Above: Leif Anderson (No. 383) powered by this Warroad runner to help the Vikings’ junior high boys’ team finish in second place at Swain. Leif was the Vikings’ third runner on the junior high team. Left: Showing good form, Henry DeArruda-Weaver ran a strong race at Swain.
On October 4, 2014 at the Enger Golf Course in Duluth, the Cook County- Two Harbors runners were not intimidated by the hills and the cold weather. In fact, this day was met with much tenacity.
Our first race of the day was our 7-8th grade girls. Kate Walsberg completed her 3k run with a time of 14:05 and led the Vikings to an 8th place team finish. Behind her was Maya McHugh returning from a knee injury. It was fun to watch her run with a smile on her face. Sophie Eliasen is adjusting to the longer distance of cross country and she ran this race smart in that she went out more slowly and finished strong. Robin Henrikson and Amelia Roth are making a nice pack of two who can keep each other going strong. This team was rounded out by two runners, Ellen Callender and Chloe Blackburn, who both finished looking tough.
Our boys had some nice surprises for us. They came in 2nd place out of 16 teams and they were just behind Duluth East. Noah Smith ran 11:04 and finished in 2nd place behind winner Aiden Ripp from Cloquet (11:01). Next was Brenden Seipke (11:46) who packed up with Leif Anderson (11:50) to have two strong races. Will Ramberg was our 4th runner of the day and came in 31st place with a time of 12:09. It was pretty amazing to have 4 runners in by this time. Our 5th place runner learned how important he was when he saw the team score. Charles Seipke was 95th and finished in 13:41 he was followed closely by JC Holman in 103rd with a time of 13:50. Working equally as hard was our crew of Lynden Blomberg, Henry DeArruda-Weaver, Doran Acero, Trent Spry and Ian Parker. This is an inspirational group to watch because they are full of determination and they are constantly working to improve their current level. I am forever impressed with the positive attitudes of this young pack and their reflective minds as they always think about what they could do better or reflect on pieces of their race that they could push more. This pack propels that top pack forward.
Above: With his mother cheering him on Andy Kern ( No. 371) sprints to the finish line at the Swain Cross Country meet held at Enger Golf Course in Duluth on October 4.
We then had a team of sophomore girls and a team of sophomore boys (9-10th grade). We knew going in to this race it was going to be exciting. The girls finished 6th place over all and the boys finished 5th place out of 12 teams. Molly Thomas has experienced running toward the front in track but running toward the front of her cross country race was a new experience.
She finished in 13th place with a time of 18:46. Vikings Alyssa Martinson, Marin Hay, Hazel Babcock, and Julia Larsen rounded out the team to a 6th place finish.
Within the boys’ race Jake Paron and Kiviok Hight were at it again. They started out a little quicker this time but continued their tradition of hunting down the competition. With one mile left to go in this 4k race Jake broke away and started moving quicker. With ½ mile to go he was neck and neck with Zach Heppner from Warroad and they were fighting for 1st place. He used the downhill to his advantage made a break for it and finished 8 seconds ahead with a time of 14:42. Kiviok kept hunting down the competition as well and came in 4th place over all with a time of 14:58.
They were followed by Finn Garry in 35th; Sebastian Cannon in 58th; Jake Bilben in 109th; Andy Kern in 115th; and Harvey Parker in 120th.
Next week we’ll provide details on the Polar League Conference Meet at Pincushion on Wednesday, October 8. And next we will be racing at the Proctor Public Golf Course on October 14 beginning at 4 p.m. Come and cheer on the Vikes!
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