Athletics

November 2, 2019

On a cold, blustery day, you all ran outstanding performances at the always challenging state championship.

Margo and Katie were first up. The plan was to run a patient first mile and try to pass a lot of runners during the second and third miles. Margo ran a little quicker during the first mile than she had intended, but she held her place during the second mile. She picked it up a little during her third mile, passing 23 runners. She finished in 39th place in 19:55, her best performance at the state meet in her three appearances.

Katie hit her goal time for the mile split almost exactly, doing 6:19. She slowed during her second mile, but did hold onto her position. She picked it up a little bit during the third mile and passed a couple of runners. She finished in 21:01 in 114th place, improving on her time and place from last year.

Henry was next up. It wasn’t any warmer, but the starting pace was hot! The leader went through his first mile in 4:41! Henry kept his cool and hit his first mile in 4:59, almost exactly as planned. He passed 11 runners during his second mile, moving up to 10th place. He maintained his pace and held onto his position during his third mile to finish in 10th place, earning a medal and all state honors.

This was a nice finish to the season for all of you. But for Henry and Katie, to run well in a season where they faced a great deal of adversity and dealt with serious injuries is really a credit to their persistence.

With this race, we bid farewell to seniors Henry and our manager Grace. Thanks to both of you for all your contributions to our team over the years!

Results for the girls and boys are available at Wayzata Results.

October 24, 2019

The sun finally made an appearance at one of our cross country meets, although it came along with cold temperatures and windy conditions. You took advantage of the fine running weather to record nine personal best times and earned three state qualifications!

Our varsity boys were up first. Unfortunately, Isak was unable to run as his hip was bothering him. Better safe than sorry. Henry led our boys, chasing one of the better runners in the state and finishing 2nd to qualify for the state meet. His time was close to what he ran last year in this meet. Cullen started very quickly, but found the second half of the race difficult. Peter had some trouble breathing, which limited him during the race. Evan improved his best time by 24 seconds. A nice way to finish his year. Ben, now serving as our 5th runner, improved his best time by 11 seconds. Liam, running only his second varsity race, improved his previous time by 16 seconds. There is definitely a lot to look forward to from these boys in future years.

Our girls were a little late getting to the starting line, but that didn’t seem to slow them down. Margo led our girls, finishing 4th to qualify for the state meet. Katie, in her first race since her muddy Milaca injury, ran like she’d never been gone. She recorded her second best ever time, finishing 10th and qualifying for the state meet. Izzy Q., after giving up on her coach’s overly ambitious race plan, ran her best race of the year. Cara improved her best time by 47 seconds! Seniors Skylar, Izzy G., and Mari rounded things out for our girls. Skylar ran her best time of the season. Izzy G. was just a few seconds from her best ever time. And Mari improved her best time by six seconds, breaking 26 minutes for the first time. The girls team finished in 5th place for their efforts.

Our large junior varsity contingent was last up. Eddie was first to finish, sporting a sleek new haircut, and running just a few seconds from his best time. Henry G. also finished just seconds from his best time. Noah sprinted to a new personal best time by 50 seconds. But Zain took the prize for the largest improvement of the day, improving his personal best time by 4 minutes! Eilam was our final junior varsity boy, cracking 30 minutes for the first time.

Amy led our junior varsity girls, improving her previous time by 37 seconds. Sophia, finally able to race after a season of frustrating foot problems, ran well to finish her first race. Salma was next up, sticking with her race despite not feeling very good. Amy ran just her second race, and looked much stronger than her first effort.

Three of our runners, Henry, Margo, and Katie, will continue on to the state meet. For our four senior girls, Skylar, Izzy G., Emily, and Mari, this was their final high school cross country race. You added so much to our team over the years, and we will miss you. Who will wear the pajamas on this team now?

Results for the boys and girls varsity are at Gopher State Events.

October 10, 2019

On a slippery course, you earned three all conference awards and an honorable mention award.

Our middle school runners started things off for us. Eddie finished 4th in the boys race to earn a t-shirt and run his best time on this course. Joey finished just ahead of Henry S., who ran his best time on this course. Boyd finished with a sprint. Teagan was 4th among the girls, earning a t-shirt.

Next up were our varsity boys. Henry led the way, while being cautious on his healing hamstring. He ran with care, but finished 4th to earn all conference honors. Isak finished just a few seconds later in 5th place to also earn all conference honors. Peter ran well on this soggy course, only a few seconds from his best time on the course, earning honorable mention. Cullen had a Murphy’s Law kind of race, as all of the spikes came out of his shoes, leaving him with little traction. This made his knees sore as well. Cullen did hang in there to finish the race. Despite the muddy turf, Evan improved his personal best by a few more seconds. Henry G. and Noah finished as our 6th and 7th runners today. Our boys team finished in 2nd place in the IMAC.

Our varsity girls were the finale this afternoon. Margo battled the leader for much of the race, finishing 3rd and earning all conference honors. Izzy, racing after playing in the girls soccer section game, ran well to finish in 19th place. Cara ran her best time on this course. Skylar ran one of her best times of the season. Izzy G. finished just ahead of Emily, who ran her first race of the season. Mari improved her best time on this course by well over a minute. Salma finished with a sprint to hold her place.

While not everything worked according to plan, you did manage to race without injury, which is an achievement on this kind of soggy, slippery course. Next up will be our section meet in two weeks to determine who will advance to the state meet. It’s taper time!

Results for all races are at Gopher State Events.

September 21, 2019

It was an electrifying Milaca Megameet, with thunderstorms delaying the start by over an hour. Once races resumed, you overcame treacherous conditions to complete your races, earning two individual trophies and two ribbons.

With the middle school races cancelled, our middle school boys joined the 9th grade boys and ran the 5000 meter distance, most of them for the first time! That race included over 900 boys! Ben led our large contingent, running only a few seconds from his personal best. He must have been wearing swim fins! Liam running his first 5000 meter race, was only a couple minutes behind Ben. Eddie splashed in just a few seconds later. Henry G. was just a couple minutes behind Eddie. He was our only 9th grader in the 9th grade boys race. Joey not only ran his first 5000 meter cross country race, he was one of just a few 6th graders taking on 900 older boys! But he finished strongly to run a good first time! Henry Schw. was not far behind Joey. Zain, running his first 5000 meter time, finished well. And Eilam, running his first 5000 meter race, wrapped things up for our boys.

Our 9th grade girls contingent was just our two middle school girl runners, Teagan and Abigail. Like Joey, Teagan was one of just a few 6th graders running against about 600 older girls. She ran very well, finishing just a few seconds ahead of Abigail, also running her first 5000 meter cross country race.

Noah and Salma were our only 10th graders racing. Salma was expecting a teammate to join her, but that teammate overslept and missed all the excitement! Both Noah and Salma ran well in the muddy conditions. Hoah took a fall, but still got the job done.

Our varsity boys faced a lot of adversity in their race. Not only was the course getting muddier and muddier, but every one of them slipped or fell during the race. Henry led our boys in 6th place, finishing on a tightening hamstring thanks to slipping on a downhill part of the course. He did earn a trophy for his painful efforts. Isak ran his best time on this course (!?) and earned a ribbon for his muddy journey. Cullen was next, and not that far off his course best, despite a sprained ankle acquired during his race. Peter was only seconds behind Cullen. Evan wrapped things up for us, running well despite still feeling the effects of the virus that’s been making the rounds.

Our varsity girls, well decorated with water proof glitter and painted arms and faces, ran with a lot of determination. They were committed to not falling. And despite slipping and sliding a lot, they all managed to stay on their feet for the entire race. We will count that as a big win!

This was a challenging day. You handled the thuderstorm delay well, getting to our bus to stay safe. And you adapted to the new schedule well. Special kudos to our middle school runners, who were willing to run a longer race against older competition. We had a few injuries, which should be healing soon, fortunately.

And, as challenging as this was, it could have been worse. Shortly after we left, there was a tornado warning just north of Milaca. I don’t know about you, but waiting out a tornado warning on a school bus is not something I would look forward to.

Next up will be the Osseo Invite. This will be our last race before we begin our championship races, IMAC and Section and State!

Results are available at Gopher State Events.