The Wadena-Deer Creek cross country running teams got their first look at the Section 8A Championship course when they competed in the annual Bagley Invitational on Sept. 20 at the Bagley Golf Course.
It was a strong day for both programs when they cracked the top 10. It was the highest finish for the Wadena-DC boys team when they finished third overall, while the girls team finished 10th.
Staples-Motley won the boys title, finishing with 65 points. Ada-Borup/Norman County West came in second place with 74 points, while the Wolverines were third with 127 points. International Falls and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton rounded out the top five for the boys.
East Grand Forks captured the girls crown. The Green Wave finished with 79 points, while Perham was second with 105 points. Staples-Motley came in third, followed by Thief River Falls and United North Central. The Wolverines finished 10th with a score of 226.
In all, the Wolverines had 26 runners post their personal best times during the event. Leading the way for the boys was senior Noah Ross and sophomore Bereket Loer. Those two earned medals with a top 15 finish.
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Staples-Motley’s Emmet Anderson won the boys race with a finishing time of 16:38.5. Crookston’s Ben Andringa came in second place with a time of 17:12.5. FInishing third was Ada-Borup/Norman County West’s 17:14.8. Bemidji’s Linaes Whiting was fourth with a time of 17:34.2 and in fifth place was East Grand Forks’ Tyson Mahar at 17:41.5.
Ross was the top Wadena-DC runner across the line when he finished seventh overall. He came in with a finishing time of 17:50.7. Loer was the next runner across the line, he came in with a time of 18:06.7 for 14th place.
Jayson Young and Lucas Hinojos were right on each others heels when they finished 42nd and 43rd overall. Young came in with a finishing time of 19:05.1, while Hinojos finished with a time of 19:06.4. Isaac Ries closed with a finishing time of 19:21.3, finishing in 52nd place.
Jacopo Della Latta finished in 61st place overall for Wadena-Deer Creek. He earned a time of 19:46.2. Joshua Tabery rounded out the varsity field for the Wolverines. He finished 91st overall, ending with a time of 20:29.9.
Thief River Falls’ Jerzie Finstad came in first place in the varsity girls race. She finished with a time of 20:01.4. She was followed by Lake Park-Audubon’s Lily Peterson. Peterson came in second with a time of 20:05.5. Staples-Motley’s Kira Sweeney was third at 20:12.5, while Frazee’s Ellie Morgan was fourth at 20:36.1.Rounding out the top five was Perham’s Ashley Hokanson with a time of 20:46.8.
The top Wadena-DC runner was Abby Motschenbacher when she finished in 28th place. It was her first time cracking the top 30 in her ninth race at the Bagley course. Motschenbacher finished with a time of 22:30.4.
Eve Collins came in 51st place overall. She crossed the finish line with a time of 23:35.3. Samantha Malone crossed the line in 63rd place, finishing with a time of 24:24.0, she was followed closely by Emma Ries and Ally Pavek. Ries finished in 65th place with a time of 24:31.0. Pavek made her varsity debut, finishing in 68th place. She closed with a time of 24:38.5.
Johanna Brunsberg finished the race with a time of 25:13.7, earning 75th place honors. Sophie Kreklau rounded out the field for the Wolverines when she crossed at 25:34.4, earning 78th place honors.
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Both Wadena-DC squads will be in action on Saturday, Sept. 23 when they compete in the annual Milaca Mega Meet. The Mega Meet is the largest cross country running meet in the world. The event will host more than 140 schools and 5,900 runners will compete in the event. The first race of the day is set to begin at 8:40 a.m., while the final race of the day is set to go off at 2:15 p.m. at the Stones Throw Golf Course.
