The Irish have only one home cross-country meet this season and made the most of that home-course opportunity with a fast and efficent season opener at Ney Park on Sept. 2.
“The meet was a success,” said Head Coach J McClelland. “Though hot, there was plenty of shade at the park, and the strong breeze kept the mozzies away. Our girls varsity is a strong crew of new, young talent. I look forward to a season of them developing more and more as runners, and becoming a stronger competitive force.
“Our goal will simply be to keep our sights on Rockford, chasing them throughout the season. Doing so can only help us improve.”
Abby Thomas led the way for the Irish girls, with a strong 8th-place finish in a time of 18.36 on her cross-country debut performance. She was followed closely by veteran Amy Muenkel in 11th at 19.14, showing her improvement from last season. Jeana Renier in 16th-place at 19.51 and Hope Karja in 30th-place at 20.41 also impressed Maple Lake fans in their strong debut performances on varsity. Alana Ballweber followed Renier to the finish line for 17th-place at 19.56, Leah McBrady was 23rd at 20.41, and Heather Couette was 36th at 22.40.
Winning the girls’ race was Rockford with 56 points, followed by Maple Lake, 75; Eden Valley-Watkins-Kimball, 83; Royalton, 104; Delano, 114; and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, 134.
“It’s going to be another great season for the girls, as they forge ahead,” McClelland said. “In part, this is due to the depth and strength of the JV girls. Our top seven girls will likely change from meet to meet. This is because the JV talent is stronger than some other school’s varsity squads. When someone gets hurt or isn’t feeling well, we’ve got great back-up.”
Taking top honors for the Irish in varsity boys’ competition was Adam Hill in third place with a time of 18.52. Hill was followed by Mike Fritz in 15th-place at 20.17. Josh Pribyl and Sam Muller finished neck-and-neck for 27 and 28th places, respectively, with times of 21.30 and 21.31.
The boys’ champion was Rockford with 52 points, followed by Delano, 57; Royalton, 105; Dassel-Cokato; Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, 117; Maple Lake, 118; St. John’s Prep, 153; and HL-W-W, 205.
McClelland had praise for Joey Juetten, who stepped up to run varsity, placing 45th at 23.44, so the boys could form a scoring team. In addition, McClelland said Sam Muller and Josh Pribyl have shown great improvement from last year, and he expects them to develop well over the course of the season, following in the footsteps of seniors Fritz and Hill.
McClelland also offered words of praise for Assistant Coach Ben Youngs and volunteers who lended a hand at the meet: Craig Grahams, Rob Bryce, Nicole Bryce, Kraig Hill, Allison Thomas, Kim Brown, Natalie Blade, Nikki Ross, Mary Jean Ballweber, Allison Ameluxen, and Adam Hill.
The Irish traveled to Rockford on Sept. 7 and will visit Annandale on Monday, Sept. 13 in a meet starting at 4:15 p.m.
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