Top finishers for the Border West boys’ were Derek Lupkes (20:35) in 42nd place and Dylan Bainbridge (20:54) in 47th place.  Andrew Stueve (22:52) was 77th, Jens Jorgenson (23:19) 81st and Michael Franzeese (24:13) 86th.

“Our varsity boys went up against some of the best runners in the state,” reported Erickson.  “They ran their first mile splits extremely well, but faded in the second half.  Our lead runner, Joe Arens, did not finish the race due to an injury, but we had Derek Lupkes and Dylan Bainbridge step up and pace the team.  I was extremely proud of how our team ran in this first meet.  It gives us a base to work and improve from.”

Rocori High School captured first place in the girls’ race with 15 points and Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta was runner-up with 78 points.  Kilee Blume (28:04) ran to a 63rd place finish for the Border West varsity girls.

“Kilee's effort during the varsity girls’ race was impressive,” noted Coach Erickson.  “With it being her first one, I think she realized right away she started out a little bit too fast, so she was out of rhythm.  She fought really hard to maintain her position and even passed a few runners in the last mile, which shows her tough mentality.” 

Seventh-grader Julia Schmidt (10:45) had the top performance of the junior high runners, placing second in her race.  Drew Sykora (10:20) led the seventh-grade boys with a fifth place finish.

“It's always nice to see first year runners see a little bit of success at a meet,” said Head Coach Brittany Erickson of Border West.  “We were really happy with our junior high runners taking home some ribbons and representing our team well.”