Left: Matea Acero, a sophomore, is running strong again after recovering from injuries. Matea placed 25th in the sophomore race at the Swain Invitational in Duluth. Above: Showing nice running form and muddy legs, Lynden Blomberg ran the 3k race on the hilly Swain course in 15:17. Good job Lynden!
As we drove down to Duluth on Saturday, October 5 we were met with cold, rain, trees in the road, and stinging gales off of the lake. At the Swain Invitational the spectators and adults complained of the weather but our kids were ready for it. In fact, some even made the comment, “The worse the weather, the better I run!”
At this particular event we mixed up the kids so our usual varsity team didn’t run together. We had them race against runners their own ages. Some very interesting and exciting things happened as our Vikings ran with courage through the blowing rain and fog.
The morning started off with young Maya McHugh hunting down the 7-8th grade field and coming in 5th with a 3k time of 12:21!
Her act was followed by the team of 7-8th grade boys. In a three-kilometer race, Kiviok Hight, who ran with the front pack, finishing a solid 3rd place (10:35), led the team to a 6th place finish. He was followed by Jake Paron, another young runner from Two Harbors; he finished in 12th place and completed the race a minute faster than last year with a time of 11:19. Jake continues to get stronger as a runner and has made many contributions to this team. Finn Garry was not too far off and was followed by Will Ramberg who is another young runner and a great student of the sport. Will ran his 3k in 13:18. Will is great at thinking of strategy and is a hard worker. He has made great strides this season and will continue to do so as we move toward the end of the season. Andy Kern has run cross-country for a couple of years now and he is starting to feel the bug of competition. With each race he is pushing himself a little more and it was evident today as he worked hard against the wind (15:12)!
Next our 9th and 10th graders ran in the sophomore race. Both teams had great showings: The girls came in 4th and the boys came in 5th. Highlights in the girls’ race include Alyssa Martinson finishing 9th place with a time of 19:03! This was a different experience for her but it didn’t faze her one bit; she continued working right along and was tough the entire way. It can be a weird feeling being so far up in a race if you aren’t used to it.
Abigale Seipke, from Two Harbors, also came in with a nice place finish of 12th with a time of 19:17! She has been working her way back into the season and things are starting to come together for her. Hard work does pay off! Julia Larsen is learning to love the distance of the 4k and today as she came up one of the big hills and rounded the corner, she gave me two thumbs up. Julia has become a tough runner who enjoys hard courses and horrible weather! Today was her day as she had a great race, finishing with a time of 24:22.
In the boys’ race, Sean MacDonell took his race out fast, settled in and hung on. He had a strong finish and came in 13th place with a time of 15:52. Pete Summers was skeptical this morning about the weather but he decided partway through his race to give it his all and came back strong for a great finish in 17th place with a time of 15:56. It was fun to see him suddenly go after it and pick up the pace.
In the junior varsity girls’ race we only had a few running and Ruby Walsburg gets a star for the day as she was to run the sophomore race but her jacket got stuck on her when the zipper broke. She missed the race and came back and ran in the JV race. This means that she had to warm up twice today in the cold, wet weather and went on to improve her time last year by 30 seconds (21:11)!
Audrey Summers was the lone varsity girl runner and she earned a label of perseverance. Someone stepped on the back of her shoe at the start and so she ran part of the race with a floppy shoe, decided to shake it off and ran about 3 kilometers without one shoe. Despite cold feet she kept her effort and attitude up and had a decent race running over a minute faster from last year (17:51)!
Nate Carlson is coming back into the swing of the season and it is looking like he will be playing an important role for us in the coming weeks. He too seemed to be encouraged by running up a hill into the wind, finishing a 5k in 20:54. Everett Hommes, of Two Harbors has decided to take some risks when he is racing this year and push himself a little further and faster;he finished in 21:40. He is knocking on the door of being a consistent varsity runner. Things in life are so much sweeter when they are earned through hard work.
This week we had another home meet taking place on Wednesday, October 9. This was our conference meet where we would try to chase down Esko, Moose Lake/Willow River/Barnum, South Ridge, Wrenshall, Carlton, and Cromwell.
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