Friday, March 29th, 2024 Church Directory
TYSON RICKER ran well at Alexandria Oct. 9th finishing first amomgst all Bulldog runners with a time of 17:34.7. (Submitted Photo)

Bulldog boys CC travels for 2 meets

The Becker boys cross country team had a couple of events in the previous week, venturing to Alexandria and Princeton Oct. 9th and 12th. 

Alexandria 

The Alexandria Lions Club hosted the 48th annual Lion’s Meet of Champions with 28 teams attending. Over 1,200 runners took part in the races that saw many state ranked teams and ranked student-athletes from across the three classes of the state.  

The day started out overcast with a light sprinkle, but after a short while the clouds broke and things heated up.  The Bulldogs had several strong performances for the day.  There were personal-record/season-best paces achieved by Alex Kinney, (20:54) Alexander Schermer (21:14), Noah Bloch (21:53), Jonathan Drury (22:08), Landon Lahr (23:36), Parker Spindler (11:15 in 3200m), Tanner Felton (11:48 in 3200m), and Jacob Kurhajetz (13:52 in 3200m).  

The Becker boys junior high team also achieved a strong showing as they placed third in the division amongst the teams with three runners (Spindler, Felton, and Evan Hubbard) earning awards for top 10 finishes.

Princeton

The following Tuesday, the Bulldog runners headed to the Princeton Golf Course for the Tiger Invitational and their 14 team event.  

“The times were interesting to see, but folks always need to keep in mind that every course and race condition is different so it’s sometimes like comparing apples to oranges,” said coach Dustin Weege.  “I was certainly impressed though with the performances of our Bulldog runners as they were running with strength and determination.  They had set out to achieve some significant accomplishments on the day and it was wonderful to see them progressing well toward their goals with grit.  The guys are coming on stronger as we approach the end of the season, which is something to celebrate.”  

The junior high team had a five runner squad as three of the guys had bumped up to the 5k for the day.  Mason Tschida led the Bulldogs with a fifth place finish.   Jacob Kurhajetz and Weston Denne battled back and forth a bit during the race and crossed the line within two tenths of a second apart.  Next, seventh graders Carson Schuster and Mavrick Pink finished just a couple places apart around the 13-minute mark for the 3000m course.  

The second boys race for the day was varsity.  Junior co-captain Tyson Ricker led the Bulldogs as he placed sixth (16:47) right there with state ranked runners.  Mason Becker came in  with a 19th place finish (17:31).   The consistency of Jase Tobako also shined as he made gains and caught a number of runners on the second half of the course to cross with a time of 18:10.  

Next, Caleb Reckelberg finished at 19:40 as he’s been continuing his streak of sub-20 minute 5ks.  Alex Kinney crossed at 20:08 while co-captain Ryan Boecker crossed just a few seconds later at 20:13.  Ninth graders Jacob Peterson and Alex Schermer finished just a couple of seconds apart.  Senior co-captain Ryan Nelson  achieved a significant PR and set a strong tone for teammates.  

“Ryan is a strong yet humble leader with the team and works well to guide teammates to be their best selves,” said Weege.  

The Boys JV team showed the abilities of three eighth graders as Parker Spindler (18:45), Evan Hubbard (18:55), and Tanner Felton (19:31) finished in the top 15 of that race.  

“This was Parker and Evan’s second 5k and Tanner’s first of the season and they showed up well,” said Weege.   

Noah Bloch (21:38) and Jonathon Drury were next for the Bulldogs as they continue to make gains with their aggressive running.  Landon Lahr improved his PR by one minute, five seconds while Aiden Frommelt improved his by one minute, 22 seconds.  

“They showed up for the day and were determined to have great races,” said Weege.  

Ben Howe and Denlan Harmoning raced close by each other with less than five seconds separating the two.  Then it was Thomas Cota, markedly improved in the race as he accomplished a one-minute, 38 second PR with his 5k.

“As we approach the championships portion of the season, I am excited to see what this whole team will bring forth,” said Weege. “They’ve been working hard throughout the season and we now are close to those big performances which I’m looking forward to.”

Up Next

The Bulldogs competed in the Mississippi 8 Conference Championships Tues., Oct. 19 and will be hosting the Section 5AA Championship Meet on the Pebble Creek Local 9 Oct. 28th.