The Becker Bulldog boys and girls cross country teams kicked off their regular season in Princeton at Executive Shores Golf Course Thursday.
Girls Varsity
The girls varsity team took home first place in the nine-team field. Team scores were Becker 54, United North Central 59, Hibbing 68, Spectrum 91, Heritage Christian 128, Zimmerman 146 and Princeton 157. Braham and St Cloud Christian finished with incomplete scores.
Junior Alli Hendrickson had a very strong start to her season, taking home first place individual honors and led the entire race. Her time was 20:05.29.
Hendrickson had company from ninth grader Lexi Dehmer, placing second with a time of 20:11.83.
“A very nice race for both these girls and also sophomore Victoria Kolbinger, who stepped up to place fourth with a personal best 5K time of 21:07.06,” said Head Coach Trish Reimer-Kealy. “That bettered her old time by 16 seconds.”
Sydney Stommes (a veteran from last year) ran 23:32.04 for 23rd. Newcomer Adeline Kent (seventh grade) ran 23:42.95 in her first ever CC race to place 25th.
Also running the 5K race were Madison McDonald (eighth grade) 28th -23:47.86, Gabrielle Imm 31st - 23:57.43, Callie Doucette 42nd- 24:53.57 and Tate Spinner 47th - 25:28.72.
“The girls were excited with this win as it gave them a bit of revenge against the UNC team,” said Reimer-Kealy. “Last year, we tied them for the win but lost out on a tie breaker.”
Girls JV
The Becker JV girls placed second as a team in their 3K race.
Becker’s top eight runners were Kayden Westin in fourth, Grace Smith fifth, Kaylin Wiehle sixth, Alli Garding 10th, Cayla Pauman 15th, Bryanna Edling 16th, Olivia Mateyka 18th and Karly Kowalsky 19th.
Girls Junior High
The Becker girls junior high squad ran a 2K and placed second.
Jaden Kraus took home top honors, placing first. Abby Nelson finished fourth, Megan Gregory seventh, Trinity Olso-Burkman 13th, Maddy Schmitz 26th and Aria Webster 28th.
Boys Varsity
The Becker boys varsity team had a solid race, placing fourth.
St. Cloud Christian took first with a score of 42. They were followed by Heritage Christian (57), Spectrum (65), Becker (101), Hibbing (137), United North Central (157), Braham (176) and Zimmerman (198). Princeton had an incomplete score.
After graduating a number of young men from last years squad, Reimer-Kealy was not too sure what to expect in the team’s first race, but she was pleased with the results.
Luke Pappenfus was the boys’ number one runner, placing fifth (18:21.14). Jonathan Novak placed seventh (18:40.17). Pappenfus and Novak earned medals for their efforts.
New Bulldog runner, Justin Kringler was the team’s third runner and he placed 18th in his first time running the 5K.
“He just missed a medal, getting passed at the finish line,” said Reimer-Kealy. “But he ran very well with a time of 19:28.73.”
Basil Ricker was not too far behind Kringler and he placed 26th (19:44.62), “looking stronger this year,” said the head coach.
David Myres, in his first effort on the varsity, ran for 53rd place (21:32.19) and looks to be a good contributor as he gains stamina through out the season.
Placing 60th was Bennett Edling (22:16.52) in his first outing on the varsity and Junior Lachlan Lahr placed 64th (22:37.21).
Boys JV
The Bulldog JV boys ran a 3K and achieved some fine performances.
Newcomer Evan Schafer placed first, Aaron Gregory placed fourth, Jake Nelson fifth, Erik Parson sixth and Cade Stommes eighth for some nice pack running.
Adrian Johnson placed 14th, Blake Soenneker 15th, Christian Riffe 18th, Cris Rothfork 20th and Ethan Baker 21st.
“A very nice showing for the JV boys team,” said Reimer-Kealy.
Boys Junior High
The Becker junior high boys team ran a 2K race and placed third.
Tucker Schmoll placed ninth, Wyatt Hiltner 10th, Jack Budd 12th, Mason Doucette 16th, Logan Bigelow 30th, Cole Wilhelm 32, Trenten Woolhouse 35.
“Overall, a good start to our season,” said Reimer-Kealy.
Up Next
Becker’s next meet day is Thursday when the girls head to Monticello and the boys to Rockford.
