For the Girls' Varsity, Ashley Paulson (22:27.8, 8th) set the pace for A-B-E and took off fast. “She had been nursing a leg issue last week and this morning she said it felt great,” said Bosma. “I told her to ease into the race and run a 7:30 minute first mile and adjust as needed. She ran a 6:30 split and kept the pace for quite a while. She is still learning strategy, but fell into a pack of girls and worked well with them. This led her to setting an A-B-E 5k record for us. Tuyet Vy Bui (28:56.7, 56th) and Quynn Beherns (35:17.5, 80th) also ran great races. They set goals for themselves and they are both working at getting more comfortable with the distance.”

The girls had an incomplete team.  Staples-Motley won the event with 22 points, followed by Park Rapids Area 70, United North Central 75, Detroit Lakes 101, Fergus Falls 116, Crosby-Ironton 132, New York Mills 196 and Hill City 218.

As for the guys, Jayden Hoidahl (19:45.5) started really fast for A-B-E. “His goal was to lead for a little of the race and see how long he could hold on,” said Coach Bosma. “Though he finished 20th, he is not far off his best time from last year and as he put it, he's still getting into shape. He really wants to push into the uncomfortable while racing to make himself better with every run. Kian Gackle (20:49.3) wanted to keep Jayden in his sights and did so for most of the race, ending up 25th. Like Ashley, he found a solid pack to chase for the race and he found a nice stride. This was the most at ease he has been while racing in the past couple years. Because of this, good things should happen for him this season. Logan Froemming (22:31.8) struggled some with the early heat of the day, but his determination and perseverance made it so he could finish 35th. August Bredberg (23:21.4), Donell Lee (24:31.5), and Cohen Reiland (26:56.0) all had their first varsity race and the nerves showed some before the race. But once they started, they calmed themselves and got into a nice pace. They all are working to get better every day and it was great to see them start to get a little of the strategy of running and racing.”

Staples-Motley won the boys’ race with 38 points, followed by Fergus Falls 53, Park Rapids Area 57, Bertha-Hewitt 102, Ashby-Brandon-Evansville 169, Pine River-Backus 171, Parkers Prairie 179, Detroit Lakes 181 and New York Mills 228.

“Junior high runners also took their first action this morning and had a great time shaking off their nerves,” concluded Coach Bosma.

Full results can be found at http://raceberryjam.com/today.html.