Three Paynesville girl - Jen Hess, Brooke Schmitz, and Kim Hess - earned All Conference honors as the team ran to a third place finish at last Thursday's West Central Conference meet in St. Cloud. The team ran a full squad of seven runners, and each member had a top performance.The bicyclist that leads the runners through the course was nearly run down by Jenny Hess (pictured at right), who once again walloped the entire field of runners to earn the distinguished honor of "Conference Champion." She conquered the course in 15:01, chalking up her eighth victory of the season.
Brooke Schmitz finished in second place, only 20 seconds behind teammate Jenny Hess, who is ranked as the best runner in the state of Minnesota. "At the beginning of the race I just tried to stick with the second place runner," said Brooke Schmitz. Her strategy worked, and she overtook second place halfway through the race and commanded the position until she entered the chute with her impressive time of 15:21.
Kim Hess ran a solid race with a wild finish. She dug her spikes into the parched ground as she rounded the last corner and buried a rival Sauk Centre runner. Her effort earned her a ninth place finish, a time of 16:19, and a shiny medal for her All Conference performance. "The course was just dandy," said Kim Hess.
Paynesville's fourth runner was Bridget Johnson, who displayed continued improvement. Her place of 26th helped her team to a third place finish.
Trisha Wendlandt filled in the team's key fifth position, finishing 27th in 18:54. Mesa Frenchick was 10 seconds behind in 28th, and Mellody Veldkamp was 32nd in 20:16. All of the girls had some of their best times of the season.
"I thought every member of the team ran well, and I was happy with our team's finish," commented Jenny Hess.
The girls had their subsection meet Tuesday at Minnewaska, and if they advance they will run Thursday, Oct. 26, at the section meet in New London-Spicer.
Team standings
1. Sauk Centre -44
2. Cathedral -57
3. Paynesville -63
4. Albany -66
5. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle -126
Litchfield Inc.
Individual results
1. Jenny Hess 15:01
2. Brooke Schmitz 15:21
9. Kim Hess 16:19
25. Bridget Johnson 18:46
26. Trisha Wendlandt 18:54
28. Mesa Frenchick 19:04
32. Mellody Veldkamp 20:16