More than 350 runners ascended the Pincushion trails last week to take part in the Pincushion Invitational. An early day rain gave way to sunshine and warm temps for the runners, many who were racing for the first time. Far left: Amery Oberg took part in the junior high race, running strong the whole way. Middle: Showing plenty of determination, Abbey Stoddard ran hard in the girls’ junior varsity race. Left: Henry DeArruda-Weaver sprinted for the finish line in the boys’ varsity event. Staff photos/Laurie Johnson
Brenden Seipke’s win led a strong North Shore Storm boys’ team to first place in the North Shore Challenge held Thursday, August 29 on the rugged Pincushion Mountain trails.
An early hard rain gave way to patchy skies and warm, but not hot, weather. A light breeze made it just about a perfect day to race cross country, and some excellent results were turned in.
Brenden ran away from the field in the boys’ varsity 5000 meters (3.1 miles) race.
Seipke finished in 17:29, soundly defeating Noah Foster and Cameron Dickey of Cromwell who placed second and third in 17:53 and 17:57.
The Storms’ top seven runners all placed in the top 15: Isaac Swanson took fourth, Noah Smith fifth, Tate Crawford 13th, Nate Bilben 14th, and JC Holmen was 15th to round out the team’s top seven runners. Only the first five finishers’ scores count, and when added up, the North Shore Storm had 37 points.
Other Storm finishers included Kevin Viren 21st, Henry Dearruda-Weaver 35th, Chance Hanel 39th, Tanner DeBoer 63rd, Kyler Hansen 70th, Ian Thorpe 71st, Gus Hahn 87th and Keegan Morrison placed 89th.
When the teams’ first five finishing places were added up the Storm had 37 points.
Cromwell-Wright High School placed second with 72, Proctor High School was third with 80, Duluth East was fourth with 93, Carlton was fifth with 99, Moose Lake placed sixth with 122 and Lakeview Christian Academy took seventh with 220 points.
Girls’ varsity 5000-meter run
Autumn Smith, a Storm sophomore, worked her way to the lead and held on to win in 21:28.30. Placing second was Emma Cid of Carlton in 21:34.4 and in third was Emaleigh Olesiak, an eighthgrader from Cromwell who crossed the line in 21:49.
The next four Storm runners were Cedar Gordon in 5th, Lamar Gordon in 10th, Louise Ramberg in 11th, Malin Anderson was 12th, Kate Walsberg 21st, Anna Hay 26th, Abbie Crawford 30th, Kylie Viren 37, Cecelia Chmelik 38th, Isabel Schottenbauer 43rd, Elsa Garry 45th, Hazel Oberholtzer 47th, and Greta Roth placed 48th.
The girls’ first five places added up to 35 points. For the first time ever they defeated mighty Duluth East, who tallied
46 points to place second. The next three teams were Moose Lake 86, Carlton 101, and Proctor 105.
Middle school girls
Jillian Sadjak, South Ridge won the 2600-meter run in 10:03. South Ridge won the team title with 28 points, Proctor was second with 41, and the Storm placed third with 61 points.
North Shore Storm runners and their finishing places were Trinity Giddings 7th, Lexi Surbaugh 11th, Amery Oberg 17th, Bryn Fitzgerald- Wells 19th, Nadia Latvala 20th, Shawmda Everson 23rd, Claire Lindstrom 24th, Eden Koepke finished 25th, and Abbey Stoddard 41st. Middle school boys
Elijah Wozniak of Proctor won the boys’ middle school 2600-meter run in a time of 9:28.30.
Elijah’s teammate Blaine Boysen was second but finished almost a full minute behind in 10:24. Brayden Schmidt led the Storm with a third-place finish, crossing the line in 10:28.8.
Other Storm finishers were 7th place Elijah Smith; Cody Lange was 13th, Andrew Hallberg placed 17th, and Reed Cruikschank placed 32nd.
Only three schools had complete teams. Proctor took first with 29 points, South Ridge was second with 43, and the Storm finished with 52 points.
JV boys 4000-meter run results
Duluth East’s Bryn Weberg won in 15:09.20. Two runners from Proctor, Gabe Foucault and Hendrick Hicks, placed second and third in 15:34 and 16:08.
Pete Sutton led the Storm with an 8th-place finish. When Pete’s points were added up with his teammates Sterling Pollock, 20th, Haddon Taylor, 26th; Silas Brandt, 31st and Riley Tarver, 36th, the Storm placed fourth with 89 points. East won with 33, Proctor was second with 46, and South Ridge was third with 73 points.
JV girls
Sarah Cid of Carlton won the girls’ 4000-meter junior varsity run in 17:41.1, finishing far ahead of second and third place Duluth East twins Emelyn and Grace Beaster who ran 19:03.1, and 19:29.1. Amanda Haveri was the lone Storm runner, placing 43rd.
Duluth East won with 22 points. Carlton, 53, and Moose Lake 59 were second and third place.
Leave a Reply