It was an ideal day for cross country running and the Wadena-Deer Creek girls cross country running team took advantage of it, setting several personal records on the fast course at Arvig Park in Perham, Minn., on Oct. 5.
“Everyone loves the weather for starters and we broke out some new uniforms,” Wadena-DC head coach Michael Brunsberg said. “After everyone has run a lot of season’s best, I feel it was a good day.”
The Wolverines finished 20th as a team finishing with 509 points. The second-ranked Class A Perham Yellowjackets finished first with 60 points. Lakeville South came in second with 62 points. Moorhead was third, followed by Fargo North and Bemidji in fifth.
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“They knew the junior high kids were setting personal records and we don’t want to underestimate the chain of events there,” Brunsberg said. “It seemed to me that we pack ran pretty well today. Some of the girls that have been behind a little bit, scooted up a little bit and ran with someone that is usually a little faster. When you pack run, it sometimes get the inspiration cooking and good things happen.”
Lakeville South’s Brianne Brewster won the individual race, finishing with a time of 18 minutes and 27.57 seconds. Bemidji’s Sadie Hamrin came in second place with a time of 18:35.44.
Leading the way for the Wolverines was Abby Motschenbacher. She finished in 76th place. She had a finishing time of 21:50.14.
Eve Collins set a personal record at the Harrier Classic, finishing with a time of 22:52.52. Samantha Malone finished the race in 111th place, finishing with a time of 23:08.98. Emma Ries came in 122nd place. Ries finished with a time of 23:41.32. Ries set a personal best at the Perham Invite as well, while Malone set a season personal record.
Ally Pavek followed right behind in 123rd place, finishing with a time of 23:48.32. Emma Bushinger ended in 127th, finishing at 24:02.98. McKenna Wangsness ended in 128th place, finishing with a time of 24:03.57. Bushinger and Wangsness both finished with personal bests for the season.
“When we talk about this course a lot of people remember personal records and the energy of all these teams kind of pulls you around,” Brunsberg said. “A lot of the kids like the moguls, but what’s kind of big is they know it’s an exact course. This event, you get your true 5K time.”
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The Wolverines continue their busy week when they travel to Duluth’s Enger Park Golf Course on Oct. 7 to compete in the annual Swain Invitational.
