The Big Lake boys varsity cross-country team won its fourth consecutive Mississippi 8 Conference title last Thursday in Lindstrom.
The boys battled with Monticello and Becker throughout the race, with the Hornets edging Monticello by one point to take the title. Becker was 10 points back.
Junior Jack Leuer ran one of the fastest times ever by a Hornet in 15:26.5 to take the individual conference title. Owen Layton was just behind him in second in 15:34.3. Both runners outdistanced the field by a wide margin. The third place runner was almost 40 seconds back.
“As coaches, we come to expect it and it’s easy to forget just how special having a duo like this is,” said Coach Todd Trutna. “It is so great to have this 1-2 punch at the top.”
Big Lake’s other varsity runners also came through to earn the title. Gavin Flavin and Judd Layton both finished in 17:16 to take 14th and 15th respectively and Trent Erickson was seven seconds behind in 18th. All five were all awarded All-Conference honors. David Guyse earned Honorable Mention All-Conference by finishing 24th. Gavin Vold broke 18 minutes for the first time for 30th and Theo Johnson was 41st to round out the team.
For the girls varsity, seventh-grader Greta Layton earned All-Conference honors with her ninth place finish in 20:10.3.
“Greta has been improving her pacing with each race that she runs and definitely ran her best overall race,” said Coach Trutna. “She was a bit unlucky as she was stuck between two packs without anyone to run with.”
Campbell Slattery broke the 22-minute barrier and finished 34th in 21:24.6. Emilee Doperalski (42nd) was just a few places behind her in 22:32.0. Brynn Scheer, Rylie Ostrom, Alayna Boe, and Raina White all had their fastest times of the year which helped the team place seventh in the conference.
“This team really had a great day, it wasn’t easy for them but they battled through it,” said Coach Trutna. “There were so many smiles at the end of that race.”
First year runner Jack Schmidt had a personal best time of 20:23 and took 17th as the boys JV finished seventh as a team. Every other JV runner also set personal best times with Lucas Stevenson (32nd), Francisco Martinez (35th), Grant Volk (47th), Nicholas Erickson (75th), and Lance Helps (76th).
Both middle school squads ended the season on very high notes. The boys won the conference team title, edging Princeton by two points. Max Baron won the individual title in 11:28.1, with Eli Henning taking the runner-up position in 11:36.2.
Dallas Kopp (10th, 12:36.9), Logan Phillips (13th, 12:52.8), Jamisen Nusbaum (21st, 14:08), Avery Jarvi (24th, 14:17.6), and Wyatt Winslow (25th, 14:19.8) all ran great to help secure the Hornet victory.
“This squad is so deep, and so many breakthrough performances have come from the likes of Evan Hitter, Peter Matison, Jasper Blakeney, Eli Medlock, Zach Gorman, and Connor Newby,” said Coach Trutna. “The future of the program is in capable hands.”
The girls’ team took the runner-up spot in the conference. Elsie Jagusch led the team with her fourth place finish in 14:48.3, with Hazel Guldeseth a second back in fifth in 14:49.1. Three others cracked the top 20 in Chloe Howe (12th), Emily Stokes (16th), Bergen Erlandson (20th). Natalie McCormack, Quinn Grove, and Ana Jones all had their best races of the season as well to round out the team.
“This team’s hard work is laying the foundation for a girls’ program that will vie for a conference title in the future.
The Hornet varsity runners competed in the Section 5AA Championships Thursday in Princeton, results next week. The meet determines which teams and individuals move on to the state meet. Big Lake edged Monticello for the section title last year.
