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Paynesville, ranked first in Class A in the state, took second place in the 40-team meet behind Staples-Motley. The Cardinals, who are ranked sixth in state, took first, beating the Bulldogs 97-128. The loss ended the Bulldogs' undefeated run at the start of the season.

"It was a great race, and we are one of the best teams in the state. This is a good stepping stone for the rest of the year," said coach Darrel Carstens.

Third-ranked Minnehaha Academy took third, and New London-Spicer Ð the defending state champions currently ranked second Ð finished third.

The Bulldogs beat Cathedral, a key sectional rival, who finished sixth.

Senior Jen Hess (pictured at left) ran the same time that she won with a year ago, but took second place this year as Lauren Brueberg from Minnehaha Academy won by 17 seconds.

Junior Kim Hess and seventh grader Kacy Nehowig ran great races, staying together most of the time. Kim took 15th place in 15:40, and Nehowig took 17th place 12 seconds later.

Eighth grader Brooke Schmitz had a little trouble breathing and actually collapsed but ended up finishing very well. She ended in 25th place, despite not being at her best.

Paynesville's fifth runner was Mandy Mayer. Mayer ended up quite far behind all of the other Bulldog runners. She placed 69th.

Nicole Flint was Paynesville's final runner. She came in strong in 129th place.

"We had a lot of great performing, after a very tough week of training, and we can do better," said Carstens.

The Bulldogs host their only home meet of the season on Thursday at Koronis Hills. The meet starts at 4:30 p.m.

Team Scores
1. Staples-Motley 97
2. Paynesville 128
3. Minnehaha Academy 151
4. New London-Spicer 160
5. Visitation 199
6. Cathedral 204
7. Blue Earth 249
8. Canby-Lincoln-Minneota 291
9. Mayer Lutheran 298
10. Madelia-Truman 310
11. Mesabi East 326
12. Lake City 339
13. Murray County 404
14. Chatfield 428
15. United South Central 444
16. Sleepy Eye-St. Mary's 508
17. Wadena-Deer Creek 539
18. Mayer Lutheran 555
19. Concordia Academy 594
20. Plainview 663
21. Chisholm 673
22. Pine City 679
23. Minnewaska 729
24. Lake Crystal 759
25. Eveleth-Gilbert 807
26. Silver Bay 834
27. Delano 864
Thirteen team's scores were incomplete.

Individual Results
2. Jen Hess 14:30
15. Kim Hess 15:40
17. Kacy Nehowig 15:52
25. Brooke Schmitz 16:06
69. Mandy Mayer 16:57
129. Nicole Flint 18:02