Cross Country: Area runners qualify for state following Section 8A meet

The defending section champion Perham boys cross country team placed first in the team standings with 26 points to qualify for state following Friday’s Section 8A cross country meet at Twins Pines Golf Course in Bagley.

Thief River Falls claimed runner-up honors with 74 points, with the Prowlers’ Brenden Skime finishing second in the boys race at 16:30.54 to qualify for state individually as well.

The Yellowjackets also had five individual runners qualify for the state meet with Keith Schornack leading the way with third at 16:34.79. Klaus Weber was fifth at 16:38.59 and Nick Carignan sixth at 16:50.97. Brandon Karels (17:10.25) and Brady Speicher (17:11.28) finished eighth and ninth, respectively for Perham, who reached state for the ninth consecutive year.

Jonathan Miller of United North Central was the lone Warrior runner to qualify for state with fourth at 16:37.71.

Nevis’ Bryon Schuldt was the top finisher in the boys’ race with a time of 16:15.41.
The top two teams and top 10 individual finishers in the boys and girls race qualified for the Class A state meet on Saturday (November 6) at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

Neil Janson was the top boys finisher for Wadena-Deer Creek with 32nd at 18:26.64 while Isaac Overmyer was 16th for Park Rapids at 17:54.89 and Blake Miller 29th for Staples-Motley in 18:17.54.

On the girls’ side, defending champion Perham reclaimed the team title with 84 points with Park Rapids second with 102. Both teams move on to the state meet on Saturday (November 6). It will be the eighth straight state appearance for the Yellowjackets and second concecutive for the Panthers.

Area runners qualifying individually for state include the Panthers’ Lydia Lutz, who finished second at 15:32.53; Lisa Reichert of Staples-Motley was fourth at 15:38.09 and Perham’s Cassie Beseman eighth at 15:59.86.

Victoria Alexander of Lake of the Woods was the top-finisher for the girls with a time of 15:16.37.

Wadena-Deer Creek’s Emma Schmitz missed qualifying for state in the girls meet by one place. The eighth-grader finished in 11th place with a time of 16:06.22.
Both Perham cross-country teams were runner-ups in the Class A state meet last year.

Section 8A Cross Country Meet on October 29 (at Twin Pines Golf Course in Bagley)
Boys Results
Team Scores (Top 2 teams qualify for state)
Perham 26, Thief River Falls 74, Staples-Motley 155, Park Rapids Area 161, Bagley/Fosston 182, Roseau 187, Hawley/Ulen-Hitterdahl 205, Warroad 230, Pequot Lakes 240, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 244, Wadena-Deer Creek 254, United North Central 343, Frazee 359, Lake of the Woods/Rainy River 371, Pine River-Backus 386, Pelican Rapids 397
Boys Individual Winner—Bryon Schuldt (Nevis) 16:15.41

Area Results
Frazee results: 43. Tanner Ellenberg 18:43.54; 65. Tristan Watchorn 19:2063; 83. Zac Watchorn 20:11.99; 107. Jason Laine 21:25.97; 108. Donovan Fletcher 21:27.89; 113. Will Halverson 22:08.20; 118. Jake Anderson 22:51.61

Park Rapids Area results: 16. Isaac Overmyer 17:54.89; 24. Taylor Kimball 18:08.11; 45. Zac Haugland 18:44.21; 46. Tanner Otterness 18:45.70; 49. Jake Waggoner 18:50.52; 52. Bailey Mueller 18:58.05; 68. Matt Sullivan 19:24.07;

Perham results: 3. Keith Schornack 16:34.79; 5. Klaus Weber 16:38.59; 6. Nick Carignan 16:50.97; 8. Brandon Karels 17:10.25; 9. Brady Speicher 17:11.28; 12. Dalton Dahms 17:15.65; 13. Andrew Riestenberg 17:32.43

Staples-Motley results: 29. Blake Miller 18:17.54; 33. Brandon Sterriker 18:28.02; 35. Justin Ziegler 18:35.09; 36. Brent Sterriker 18:35.60; 44. Paul Plenvey 18:44.21; 51. Korey Zetah 18:55.25; 58. Tyler Pogreba 19:08.67

United North Central results: 4. Jonathan Miller 16:37.71; 86. Luke Graham 20:35.82; 100. Cody Pulju 21:07.16; 101. Paul Funk 21:13.44; 103. Jeff Johnson 21:19.70; 121. Eric Aker 23:53.39; 124. Tom Houle 26:26.00

Wadena-Deer Creek results: 32. Neil Janson 18:26.64; 54. Joey Pate 19:02.51; 56. Zach Bernu 19:05.05; 57. Will Eliason 19:06.05; 82. Brody Wangness 20:05.85; 104. Lukas Krueger 21:21.91

Girls Results
Team Scores (Top 2 teams qualify for state)
Perham 84, Park Rapids Area 102, Warroad 113, Roseau 115, Staples-Motley 125, Lake of the Woods/Rainy River 156, Hawley/Ulen-Hitterdahl 181, Pelican Rapids 190, Pequot Lakes 199, Pillager 254, Thief River Falls 266, East Grand Forks 283, Trek North 333, Frazee 399, United North Central 403, Pine River-Backus 430, West Marshall 434
Girls Individual Winner—Victoria Alexander (LOW/RR) 15:16.37

Area Results
Frazee results: 60. Suzanne Vetter 18:16.71; 68. Montana Osterman 18:32.78; 88. Morgan Laine 19:44.69; 106. Brenna Graham 20:27.13; 108. Katie Halverson 20:36.98; 113. Ruth Goranson 20:50.56; 120. Emma Buhr 21:39.48

Park Rapids Area results: 2. Lydia Lutz 15:32.53; 15. Alex Peterson 16:19.63; 27. Shelby Pierce 16:59.08; 29. Kaylee Himanowski 17:02.23; 39. Morgan Olson 17:18.09; 41. Lora Remus 17:25.18

Perham results: 8. Cassie Beseman 15:59.06; 14. Racole Karels 16:16.56; 22. Mary Riestenberg 16:44.59; 23. Ciarrin Covington 16:47.46; 25. Lizzie Fudge 16:51.61; 40. Sydney Karels 17:21.66; 53. Jessica Dreier 18:07.41

Staples-Motley results: 4. Lisa Reichert 15:38.09; 13. Emma Pogreba 16:11.32; 26. Emma Miller 16:57.28; 44. Emily Fuhrman 17:35.90; 51. Haley Christoffersen 17:58.33; 70. Taylor Klimek 18:35.12; 73. Claire Roberts 18:39.43

United North Central results: 74. Jill Isaacson 18:51.55; 83. Madlin Lausten 19:29.85; Joy Haataja 19:31.28; 91. Sara Quismi 19:50.67; 105. Emily Keranen 20:25.11; 107. Anna Johnson 20:35.36;

Wadena-Deer Creek results: 11. Emma Schmitz 16:06.22; 125. Evelyn Kumano 24:12.35