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The Dogs (108) were beaten only by New London-Spicer (94) and Litchfield (99).

"Taking third place out of 14 teams was a good run for our squad," said coach Darrel Carstens.

Once again, senior Riley Flanders led the Dogs' pack, finishing in third place overall. He finished very close behind the race leaders.

Behind Flanders, back a few places, was the pack of Dogs, led by seniors Tom Flannigan and Freddie Stock who finished the race in 20th and 22nd. Paynesville's second and third runners were separated by only five seconds. They both moved up in the last mile.

Junior Chad Wyffels led the pack early in the race but dropped a few places near the end and finished in 25th as the Dogs' fourth runner.

Next in for the Dogs was sophomore Jason Wendroth in 38th position, wrapping up the points for Paynesville. Behind him was sophomore Chris Utsch in 62nd place. Sophomore Matt Mehr did not finish the race.

In the junior high competition, eighth grader Dugan Flanders led the eighth grade race and ran to his first victory. He ran a very strong race and won it without much challenge from the competition. Peder Thompson also finished the eighth grade race in the top ten, taking seventh.

The team has the whole week free from meets, but it will be their hardest week of training for the season. Their next meet will be on Saturday at Milaca, host of the biggest cross country meet in the world.

Team Scores
1. New London-Spicer 94
2. Litchfield 99
3. Paynesville 108
4. Lac qui Parle Valley 111
5. MACCRAY 140
6. Morris 141
7. Willmar 162
8. Redwood Valley 182
9. BOLD 188
10. BBE 199
11. Howard Lake-Waverly 301
12. ACGC Inc.
13. Minnewaska Inc.
14. Renville County West Inc.

Individual Results
3. Riley Flanders 16:58
20. Tom Flannigan 17:56
22. Freddie Stock 18:03
25. Chad Wyffels 18:10
38. Jason Wendroth 18:25
62. Chris Utsch 19:58

LPGE Meet
On Monday Sept. 9, the Dogs ran at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, probably their most challenging course of the season. LPGE's course is very tough with a lot of hills and is generally one of the slowest races of the season.

The Dogs, once again, ran strong, taking their third fifth-place finish of the season.

Riley Flanders was the lead Dog again, finishing in ninth place.

Freddie Stock was the second runner for Paynesville to cross the finnish line. Behind him was Tom Flannigan, who ran with Stock during the race. Together they moved up through the pack, placing 27th and 28th.

Behind them a couple of places was Chad Wyffels, who came across the finish line in 31st. He started the race strong and stayed strong, not giving up a lot of places, except to Flannigan and Stock.

Jason Wendroth and Matt Mehr finished six seconds apart, with Wendroth finishing in front in 35th and Mehr finishing in 36th.

Eighth grader Dugan Flanders was the next across the line for Paynesville. Flanders took the seventh spot for the Dogs. He finished in 50th place.

The varsity and junior varsity races were run at the same time, so the first seven across the line for each team were considered varsity for the points.

The Dogs ran well against their stiffest competition of the whole year. After the meet, coach Carstens had this to say, "We have made progress the past three meets. We have some varsity experience, but are also young."

If the Dogs keep running well and gaining experience, they should be a strong team by the end of the season, he said.

Team Scores
1. Little Falls 27
2. Sauk Centre 82
3. Brainerd 101
4. Pierz 113
5. Paynesville 130
6. Albany 136
7. Litchfield 146
8. LPGE 206
9. Royalton Inc.

Individual Results
9. Riley Flanders 18:03
27. Freddie Stock 19:30
28. Tom Flannigan 17:17
31. Chad Wyffels 17:21
35. Jason Wendroth 19:57
36. Matt Mehr 20:03
50. Dugan Flanders 21:45