Two Viking freshmen cross country runners, Jake Paron (191) and Kiviok Hight (166), did their best to keep up with the Proctor runner at the Section 7A meet. Paron ended up 7th and Hight finished 10th to both earn a trip to the state cross country meet held this weekend at St. Olaf College.
The 7A Section Cross Country meet took place on Thursday, October 23, 2014 at the Cloquet Country Club. The weather was perfect for racing. The Vikings boys’ team came in 8th place.
Winning the meet was Proctor and in second was Eveleth-Gilbert. Both of these teams will be attending the state meet. In 3rd was Mesabi East, and in 4th was Esko High School. At the meet, there were 16 complete teams. On the girls’ side Crosby-Ironton won and in 2nd place was South Ridge. Both of these teams will also be attending the state meet. Our Vikings came in 12th place out of 15 complete teams.
The day began with the boys’ race. The event started out fast and Jake Paron and Kiviok Hight settled in behind the crew of Proctor boys and sat there. In that position they hung on to that pack and waited for the right moment. The leaders at this point started to spread out and with about a half mile to go the whole pack started to spread out. Paron took off and finished in 7th place with a time of 17:32. Hight hung on for at 10th place finish with a time of 17:43. Both of these individuals earned a spot at the State Meet at St. Olaf College on November 1 at 10:00 a.m.
All season long Matea Acero (236) led the Viking girls and once again she was the first Viking across the finish line at sections with a 31st place. The talented junior who has suffered multiple leg injuries the last couple of years will be one of the top runners at sections next year if she remains healthy.
Noah Smith also had a break through race improving by almost 30 seconds. He finished in 29th with a time of 18:38. Finn Garry also ran a personal best finishing in 19:39 and in 59th place. Leif Anderson who had been an alternate for an injured runner proved that he was the best pick for the job. He finished in 82nd place and improved his time by about 50 seconds with a time of 20:21. Brenden Seipke and Will Surbaugh rounded out the Vikings with a time of 20:52 and 21:11.
The team running at the section meet included 7-9th graders. This will be a fun group of boys to watch develop over the next few years. There is much potential with this group.
Ellyssa Peterson from Greenway Nashwauk took the girls’ race out at a good pace. She ended up finishing second with a time of 15:21 behind Kailee Kiminski from Esko who finished in 15:10.
Assistant cross country coaches Chris Hegg and Mandy Dye put in a few miles with Viking runners. Hegg smiles for the camera as he jogs by.
Matea Acero led the Viking girls with a 31st place finish at a time of 17:08. She was followed by a pack of girls—Abi Seipke in 64th with a time of 18:22, Kate Walsberg in 66th at a time of 18:28 and Ruby Walsberg had a break-through race with a 67th place finish at a time of 18:30. Morgan Weyrens-Welch and Alyssa Martinson worked together to a 77th and 80th place finish with times of 18:52 and 18:58. Mel Stoddard stepped in minutes before the start of the race as an alternate and did a nice job she ran a solid 21:32 for her 4k.
We will be headed down to the State Meet on November 1 at St. Olaf College. It will be fun to give Paron and Hight their first crack at this level of competition.
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