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.
