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The Paynesville girls took first place with a score of 42, halving the total of New London-Spicer, the defending state champs. The Wildcats - who graduated one runner and were missing another - took second place with a score of 84.

The Bulldogs had the individual champion, two runners in the top 5, three runners in the top 10, five in the top 15, and six in the top 20 to beat their neighboring rival. "We had a great effort by the entire team," said coach Darrel Carstens. "This was a fantastic start for these hard-working girls."

Coach Carstens used the words "awesome" and "fun" to describe the Bulldogs' first meet.

Medals were awarded to the top 20 finishers. Paynesville runners received six of the medals: Jen Hess, Brooke Schmitz, Kim Hess, Mandy Mayer, Kacy Nehowig, and Nicole Flint. The Bulldogs also received medals for getting first place as a team.

Third as a team was Sauk Centre, who finished seventh at state last fall.

Defending state champion Jen Hess was the individual champion of the meet, finishing first by more than a minute.

Schmitz, who also earned All State honors last fall, was the next Bulldog runner to finish, placing fifth. Schmitz had to backtrack during the race when she cut a corner because she couldn't see the flag. The team believes she could have placed even higher except for this loss of time and energy.

A pack of Bulldogs finished close together. Kim Hess finished 10th, Mayer 12th, Kacy Nehowig in 14th, and Flint in 19th place.

Paynesville's final runner was Danielle Lieser, who placed 46th.

The girls run at the BBE meet at the golf course in Brooten on Thursday, Sept. 6, starting at 5 p.m. They also compete at LPGE on Monday, Sept. 10, starting at 4:15 p.m.

Team Scores
1. Paynesville 42
2. New London-Spicer 84
3. Sauk Centre 116
4. Pelican Rapids 129
5. Canby-Lincoln-Minneota 137
6. Marshall 141
7. Perham 171
8. Minnewaska 211
9. Montevideo 242
10. Wadena-Deer Creek 248
Ortonville Inc.
Holdingford Inc.
Morris Inc.
MACCRAY Inc.

Individual Results
1. Jen Hess 14:45
5. Brooke Schmitz 16:35
10. Kim Hess 16:54
12. Mandy Mayer 17:02
14. Kacy Nehowig 17:14
19. Nicole Flint 17:41
46. Danielle Lieser 18:59