On September 26, the Becker girls and boys cross country teams hosted their 34th annual Becker Invitational at Pebble Creek Golf Course. 

Girls CC

There were conflicting events taking place at the same time as the meet, so the team turnout was less than the previous years. 

Awards were handed out to middle school runners Evie Malisheski and Sydnee Bull for their first and third place finish. 

Varsity runners that received awards included Alyse Denne (seventh), who finished in fifth place, Katelyn Brower (11th), who finished in seventh place, and ALyssa Brower (ninth), who finished in 10th place. 

In the junior varsity race, Sophia Otto (ninth) came in fourth place and Ava Scheiber (ninth) came in fifth place. Both girls received awards for their placements. 

The next race will take place Oct. 5 in Alexandria.

Boys CC

The day started off with a youth run, where kids took off on a one mile course, after they had completed some warmups with the current cross country runners. The Bulldog Junior High team ended with 57 points, which placed them in second place in the 3200m race. 

Oliver Carlson took the lead for the Bulldogs with a 14:11 fourth place win and was soon followed by Henry Peckskamp (14:22, sixth) and Noah Anderson (14:31, eighth). 

The varsity team ended the race with a total of 43 points. Alex Swanson took the lead for the Bulldogs and ended up crossing the finish line in third place with a sub-17 performance. 

Following right behind Swanson was Parker Spindler, who crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 17:08 for the 5km race. The next three runners to cross the line included Evan Hubbard (10th place), Holden Hubbard (11th place), and Brandt Hemmelgarn (12th place). 

Alex Schermer came in the #6 ‘team bumping’ position which bumped up Beckers point total. Weston Denne would follow with the #7 ‘team bumping’ position and his fifth career varsity experience. 

The junior varsity team top runners included Mason Tschida (20:35, seventh), Hunter Heitkamp (20:36. eighth), and Cooper Pany with a PR (21:51, 17th). 

Along with the cross country meet, a couple of NHS members — led by runners Parker Spindler and Thomas Cota — fundraised for two organizations, Firefighters for Healing and Dylan’s Hope Organization. Donations were collected throughout the meet from runners and fans to support the organization’s positive work that they do for and with families.