Last Friday, the Becker boys and girls cross country teams attended a triangular hosted by Monticello at Bertram Park. The third team participating was Annandale.
Girls Varsity Cross Country
“The day got a bit wet but was not too bad to handle,” said Becker girls Coach Trish Kealy. “Our girls showed more confidence in this meet being it was their second meet of the season.”
Alexis Rose continues to be Becker’s number one runner for the varsity girls and she ran a good race with a very strong finish to place third overall. Her time in the 4K race was 16:19.
“She is very competitive and should have a good season,” said Becker’s Coach.
The next group of girls came in a pack and they were, Krista Paulson 8th (17:21), Jaden Kraus 9th (17:25), Natasha Berthiaume 10th (17:26) and Raelee Lyon 12th (18:02).
“Pack running is great and the plan is for them to move their pack up a few spots,” said Kealy.
Kealy’s varsity was rounded out by Abby Nelson 16th (18:27), Regan Hausmann 17th ( 18:31) and Megan Gregory in 20th (18:55).
“It is interesting to watch the switching of finish positions and the competition each athlete brings to each race. Each of our varsity girls ran strong races and can be proud of their efforts.”
Boys Varsity Cross Country
This race was a 4k due to course limitations, but that excited many Bulldogs as they knew they could attack the course aggressively. The Bulldogs raced nicely as they had a close battle with last year’s conference runner-ups from Monticello.
The Bulldogs scored 39 points as a team and had many fast times as they finished second overall.
Senior captain Lukas Karel won the varsity event to become the newest varsity meet champion for the Bulldogs (since Basil Ricker in the 2018 season). Lukas, along with fellow captain Tyson Ricker and sophomore Mason Becker, pushed the pace with the top group of runners to cross the line first, third and fifth places.
Wyatt Hiltner & Jase Tobako followed with 12th and 18th places with strong finishes. Captains Cade Stommes and Luke MacDonald — along with Bruce Kraemer — rounded out the team as they finished 19th, 22nd, and 21st in the hilly course at the Bertram Regional Park.
At Big Lake
The cross country teams participated in a triangular meet at Big Lake Tuesday with North Branch being the third team.
It was a warm and somewhat muggy day with hazy skies.
Girls Varsity Cross Country
The Becker girls took first with a team score of 23 to Big Lake with 36 and North Branch incomplete. There were 20 total runners.
Rose bested all runners, leading the entire race with a determined run (17:10.8).
Big Lake runners were two and three but then Becker came on strong with places four-five-six-seven and eight. Krista Paulson came on strong at the finish to almost over take third, missing by only 1-1/2 seconds. She was fourth in 17:38.0.
Next was Natasha Berthiaume for fifth (18:06.7), Jaden Kraus sixth (18:28.5), Abby Nelson seventh (18:50.0) and Regan Hausmann eighth (18:56.2).
Rounding out Becker’s varsity runners were Ella McDonald in 11th and Raelee Lyon in 13th.
“Each of these girls worked well together and pushed on another to do better,” said Kealy. “We had a tough workout on Monday and were more concerned with how we competed than with what our times would be and they competed well.”
Boys Varsity Cross Country
The boys varsity race resulted in a second place finish for the Bulldogs and a score that was 50 points ahead of the team from North Branch.
Karel led the charge again for the Bulldogs with his 13th consecutive team leading pace. He, Tyson Ricker and Freshman Jase Tobako crossed the finish line in fourth, fifth and sixth places. Hiltner raced well and helped urge teammate Becker to the finish line as they finished ninth and eighth. Stommes, sophomore Ryan Boecker and senior Keegan Murphy rounded out the Varsity squad as they battled for positions in the race.
Up Next
Becker’s next meet is Thursday at St. Francis. The Bulldog racers are excited to host a race Thurs., Sept. 24 on the Pebble Creek Local 9 course as a triangular meet. Racing starts at 4 p.m. This is also a bit of a preview for the Mississippi 8 Conference championship which is scheduled to be hosted by Becker October 8.
“The Bulldogs are looking forward to these events and always appreciate support,” said Head Coach Dustin Weege.
