Kade and Owen Layton ended this unique cross country season in much the same fashion as they started it, leading the pack across the finish line for the Big Lake Hornets.  This time, however, instead of a Mississippi 8 triangular meet on their home course, they were taking on 23 of the top individual runners from around the state.

Earlier this fall, the Minnesota State High School League voted against holding any sort of state championship for fall sports.  High school cross country runners would have to settle for ending their seasons after the section competitions in mid-October.  In an effort to extend the season for the state’s top runners, as well as provide a little normalcy to the fall, Adam Lindahl, owner of Twin Cities Running Company, offered to host a meet.

The top 20 boys and girls teams, along with the top 25 individuals were invited to compete in the TCRC XC Showcase, a club-style meet held at Island Pine Golf Course in Atwater, MN.  The alternate state meet gave Minnesota’s best their only opportunity to compete on the same course on the same day.

Participating in the individual runners’ wave of the Large School division, Kade finished first with a time of 16:29 followed closely by Owen in second place stopping the clock in 16:34.  In the end, when all six waves of athletes (five team waves, and one individual wave) were combined for the final results, Kade’s time placed him 25th overall. 

In a normal state meet, his effort would have earned him All-State honors. 

Owen’s time earned him 29th place overall; a marked improvement on his postseason performance from a year ago where he placed 149th in the state meet as just an eighth grader.

It was the Big Lake duo’s first opportunity to compete against runners from outside of their conference all season.

“I didn’t know any of my competitors, except one, so there were a lot of unknowns,” said freshman Owen Layton.

For Kade, a sophomore, this race was a welcomed addition to the end of the season.

“It was nice to not be forced to watch at the end of this year,” he said. 

Last fall, Kade was hampered by a hamstring injury that prevented him from running his best at the section meet and he narrowly missed qualifying for the state meet.

The pair utilized the same race strategies they have all season.  Kade placed himself near the front of the pack, running with the leaders for much of the race before moving into the lead. 

“The first mile was extremely fast, but after halfway I was able to start picking off guys and made my way to the front,” Kade said.

In contrast to his brother, Owen laid off the fast pace at the start,  Running in last place through the opening portion of the race, he patiently and methodically moved his way through the pack before ultimately finishing just five seconds back from the win, and his brother.

The runners from Prior Lake took home the team title with 89 points.  Ethan Vargas of Stillwatter was the overall individual champion, crossing the line in 15 minutes and 54 seconds.