The Section 3A Cross Country meet was held in Madison, MN. The weather for the meet was less than ideal. The temperature hovered around freezing with occasional flakes of snow and the wind gusted over 30 mph at times. Even with these conditions, the cross country meet would go on as planned.
The girl’s 5,000 meter run was the first race on the chilly course. 135 girls completed the run. Sophomore Moriah Bullerman was the first Dragon to finish the course in 53rd place with a time of 22:58. Freshman Gracia Elias was not far behind, running a strong 23:22 and placing 64th. Hiltyn Heitkamp came in 91st place with a time of 24:32. First year runner Alysha Wieneke competed in her first section meet to place 101st in a time of 25:03. Senior Courtney Penning ended her cross country career as the 5th runner for the Dragons in a time of 25:52. Junior Halle Heitkamp ran 26:46. Annika Elias tied a season best time in 26:54 even with the difficult conditions. The girls placed 18th as a team.
The boys 5,000 meter run was just as challenging. The field of 144 boys got out to a strong start. Brady Henning put himself in position to qualify for state early in the race. He held on throughout and finished 11th overall. This place was enough to get him into state as one of the top eight individuals. The process for individuals to go to state takes the top eight runners who did not qualify on a team. The top two teams qualify for state. His time was 17:48. Junior Christian Weidert was next with a 66th place effort in a time of 20:04. Caleb Hornstein followed with a time of 22:22 and senior Mitchell Veld ran his last race in a time of 24:51. The Dragons did not have a complete team.
The State Meet will be held on November 4th in Northfield, MN on the campus of St. Olaf.
