginning."

Girls coach Scott Reichenberger was even more modest. "To be honest, today's meet didn't mean a whole lot. It gives them a chance to get out and test their fitness," he said. "For some of them it's a wakeup call."

Both BHSteams are defending state champions. The boys team is gunning for a fifth straight state title. The girls are going for two in a row.

Rusty Bucket

Combined Scores

1. Bismarck 34. 2. Century 112. 3. Mandan 313.

BOYS

Team Scores

1. Bismarck 17. 2. Century 47. 3. Mandan 160.

Individual Results

1. Josh Osoro,B, 14:42 (3 miles). 2. DevinHuizenga, B, 15:20. 3. Christian Brown Otter, B, 15:39. 4. Josh Nuss, B, 15:52.5. Brett Kelly,C, 16:24. 6. Levi Sether, C, 16:38. 7. Dion Schulz, B, 17:04. 8. Alex Bray,C, 17:08. 9. Josh Hintz, B, 17:12. 10. Alex Huizenga, B, 17:26.

11. Tyler Richter, B, 17:35. 12. BrandonBarnes, B, 17:37. 13. Johan Mahlum,C, 17:45. 14. CodyHoman, B, 17:49. 15. Forrest Allen,C, 17:51. 16. Matt Nicklos, C, 17:52. 17. Nikko Raymo,C, 17:59. 18. Nathan Jangula,C, 18:05. 19. Taylor Wray, B, 18:26. 20. Coty Hintz,B, 18:08.

21. Levi Perry,B, 18:10. 22. David Stockdill,M, 18:18. 23. Kyle Burke, B, 18:21. 24. TonyCox, B, 18:22. 25. DarylBerger, B, 18:23. 26. JustinLeupp,C, 18:27. 27. AustinWald, B, 19:04. 28. Josh Thorton, B, 19:23. 29.Alex Grothe, B, 19:24. 30. NolanWagner, B, 19:30.

31. James Belohlavek, M, 19:40. 32. Justin Moore, M, 19:41. 33. Austin Todd, B, 19:52. 34. Garrett Barnes, B, 20:05. 35. PhilSeiler, B, 20:12. 36. DylanSchafer, M, 20:24. 37. Dan Able, C, 20:28. 38. Landon Miller, C, 20:50. 39. David Bosworth, M, 21:03. 40. MasonWalker, C, 21:38.

41. Mason Sisk,C, 22:14. 42. Jordan Freitag, C, 22:30. 43. Ryan Schaner, C, 22:39. 44. Josh Weiand, M, 23:18.

GIRLS

Team Scores

1. Bismarck 17. 2. Century 65. 3. Mandan 153.

IndividualResults

1. Taylor Pintar, B, 15:29.64(4 kilometers). 2. Shanice Lambert, B, 15:30.35. 3. Alexa Wachter, B, 15:51. 4. Brooklyn Beehler, B, 15:59. 5. Melissa Uhrich, C, 16:05. 6. Nikki Huelsman, C, 16:11. 7. Sarah Feeney,B, 16:16. 8. Alana Fischer, B, 16:32. 9. Tessa Haussler, B, 16:44. 10. MaddyGendreau, B, 16:44.

11. Casie Gates, B, 16:48. 12. Nicole Stewart, B, 17:02. 13. Amanda Love, B, 17:32. 14. AmyFaller, B, 17:35. 15. Alicia Fettig,C, 17:36. 16. Lindsey Altringer, M, 17:39. 17. Becca Lebak, B, 17:44. 18. Christie White, B, 17:46. 19. Janna Goecke, C, 17:49. 20. SavannahLink,C, 17:49.

21. Ann Govig, C, 18:01. 22. Megan Blees, B, 18:05. 23. Taylor Hovland, C, 18:11. 24. Lexi Ternes, C, 18:15. 25. Tana Grenz, C, 18:19. 26. RachelWingenbach, M, 18:20. 27. Kelli Richard,C, 18:27. 28. Heather Wolberg, B, 18:33. 29. Miriah Olzweski, C, 18:34. 30. Hannah Jeske,C, 18:39.

31. Kayla Deschamp,C, 19:05. 32. Chelsey Meier, C, 19:05. 33. Alexa Boyd, C, 19:34. 34. Jenessa Bentz, C, 19:43. 35. Tristen Bentz, C, 19:56. 36. AllisonWanner, M, 19:59. 37. Katarina Nyberg, M, 19:59. 38. Ansley Robinson,M, 20:35. 39. Lacy Ripplinger, C, 20:36. 40. Nicole Ortega,C, 22:18.

41. Katie Lundberg, C, 23:44. 42. Kim Strum,C, 24:22.