It was a night of celebration for the Bulldogs Boys Cross Country team as they recognized their season accomplishments during their Awards Ceremony, held with their families and the girls cross country team.

The Bulldogs captured the number four spot in the Mississippi 8 Conference this season as they rejoined the M8. Varsity went on to the Section 8 AA to have some nice performances to wrap up their racing for the season.

Five members of the team earned All Conference Academic honors; Adrian Johnson, David Myres, Lukas Karel, Keegan Murphy and Cade Stommes. Karel also received the Scholar Athlete Award for his strong achievements in his academics as a student athlete.

Three Bulldogs were honored by the Mississippi 8 Conference for their performances in the conference meet; Karel and Tyson Ricker were named All Conference Runners and Ethan Tobako received Honorable Mention.

The team itself was recognized with two awards this season, the Academic Excellence Silver Award from the Minnesota State High School Coaches Assoc. for the team’s high GPA, and the Gold Award from the Mississippi 8 Conference.

The team’s Most Valuable Award was presented to Lukas Karel as the lowest scorer in the season since he’d placed well in each meet. Tyson Ricker was presented Most Dedicated Team Member for the great deal of work he put in to improve himself and his teammates before and during the season.

The Most Improved Team Member was presented to Mason Doucette for his growth during the season as a racer as he returned to the cross country team. Jase Tobako was presented the Rookie Award as the newcomer that managed to lead the Bulldogs Jr. High racers in all but one meet. 

A special award was also presented this season termed the G.O.A.T. Award (Greatest of all Time). The heavily contested award was voted on by the team and given to Tyson Ricker to recognize all his accomplishments.

This year’s Bulldogs harrier captains were David Myres, Jake Nelson and Lukas Karel.

“These guys have been great leaders and are wonderful individuals in the community,” said Weege. “They’ve put in a great deal of work to improve and to help their teammates have positive experiences. I’ve appreciated their leadership as they compliment each other well.”

Goodbyes and good luck in the future was given to this year’s seniors, Jake Nelson, Adrian Johnson, David Myres and Aaron Gregory (runner/manager). 

“This strong group has been part of the team for a long time and have come a long way since their first practices,” said Weege. “It’s been a fun journey and they, along with Manager Tom Blackstein, will be missed next season.”

A thank you was extended to all the cross country fans and supporters, with the team appreciating the friendly honks and waves they received as they ‘ran the town.’

“It was a pleasure to reflect on the team as they accomplished a lot this season through their hard work,” said Weege. “And it’s also fun to start the process of planning for the future. Our guys are hard workers and I look forward to seeing them continue to make great gains as athletes and as young men who are committed to running the race well.”