The Bulldogs Boys Cross Country team’s final season meet was a day of achievements for the team and many of its individual runners.

The team traveled to St. Francis Tuesday, where the day’s meet served as the final race of the season for many of the Bulldogs and turned out some nice final performances.

“It was a good day,” said Coach Dustin Weege. “The guys worked hard to finish with some strong races and we weren’t wavered by the weather as we’ve become rather used to by this point.”

The varsity racers accomplished three personal records, while all the other Bulldogs were within 10 seconds of their own. Jake Nelson and Ryan Boecker both accomplished their PRs by two seconds, while Ethan Tobako pushed to accomplish a 16 second PR.

Two Bulldogs earned All Conference plaques for their performances at the Mississippi 8 Championship meet. Tyson Ricker made the top 10 with his race in his third time finishing below the 18 minute mark.

“Ricker’s times this season have often been close to a minute faster than his times last year,” said Weege. “Which is great to see as he has continued to put in work with a long-term perspective.”

Lukas Karel was in the top group from the start, pushing the pace well and managing to capture a 4th place finish as he continued his lead position amongst the Bulldogs. His time of 17:34 was very near his best, positioning him well as the team prepares for the next stage of competition.

A pack with Nelson, Tobako, Wyatt Hiltner and Cade Stommes in it moved about the course with great comradely and support. Hiltner finished 31st with a time of 18:42, Nelson was 29th with 18:40, and Stommes finished in 18:29 for 25th. Tobako’s 21st place finish at 18:15 earned him All Conference Honorable Mention.

Boecker and Keegan Murphy were near each other during most of the race and they both competed at a pace of about 6:20 per mile for the 3.1 mile race.

In the JV race, six of the eight Bulldogs achieved their season best or personal record times over the 5k distance. Bruce Kraemer and Mason Becker worked together throughout the race to maintain positions in the front pack, finishing 5th and 6th respectively, both with sub-19 minute times.

David Myres was close behind to cap off his high school 5k in 12th with a 20 second improvement for his race. 

“David has been a solid leader throughout the season as a co-captain with Jake Nelson and Lukas Karel, and it was great to see him accomplish a strong finish,” said Weege. “Now he’s able to shift focus a bit as he prepares for his next races while continuing to lead in many positive ways.”

Next across the line was Caleb Reckelberg with a 27 second PR, followed by Luke MacDonald and Brock Ramola finishing close to each other with Ramola achieving a 20 second SR. Ben Howe finished 45th with a time of 22:15, and Mason Doucette continued his steady improvement with a 13 second PR.

The Jr. High team achieved 3rd place in the conference with all the hard work they put in,. Five of the eight Jr. High Bulldogs also accomplished their fastest paces of the season, and six performed well enough to earn a medal or ribbon for their race. 

Jake Tobako and Alex Kinney earned medals for their top 10 performances, while Jacob Peterson, 11th, Denlan Harmoning, 19th, Landon Lahr, 28th and Jonathon Drury, 30th, received ribbons.

Drury and Hank Bjerga had the most significant improvements in their final races of the season as they pushed pace, while Kinney, Lahr and Marty Huwe also achieved PRs.

“The team is getting eager to compete as they look to focus on cashing in on their hard work from the season and the summer,” said Weege. “They’ve been making steady investments and are looking forward to seeing the positive outcomes shine at the section meet as they compete with the challenging 16-team field.

Oct. 24 the top Bulldog runners will travel to the River Oaks Course in Cold Spring for the Section 8AA Championship meet hosted by Rocori.