The Becker boys cross country team managed to do what’s never been done before.
On Tues., Oct. 15 they traveled to Bertram Regional Park in Monticello for the Mississippi 8 Conference championship meet. Going into the meet, the team was hoping to make history by receiving their first conference title and they did not disappoint.
Junior High
The Jr. High athletes started off the conference meet with runners shooting for best performance times. All five of the Jr. High runners received personal records.
The leaders of the race consisted of Oliver Carlson (12:40 - third) and Henry Peckskamp (12:48- fourth). Not far behind was Noah Anderson with his 12th place finish (13:13). Owen Young (14:07) and Brody Zinken (14:45) were able to finish in the top-25 of the race.
All in all, fourth place was awarded to the Jr. High team.
“I was impressed to see all five guys accomplish the goal of finishing with their best race of the season,” said Coach Patrick Drury.
JV Boys
The next team to go was the JV boys, who captured second place. Conference ribbons were awarded to Weston Denne (19:37- seventh), Mason Tschida (19:38 - eighth), and Jonathan Drury (19:53 - 12th). Hunter Heitkamp (20:12 - 19th) missed a ribbon by 1.6 seconds.
With his second best time of the year, Cooper Pany (21:21 - 40th) was the fifth JV bulldog to cross the finish line. Coming off a summer injury, Carson Schuster proved his determination with a 60th place finish (22:46).
The next three Bulldog runners to cross the finish line were Tanner Schmitt (23:40), Aiden Jacobs (24:01), and Thomas Cota (24:09). Another Bulldog to receive his second fastest race time was Mason Corner (29:40).
Varsity Squad
The varsity runners were next up to the starting line. Nerves were high due to the close point separation between the first and second place teams.
Conference recognition was awarded to six Bulldog runners during the meet. The second place finish was awarded to Tanner Felton (16:16), after he pushed through towards the finish line.
The next three runners who crossed the finish line and received All-Conference honors and they were, Parker Spindler (16:35), Alex Swanson (16:35), and Evan Hubbard (17:21). Honorable Mentions went to Brandt Hemmelgarn (17:52) and Holden Hubbard (17:52).
Alex Schermer (18:23) managed to achieve his second fastest career time in his senior season. A team goal had been reached when the boys realized they had won their first conference title.
“I was glad for the work that our Bulldogs did to achieve this goal and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish still this season,” said Head Coach Dustin Weege.
