Both the Becker girls and boys cross country teams ran well in last week’s 50th annual Rockford Rocket Run, with the girls capturing first place and the boys finishing in fourth.

The win by the girls team came down to a tie-breaker, as both Becker and Delano finished with a meet best 72 points.  

“When there is a tie in scores the sixth runner is used to break the tie. Whichever team’s sixth runner comes in ahead of the other team’s breaks the tie,” Bulldog coach Trish Reimer-Kealy reported.  “Tasha Berthiaume was our sixth and placed ahead of Delano’s sixth runner so we ended up with the victory. The team was rewarded with a great cookie plaque which was enjoyed by the whole team!”

Adele Changamire was the meet medalist with an excellent time of 18:59.1, which is just five seconds off her personal record (PR).

“Alea Briggs continues to excel with a new PR time of 19:46.0, taking seventh place with her first time below 20:00,” Reimer-Kealy said. “Running in our third spot this week was Andie Changamire, taking 17th place with a PR time of 20:46.2.”

Other Bulldog finishers included Olivia Babler, who took 36 seconds off her previous race to place 19th and Katelyn Brower, who took 38th.

Reimer-Kealy also lauded the host Rockets for their the special experience they had in store for Becker 8th grader Charlie Dirkes. 

“Charlie is an eighth grader on our team and has Ella McDonald as her running buddy,” Reimer-Kealy said. “Charlie completed the entire race by herself and was awarded a special award from the Rockford team who also made signs and waved them along the route.”

Boys

Head Coach Dustin Weege and his team were ranked 10th in the state in the most recent MN Weekly Cross-Country Coaches Association Rankings

Weege cited his team’s chemistry as one of the reasons why they are excelling.

“The guys have been working hard in workouts and in meets,” said coach Weege. “They have been challenging themselves and their teammates as they are hungry to achieve some big things this season.”

Co-Captain Parker Spindler has been the top Dog in both events so far this season, finishing in the top 10 with 5km times of 17:46 and 16:37.  

“Spindler’s PR from last season was at 16:58 so he’s off to a great start along with his teammates,” Weege added. “Fellow returning state entrant Tanner Felton has been the next Bulldog in both events with times of 18:02 and 16:46.”

The number three spot for the Bulldogs so far has been shared between Evan Hubbard and Alex Swanson.   

“Those guys have really upped their game in the past year and it’s exciting to see,” Weege said.  Senior Captain Jase Tobako has been the fifth Bulldog and Co-Captain Alex Schermer has held the sixth position for the Dogs.  

Weege mentioned Mason Tschida, Jonathon Drury, Aiden Frommelt, Weston Denne and Cam Northenscold as Bulldogs who hold great promise and have been cutting their times on a consistent basis.

“Guys are really working to compete for those varsity slots and it’s fun to see as they are all improving,” Weege said.

Carson Schuster, Denlan Harmoning, Thomas Cota and Jacob Kurhajetz also had strong showings at the Rockford meet, according to Weege.

The Bulldogs traveled to Little Falls this past Thursday for a large 28 team meet at the 58th annual Myron Ahle/Lucky Lindy Invitational.