Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Runners Compete at New York Mills
Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Cross Country runners competed in New York Mills on Friday with the varsity boys winning their race against Bertha-Hewitt and the host Eagles with 21 points. The Bears had a score of 36 and New York Mills had an incomplete team. A/B-E did not field a complete girls’ team.
“The overall course was wet and muddy,” commented Head Coach Robert Bosma. “The start of the junior high race was supposed to be at 10, but was delayed until 11. Some runners were sliding and a couple racers fell. It definitely wasn’t the best conditions to race, but it affects all runners equally. We talk at practice that it’s about getting better every day and this meet was a positive step of improvement.”
Varsity Girls: (No team score)
Gretchen Bredberg (Gr. 10) – 28:55, 6th place
Cailey Schlosser (Gr. 12) – 31:38.02, 8th place
Courtney Brethorst (Gr. 8) – 31:39.52, 9th place
Katlyn Pattrin (Gr. 11) – 31:42.34, 10th place
Bosma said, “All of these girls are new to CC this year, so they really had no idea what to expect. They went into the race with the mentality to stick together for the first mile and help each other to relax. They did very well with this and the times show this. It’s a great benchmark to improve for next week’s meet.”
Varsity Boys:
Hunter Norby (Gr. 11), 19:32.10, 1st place
Solomon Wales (Gr. 9), 20:27.79, 3rd place
Wes Siira (Gr. 11), 20:29.97, 4th place
Jaden Norby (Gr. 12) 20:45.75, 6th place
Jacob Cook (Gr. 11) 21:20.12, 7th place
Logan Froemming (Gr. 10), 21:39.68, 9th place
Lucas Fuller (Gr. 9), 22:18.94, 12th place
Team scores:
A-B-E 21
Bertha-Hewitt 36
New York Mills – incomplete team
“With only 2 varsity runners (Wes and Logan) having any experience with CC, the boys’ team had a similar strategy as the girls – find a group to run with and get into a rhythm,” noted Coach Bosma. “Hunter had a great start and led the pack the entire race. Wes and Solomon stayed in sight of him most of the way and used him as a rabbit to chase. Logan, who has been having some hamstring issues, helped pace Jaden and Jacob for the start and each guy ran a strong race. I was particularly impressed with how strong so many of the guys seemed to be at the end. Most of them seemed like they could run the race a second time, so I know they have more to give going into our second meet next week.”
JV Boys: Only complete team.
Jayden Hoidahl (Gr. 11) – 21:53.53
Titus Fuller (Gr. 11) – 22:00.25
Matson Hoff (Gr. 11) – 22:01.03
Carter Spangler (Gr. 11) – 26:25.41
Jake Norby (Gr. 9) – 29:15.41
Ty Siira (Gr. 9) – 31:19.35
“These guys have shown a lot of heart and work in practice these last two week and today showed their dedication,” said Bosma. “Many of them are fighting to take a spot on the varsity squad next week, so these times and JV races are important. Jayden and Titus seem to take off where they were at the end of last season and really helped lead the way for this group. They keep pushing the others in practice and it was great to see them push each other in the race today.”
JH Girls:
New York Mills – 20
A-B-E – 35
Bertha – Hewitt – incomplete score
Karlee Bauman(8) – 19:33.52 5th
Hannah Korkowski (7) – 19:35.09 6th
Taylor Dingwall (8) – 20:31.08 8th
Lacey Siira (7) – 21:12.78 10th
Elliana Bahls (8) – 22:04.06 11th
Lilly Tollefson (7) – 22:22.09 12th
Mary Fossell (7) – 22:22.37 13th
Ava Santjer (8) – 22:26.84 14th
Ayden Behrens (7) – 22:31.31 15th
“These are a great group of girls that ran very well today,” mentioned Bosma. “As soon as the race started, the rain came and made it difficult to race. However, they didn’t let it get to them.”
JH Boys:
Bertha Hewitt – 39
A-B-E – 40
New York Mills – 43
Micah Fuller (8) – 15:40.59 2nd
Kaleb Fuglseth (7) – 17:02.31 7th
Donell Lee (8) – 17:49.52 8th
Kenneth Spielman (7) – 18:51.9 11th
August Bredberg (7) – 18:55.96 12th
Levi Rossum (8) – 19:42.59 15th
Gavin Nicholas (8) – 19:52.06 16th
“This is another group of runners who did extremely well,” stated Bosma. “They ran hard and new runners found someone to run with and set their pace. This is a group that is competitive and should see improvements throughout the season.”
