The Becker Bulldogs hosted the Becker Invitational at the beautiful Pebble Creek Golf Course on Tues., Oct. 4 for a fun night of good racing and celebrations.
“I am always so grateful for the wonderful community support received at our home meet” said Coach Dustin Weege.
The racing started off with a youth run that yielded 10 runners over the one-mile loop while ‘chasing the prize’ attached to the lead cart.
“Several years ago we had thought about dangling a carrot for runners, but then decided that a toy bone was more fitting of a prize for Bulldogs and it has been a playful tradition since,” said Weege.
Next was the junior high runners’ 3200m race which had the Bulldogs scoring 53 points as a team. Brandt Hemmelgarn placed fifth, Weston Denne placed 11th, Carson Schuster placed 13th, Maverick Pink placed 17th, Tanner Schmitt placed 31st, and Keaton Colford placed 40th.
In the varsity race, the Bulldogs had more great running as the team placed second with all team members again being below the 19 minute mark. Caleb Reckelberg (18:58) was 38th, Jase Tobako (18:19) was 27th, Evan Hubbard (18:01) was 17th, Parker Spindler (17:41) was 10th, Tanner Felton (17:27) was seventh, Mason Becker (17:26) was sixth, and Tyson Ricker (17:11) was fourth.
For the JV race, the Bulldogs placed third. Mason Tschida had a nice PR with his 19:07 which earned him fourth in the event. The Bulldogs team also had Alex Schermer (20:05 - 13th), Noah Bloch (20:27 - 17th), Jonathan Drury (21:33 - 31st), Aiden Frommelt (22:15 - 41st), Jacob Kurhajetz (24:00 - 55th), Vincent Martin (24:41 - 61st), Denlan Harmoning (24:42 - 62nd), Thomas Cota (26:12 - 68th), and Aiden Jacobs (27:34 - 73rd).
The Becker Invitational night was also a time to recognize the Bulldog seniors a bit as it was their last home meet to race in. Coaches thanked them for their years of faithful running and urged them to continue to run the race with endurance.
Alexandria Meet
After a couple days for some recovery, the Bulldogs loaded up to travel for another competition as they attended the Alexandria Lions Club’s 49th annual “Meet of Champions” held at Arrowwood Resort. The event had over 1200 runners.
The junior high team was 14th in the competition with Brandt Hemmelgarn (47th), Mavrick Pink (60th), Carson Schuster (77th), Tanner Schmitt (147th), Aiden Jacobs (149th), and Keaton Colford (151st).
Next was the JV race which saw the Bulldogs placing 16th as a team. Caleb Reckelberg was the top dog of that race with his eight-second PR as he has now been sub-19 for three consecutive meets. Mason Tschida (19:46), Noah Bloch (20:48), Jonathan Drury (21:28), Aiden Frommelt (21:47), Jacob Kurhajetz (22:29), Vincent Martin (24:11), and Thomas Cota (25:35) made up the JV team along with Denlan Harmoning (22:52) as he accomplished a startling 41-second PR.
The final race at the Meet of Champions was the varsity boys event in which the Bulldog team was ninth amongst some of the top teams in the state. Tyson Ricker was the top ‘Dog again with a new PR of 16:09 for the 5km race. Ricker placed seventh. Tanner Felton was next for the Bulldogs with his 18 second PR and first ever sub-17 time. Felton placed in the top 25 of the meet with his 16:56 and was the top finishing ninth grader of the race.
Mason Becker crossed the line at 17:30, Parker Spindler finished 17:56, Evan Hubbard was 18:09, Alex Swanson was 18:24, and Jase Tobako was 18:42.
“I was pleased with our showing this past few weeks” said Weege. “The guys have been working hard in practices and at meets as we continue to prep for some good races toward the end of the season. I anticipate it to be a tight conference and section and I’m looking forward to seeing what the runners can do.”
The Bulldog boys are currently rated 10th in the State AA poll.
Up Next
The Bulldogs traveled to Princeton for the Tiger Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 11, but results were not available in time so check back next week for that information.
