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Rainy girl qualifies for State cross country competitions
Tue, 2001-10-30 00:00
Coach Sariina Kalli
The Lake of the Woods girls and boys competed in the Section 8A Cross Country Meet at the Twin Pines Golf Course Bagley last Saturday (Oct. 27), hoping to earn trips to the State Meet in Northfield Nov. 3.
Although the Lady Bears won’t advance to the State Meet as a team, eighth grader Shantelle Davidson, from Rainy River, Ontario, will. She placed seventh in the field of 74 runners, with a time of 16 minutes, 59 seconds.
Davidson has been finishing in the top five in all varsity meets she has run this season, so it wasn’t surprising she turned in another winning effort at the Section Meet. What is remarkable, however, is that she and everyone on the course put in excellent performances despite the icy and snowy terrain.
The heavy snowfall and high winds that whipped through the area on Wednesday and Thursday left the course in poor condition for most runners. No personal records were attained in the girls or boys races.
Despite the less-than-ideal course conditions, Baudette’s girls pulled together and ended their season on a positive, though disappointing, note.
In addition to Davidson’s seventh place finish, junior Sheila Johnson finished off her fifth year with the Bears by placing 16th, with a time of 18 minutes flat. Seventh grader Madie Heinrich once again showcased her potential as a key runner for Lake of the Woods, by placing 21st in 18:21.
Sophomores Elyse Dornhecker and Jessy Olsen tested a new race strategy which pulled them to 24th and 26th places, with times of 18:34 and 18:37 respectively. Teammates Lindsey Laugtug and Elaina Hansen worked together to break the line in 37th and 40th places, and mark respective times of 19:43 and 19:50.
The girls finally closed the gap between their first and fifth runners, which is something we’ve been trying to do all season. The gap decreased from a more than three-minutes early in the season to just 1:38 at the Section Meet. That says a lot about the work ethic of these girls and their confidence in themselves and in each other.
The Warroad boys won the meet with 61 points, while Bagley-Fosston clinched second place with 77 points. Both teams go to Northfield Saturday (Nov. 3).
The Lake of the Woods boys didn’t fare as well in team competition, placing 12th, but they did show continued team cohesion. Sophomore Matt Neilson was first for the Bears in Bagley, finishing in 45th place with a time of 20 minutes, 30 seconds. Teammate Tyler Bredeson placed 57th in 21:11. The quality performances of freshman Chris Heinrich, sophomore Jordan Block, and eighth grader Jay Neilson forecast good things for the young team in the future. Heinrich placed 62nd in 21:40, Block 63rd in 21:45, and Neilson 65th, in 21:58. Dropping back from his usual top three spot on the team, but still within range for the scoring top five, freshmen Garrett Ravndalen posted a 68th place finish and a time of 22:15.
Junior Erik Tharalson wrapped up his first season with the Bears by finishing 73rd, in 22:54.
The boys ran as a tight pack all season and this meet was no exception. They usually placed in the top three in junior varsity or sophomore meets, so next year we’ll need to focus on moving that pack closer to the front in varsity competition.
It’s hard for a coach to be disappointed with a season when more than 75 percent of the athletes are first-time distance runners. They started the season not knowing, or not believing, that they could do the distance, yet by the end of the season both groups pulled together as complete teams. The Bears will return the top seven runners on both sides for the 2002 season.
Davidson competes in the 2001 Minnesota State Cross Country Meet this Saturday, Nov. 3, at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The Girls Class A race begins at 2 p.m.