Cross Country

September 11, 2020

The weather was cloudy with a little drizzle at times. But our girls were shining bright.

Margo led our varsity girls. She was dealing with some painful hip flexors, but after some strength and stretching, she decided to race. She ran with the top SPA girls for 2 miles, but then the hip flexor got painful and she wisely backed off. She still managed to finish 4th.

Cara ran very well to take almost a minute off her best time on this course. Izzy was not far behind, with a time not that far off her time at last year’s IMAC Championship near the end of the season on this course. Abigail, running her first varsity race, knocked almost 5 minutes off her previous personal best time! If she does that again, Margo will be looking over her shoulder. Sophia wrapped things up for our varsity girls. In this small field, she wound up running alone, but still managed to take over a minute off her previous personal best time.

Later in the afternoon, Amy made her way to Battle Creek to run in the junior varsity race. She had never run this course, but the girls from Minnehaha were nice enough to show her the way. Amy started out cautiously, but turned it up a notch during the second half of the race. Showing some determination, she finished strongly.

All the times (including the varsity winner) were on the slower side. This was everyone’s first race. And if you think about previous years, we would be running our first race on Saturday. So these are early days. Running in a meet with just three teams is also a very different experience, with many gaps forming, leaving runners running alone, which is much harder.

With more interval workouts (did I mention that we will be doing 600s on Monday?) and a few more races, you will be sharp and ready to race your best times.

You can see the results for our girls here.

September 10, 2020

You ran well in your first cross country meet in this new normal world.

Isak played cat and mouse with the top runner from SPA. In the end, the cat won. And the cat was running in hiking shoes. Really. Isak promises me he will wear his spikes next time. Or at least running shoes.

Ben stuck with the Minnehaha runners right to the end. He was not able to catch that group, but he did run a personal best time on a course that is significantly more challenging than the section course where he set his previous person best.

Evan was next up, also running without spikes, but at least wearing real running shoes. Liam, running just a few seconds off his personal best time, was our next runner. Peter wrapped up our scoring five, running well off his personal best. But we can cut him some slack, since he only got the boot off his previously broken ankle about a month ago!

Trevor ran well and was smiling the entire race. This was not only his first race as a varsity runner, but his first cross country race. An impressive debut!  Noah, promoted to the varsity finished things up for us. In this much smaller than normal field, he was left running alone, which is always much harder.

Next, our junior varsity runners headed bravely to Battle Creek.  After learning the course on the fly, it was race time.   Eddie led the way, not going out too fast and running a smart, patient race. Joey ran a personal best, moving up throughout the race to finish just ahead of our new runner from Gentry, Andrew, making a strong debut in his first cross country meet. Zain finished just a few seconds further back, running his personal best. Henry S. overcame a side cramp and added his own personal best time, and Eilam, though he wasn’t feeling his best, persevered and finished, wrapping things up for our junior varsity boys.  Thank you to the JV boys for diligently helping to pick up the cones after the race.

You did very well adapting to the new normal, wearing masks, distancing on the starting line, sticking to a tight schedule so our junior varsity runners could get to the second meet on time, and everything else. While some of your times may have been disappointing, those will improve as we do more work in the coming weeks.

If you do not have spikes, visit Run N Fun and pick up a pair. If you did not wear your spikes, bring them to our next interval workout and put a little time in wearing them to get acclimated. They will make a huge difference.

Times for our runners can be found here.

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.

September 13, 2019

On a blustery day that felt like late October, you raced to ten personal best times, and eight top ten finishes!

Our large middle school contingent led things off. That is, after Peter retrieved them from their walk in the woods that almost caused them to miss their race! Liam finished in 4th place in his first cross country race. Leo finished in 9th place in his first cross country race. Eddie was just a few seconds behind him in 10th place. Zain, Henry, and Joey finished close together. Boyd, running his first cross country race, and Eilam, running more than a minute faster than last year, wrapped things up for our middle school boys. Teagan finished in 5th place among the middle school girls.

Our varsity girls were next. They were on time for their race. And very sparkly. The pixie dust apparently worked its magic, as our varsity girls earned two top ten finishes and three personal best times! Margo and Katie ran together the entire race, putting on a strong last 800 meters to finish 2nd and 3rd. Cara ran a personal best by about a minute to finish 29th. Skylar and Izzy ran together most of the race, finishing just a second apart. Izzy was well under her best time on this course. Mari, running her first varsity race, showed she belonged by improving her personal best time by almost two minutes!

Our varsity boys also got the pixie dust treatment, courtesy of Skylar and Izzy. And it seemed to do some good. Henry chased the 6th ranked runner in the state for much of the race, closing in the last 800 meters, but getting edged for 3rd place by inches. He ran his second best ever time, and over a minute faster than last year. Isak finished in 6th place with a personal best by almost a minute and moved into 14th place all time. Cullen improved his personal best time to earn 19th place. Peter eclipsed his personal best by a second. Evan shaved a few seconds off his personal best time. And Ben, running his first varsity race, improved his personal best time by over 20 seconds. These fine performances earned our boys team 2nd place to 5th ranked Nova Classical.

Wrapping things up for us were our boys junior varsity runners. Henry G. ran within a few seconds of his personal best. Noah edged his personal best by a second with a strong finish.

Earning this many personal best times on a muddy course that is not fast under the best of conditions is impressive. But beyond that, you competed very well. I saw many of you make strong moves in the last part of the race to separate from competitors and hold your places. This will only help as we run more important races later in our season.

Next up, after some hard training next week, is the Milaca Megameet, the largest high school cross country meet in the nation.

Results are available for Boys Middle School, Girls Middle School, Girls Varsity, Boys Varsity, and Boys Junior Varsity.