The Bulldogs once again dominated their competition with an overpowering victory at the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Invite on Thursday. An astounding five runners for Paynesville brought home medals, which were awarded to the top 15 runners on the varsity level.The Bulldogs had five runners in the top 15, and seven in the top 18, which boosted them to a convincing win over Montevideo. The Thunderhawks beat the Bulldogs in sections last year and finished fifth in state. They will be a key sectional opponent this year as the Bulldogs try to earn a state berth.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs had a score of 32, half of Montevideo's total. The Mohawks had a total of 66.
Adam Utsch defeated Montevideo's second runner and placed fourth at the meet on the golf course in Brooten.
Throughout the race, elite runner Clayton Lang waged a battle with Montevideo's Greg Liebl, who placed in the top ten individually at state last year. The lead changed hands several times throughout the race, and the finish found Lang just seconds behind Liebl and nearly 30 seconds in front of the third-place runner. Lang's time was 16:49.
Though known more for his endurance than speed, Adam Utsch stepped it up a notch in the last 600 meters of the race, and, with a final burst on the home stretch, captured an additional place for the Bulldogs to put him in fourth place.
Dan Pearson and Jesse Rien, Paynesville's third and fourth runners, both had impressive performances to surpass their great finishes from the previous week. They finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Utsch, Pearson, and Rien neutralized Montevideo's second runner, who came in fifth. At sectionals last year, this Thunderhawk runner proved key in beating Paynesville.
Bringing home a medal for his strong 13th place finish was Eric Korman, who entered the chute as Paynesville's fifth runner.
Riley Flanders and Travis Flanders came in only four seconds apart after a mad-dog dash to the finish line. With their finishes, the spread between Paynesville's second and seventh runner was only 42 seconds. Both Riley and Travis narrowly missed earning medals at the meet.
With the entire team of Bulldogs dominating the race, even without the team's top two runners, the Bulldogs still would have come home with a victory.
Coach Darrel Carstens commented on the win, saying, "Great job at all levels! I am extremely proud of our performance. Many individuals showed great improve-ment."
Team standings
1. Paynesville -32
2. Montevideo -66
3. Albany -95
4. New London-Spicer- 131
5. Holdingford -144
6. Sauk Centre -146
7. BBE -213
8. Morris -246
9. Litchfield -248
10. Bold -268
11. Minnewaska -Inc.
12. ACGC -Inc.
13. Renville County West -Inc.
Individual results
2. Clayton Lang -16:49
4. Adam Utsch -17:20
6. Dan Pearson -17:42
7. Jesse Rien -17:56
13. Eric Korman -18:20
16. Riley Flanders -18:24
18. Travis Flanders -18:28
Junior Varsity
2. Ryan Flanders -19:05
3. Scott Thompson- 19:13
4. Tom Flannigan -19:47
7. Fred Stock -19:58
27. Andrew Jones -22:43
Junior high
3. Travis Wendroth -11:43
8. Matt Mehr -12:21
22. Chris Utsch -13:12