First the route had to be shortened a bit to avoid a hornet’s nest.
Next came the rain.
Finally, hundreds of cell phones chimed in unison to signal a tornado warning. A few seconds later, sirens sounded too, putting an end to the girls race, the last event of the day, as the runners were about a third of the way through the route on the Montgomery International Golf Course.
So it was an incomplete day for the Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair/Mankato Christian Academy cross country team at the Gerry Smith Invitational last Thursday.
In the junior high boys 2,375-m race, Andrew Bales was the top finisher for the Crusaders. His 10:08.6 time was good for 68th place. Jase Blaschko was 118th with an 11:07.7 finish. There were 165 runners, and the winning time was 7:57.3.
In the JV girls 4,750-meter race, The Crusaders were second of a dozen teams. Riley Quigley was fourth with a 21:03.2 finish. Brooks Waagner was ninth with a 21:52.1. Molly Koester was 11th with a 22:04.8, Lily Phillips was 14th with a 22:19.1, and Teya Waagner was 31st with a 23:08.1. Ella Holub was 113th with a 30:32.2. There were 122 runners competing. The winning time was 19:36.6.
In the JV boys 4,750-meter race, the Crusaders were sixth of 17 teams. Francis Bierer led the team with a sixth-place 17:41.0 finish. Griffin Rutz was 10th with a 17:57.4. Jack Green was 35th with an 18:53.8. Grayson Fenske-Deichman was 88th with a 20:13.0, and Elijah Mons was 128th with a 20:56.3. Jax Leagjeld came in 222nd with a 24:37.0. There were 255 runners competing, and the winning time was 16:57.4.
In the varsity boys 4,750-meter race, the Crusaders were 13th of 27 teams. With a 15:14.7 finish, 14.5 seconds behind the winner, Soren Kelly earned a bronze. Mitchell Buboltz was 36th with a 16:51.6. Rollie Matejcek was 109th with a 18:19.4. Reece Nelson was 112th with a 18:25.4. Andrew Tieva was 124th with a 18:45.8. Sixth for the Crusaders and 148th overall was Jackson Bilitz with a 19:20.2 finish. Seventh for the Crusaders and 154th overall, Luke Kortuem finished the race in 19:31.5. There were 214 competing.
The Crusaders head up to Norwood-Young America on today (Tuesday) to compete in a meet at Baylor Regional Park north of town.
Above: The varsity boys burst away from the starting line. At left is Luke Kortuem. To his right is Reece Nelson. (photo courtesy of Casey Olson)
The varsity girls endured the rain as they were waiting for the starting gun, but their race was halted due to a tornado warning. (photo courtesy of Bree Meyer).