Ideal autumn weather and the yellow maple leaf-blanketed hills of the Minnewaska golf course set the stage for the subsection cross country meet. The hard work of the girls' cross country team manifested a trophy for the honor of subsection runner-up. Jenny Hess, Brooke Schmitz, and Kim Hess were all in the top ten and will advance to the section meet both with their team and as individuals.The team is composed of: (front) Mesa Frenchick, Mellody Veldkamp, Jen Hess; (middle) Kim Hess, Brooke Schmitz, Trisha Wendlandt, Bridget Johnson; (back) coaches-Rick Houske, Darrel Carstens, Todd Spanier.
Jenny Hess, who has won every race she's run all season, put a ninth notch on her belt-of-wins after acquiring another first place medal with her subsection victory. She completed the course in 14:41, and remains ranked the number one individual in Class A.
Brooke Schmitz stuck with the tight pack of New London-Spicer's top four runners for the duration of the race, but came just short of chasing down the yellow jerseys in the scamper to the finish. Her time of 15:33 earned her a medal for sixth place.
It would be inaccurate to state that Kim Hess left the eighth place runner in the dust, because by the time the next runner crossed the finish line all the dust that Kim kicked up was already settled. She finished in seventh place with a time of 16:03, one spot behind teammate Brooke Schmitz.
Bridget Johnson once again shaved off a hefty amount of time from her race, finishing 27th in 18:24. Her spot helped establish the second place team position as belonging to Paynesville.
Trisha Wendlandt clinched the team's fifth position, trotting into the row of pretty colored flags in 32nd place with a time of 18:54. Mesa Frenchick was just six seconds behind in 34th in a tight race to the finish, and Mellody Veldkamp finished the race in 42nd place.
"We've been getting better as the season progresses," said coach Darrel Carstens. "It's great that both teams came out of the day with a trophy. Our hard work is paying off."
The girls' next race is the section meet tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 26) at New London-Spicer. The top two teams and the top ten individuals from this meet will advance to the state meet at Northfield on Saturday, Nov. 4
Come and see what happens when the Dogs are let out.
Team standings
1. New London-Spicer -22
2. Paynesville -72
3. Minnewaska -82
4. Montevideo -*107
5. Morris -107
6. Ortonville -129
7. LPGE -176
BBE -Inc.
*Tie goes to position of sixth runner
Individual results
1. Jenny Hess -14:41
6. Brooke Schmitz -15:33
7. Kim Hess -16:03
27. Bridget Johnson -18:24
32. Trisha Wendlandt -18:54
34. Mesa Frenchick -19:00
42. Mellody Veldkamp -21:00