The Bulldogs Boys Cross Country team continues to race on and put in a lot of work to prepare for their up-coming post-season, competing in two big meets the past week.

Saturday saw the team at the Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria. The day’s meet included over 1,200 runners and a lot of mud due to all the rain. Puddles were splashed and mud was flung throughout the course with 23 teams competing.

For the Bulldogs, a strong race was accomplished by varsity’s Cade Stommes, as he moved up to the number two spot for the team for the first time this season with a time of 18:49. Despite the wet and sloppy conditions, Lukas Karel maintained his sub-18 pace for the fifth consecutive meet to complete the race in 17:55, leading the Bulldogs once again.

Tyson Ricker was the third Bulldog in with a time of 18:54, followed by Ethan Tobako (19:01). Wyatt Hiltner (19:33) and Jake Nelson (19:39) were next across the line, with Keegan Murphy (19:58) shortly behind racing his first varsity event.

The JV harriers also battled hard, and even with the poor conditions three racers accomplished personal records. Bruce Kraemer (19:07), Ryan Boecker (19:47) and Mason Doucette (22:42) raced faster than ever in the 5km course, with Doucette besting his time by one minute, seven seconds.

Mason Becker (19:42) was the second JV finisher, while David Myres was the fourth with his sub-20 minute time. Luke MacDonald (21:15) and Brock Ramola (21:53) were next in for the Bulldogs.

Ten Bulldogs raced for the prize in the 3200 race. Jase Tobako (12:24) was the top Bulldog in the race, followed by a few close-competing teammates; Alex Kinney (12:42), Jacob Peterson (12:45) and Landon Lahr (13:49). Both Peterson and Lahr achieved personal records as they challenged each other to continue their progress. 

Denlan Harmoning (13:57) was next, with Jonathan Drury (14:26) a little ways behind. Marty Huwe (15:13) and Hank Bjerga (20:10) finished the course filled with mud, but shared smiles with teammates over the memorable event.

“It was a messy experience, but one that we got to share together and build some stories with,” said Coach Dustin Weege.

Tuesday capped off the Bulldog harriers’ busy couple of weeks, with the team heading to the Princeton Golf Course for the Tiger Invitational, the last regular season meet before conference.

The course provided another day of puddle splashing and mud-slinging. Becker’s top runner was Lukas Karel (17:56), finishing 13th to medal in the contest. Tyson Ricker returned to the number two spot with his 18:31 5km race.

Next, a pack of Bulldogs came in as three battled each other for position; Cade Stommes (18:53), Jake Nelson (18:56) and Ethan Tobako (18:57) challenged each other to be sub-19. In doing so, the Bulldogs accomplished a team feat that hadn’t been done since the previous season; five scoring members completed the 5km race in under 19 minutes.

Bruce Kraemer (19:17), Mason Becker (19:42), Keegan Murphy (20:05) and Ryan Boecker (20:13) rounded out the varsity squad for the meet.

On the JV team, 10 runners challenged in order to achieve a 3rd place finish. Wyatt Hiltner (19:07) earned a medal for his 8th place finish. Not far behind David Myres (19:56.1) helped guide Jase Tobako (19:55.5) along for Tobako’s first 5km race. Alex Kinney (20:36) and Jonathan Drury (23:22) also raced in the 5km for the first time.

Caleb Reckelberg (20:01) raced well as he was just six seconds from his PR despite the wind and rain. Luke MacDonald (21:31) was next in line along with Brock Ramola (21:33), Mason Doucette (22:56) ad Ben Howe (23:12).

“While a few of the 7-8th graders bumped up to the 5km course, it was also neat to see the other guys really work to perform on the 3000m course,” said Weege.

Jacob Peterson attacked the race and led a fair portion of the course, with his 11:32 finish earning him a 7th place medal along with a significant personal record pace improvement. Landon Lahr (13:22), Marty Huwe (13:44) and Hank Bjerga (17:17) also raced well in the 3000m course, with Bjerga putting in great effort throughout the race to accomplish a new personal record.

“We recognize that this past couple of weeks have been a grind for the student-athletes and families, but their hard work should pay off,” said Weege. “We’re at the point in our season where we’ll begin tapering off a bit as we seek to have the best races of our lives in the upcoming championship meets.”

The Bulldogs Boys Cross Country team next competes Oct. 15 at the Mississippi 8 Conference and Oct. 24 for the Section 8AA state qualifier meet.