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Local kids doing great in Cross Country meets
Wed, 2001-10-10 00:00
Coach Sariina Kalli
Swain Invitational, Duluth, Minnesota, Saturday, October 6
Despite temperatures in the low 50s, the Bears earned third place (113 points) out of eight teams in the Boys Class Sophomore (9-10 grades) race.
Northwestern (Wisc.) won the race with 27 points, while International Falls placed second with 57. Sophomore Matt Neilson, one of three Canadian athletes on the Lake of the Woods team, led the Bears by finishing the 4000-meter course in 15 minutes, 48 seconds. He was 15th among 80 runners in the race. Sophomore Tyler Bredeson placed 18th (15:57), freshman Garrett Ravndalen was 21st (16:02), sophomore Darrin Becklund placed 22nd (16:15), and sophomore Jordan Block finished 37th (17:03) to complete the team score for the Bears. Freshman Chris Heinrich posted a 39th place finish with a time of 17:30.
Although Lake of the Woods did not field complete teams in any other event, several athletes posted commendable individual finishes at Swain.
In one of her strongest races of the year, junior Sheila Johnson led three Lake of the Woods girls through the Girls Junior Varsity race (4000-meters), placing third of 187 runners, and posting a respectable time of 17 minutes, 22 seconds. Seniors Maria Anderson and Annie Gubbels pulled through the difficult course with places of 121st and 155th, and times of 21:05 and 22:39.
In the Girls Sophomore race, Elyse Dornhecker placed 14th of 87 runners in Duluth, completing the 4000-meter course in 18 minutes, 23 seconds.
Teammates Jessy Olsen, Elaina Hansen, and Lindsey Laugtug followed her lead with 23rd, 34th, and 56th places respectively. Olsen completed the race in 18:56, Hansen in 19:26, and Laugtug in 20:40. Although it’s difficult to post a personal record (PR) at Swain because of its hilly course, Hansen was only two seconds off her PR from Bagley’s comparatively flat course.
Junior Erik Tharalson, German exchange-student Sebastian Meyer, and senior Seth Stennes competed in the Boys Class A Junior Varsity race. Tharalson covered the 5000-meter course in 22 minutes, 4 seconds (27th). Meyer finished in 25:29 (52nd) and Stennes 27:39 (61st).
In junior high competition, eighth grader Jay Neilson earned 31st place of 168 runners in the Boys Junior High race, finishing the 2600-meter course in 10 minutes, 29 seconds. Seventh grader Madie Heinrich showed her competitive spirit by running the Girls Junior High race with a sore ankle and finishing 27th of 111 runners. Her time was 12:10.
Thief River Falls Invitational, Monday, October 1
The Lake of the Woods girls varsity cross country team just missed a top-three finish in Thief River Falls Oct. 1, with 121 team points. East Grand Forks continued its winning streak with 34 points, while Bemidji was second with 80, and Devil’s Lake third with 120. This is good news for the Bears, as only one of the teams ahead of them is in our section. Bemidji is AA and Devil’s Lake is in North Dakota.
Eighth grader Shantelle Davidson completed the 4000-meter course in 16 minutes, 15 seconds to lead the Bears with her fourth place individual finish. Johnson placed 19th in 17:42, Dornhecker finished 24th in 18:20, Hansen 36th in 19:45, and Laugtug 38th in 19:55. Anderson and Gubbels filled out the full team with 44th and 55th place finishes.
The Lake of the Woods boys tested their varsity power in TRF, but came up short in the team standings, placing 10th. Bredeson led the team with a 53rd place finish and time of 19 minutes, 41 seconds. He was followed closely by Neilson in 54th (19:48), Ravndalen in 59th (20:54), Chris Heinrich in 61st (20:56), and Tharalson in 62nd (21:22). Becklund and Block turned in 63rd and 65th place finishes to round out the top seven. Although the boys weren't up front, like they are for junior varsity races, they are still running strong as a team.
Upcoming Meets
Thursday, October 11th, International Falls
Monday, October 15th, Park Rapids
Thursday, October 25th, Section 8A Meet in Bagley
** There are only two regular season meets left before Sections on Oct. 25.
The top two teams and the top seven individuals from the Section Meet advance to the State Meet in Northfield Nov. 3.