For the first time since he joined the Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair cross country team last season, sophomore Luke Kortuem (above) broke into the top five Crusader finishers on Thursday at the Grizzly Pie Invitational.
As the Crusaders won the meet, which was hosted by the Grizzlies, (JWP/WEM combo) and held at the Prairie Ridge Golf Course near Janesville, it was also the first time Kortuem contributed to a W.
Meanwhile, the Crusader girls also won their race, despite being without their leader Charlotte Meyer, who was recovering from an injury.
“It was another good day for us,” said head coach Casey Olson. “This is a tough course, but the kids ran well, with all but two running faster on it than last year. I thought we competed well and the effort level was definitely there.”
With 45 points, the Crusader boys were 21 points ahead of second-place Blooming Prairie. The Grizzlies were third with 75 points. MCO/BO was fourth (108), USC was fifth (118), Maple River was sixth (134), Randolph was seventh (170) and Blue Earth Area was eight (194).
Running against the same top competition as he did when he won the meet at Blooming Prairie a week prior, Griffin Rutz experimented with a different strategy, running from the front, but his 17:44.3 finish was 18.9 seconds behind the winner and put him in second place.
“While he was ultimately caught t, it was a good learning experience”, said Olson. “It's pretty impressive to see an 8th grader competing for varsity wins, but there are going to be more learning moments than an upperclassman would have. It's good to try different things now because these are the same kids we'll see at the front of the section meet.”
With an 18:09.4 finish, Reece Nelson was fifth in the field of 74. Rounding out the Crusader top five, Rollie Matejcek was ninth (18:50.7), Jack Green was 15th (19:21.7), and Kortuem was 21st (19.49.1).
Also for the Crusaders, Jackson Bilitz was 27th (20:17.8), Ethan Beenken was 35th (20:49.9), Luke Phillips was 36th (20.51.1), Andrew Bales came was 57th (24:48.7) and Anthony McCabe was 58th (24:50.4).
“The boys had some encouraging results with Griffin and Reece putting themselves in the top five again,” Olson said. “We are a little banged up and are definitely feeling some sickness going around, so several athletes were held out. This is the time of year when it always seems to happen, so we'll use the next week to heal up and be ready for the last couple of tune-up races.”
The Crusader girls’ 25 points was 24 better than second-place Blooming Prairie. Maple Rive was third (65), JWP/WEM was fourth (98), and Randolph was fifth (135).
Lila Quast had the fastest time for the Crusaders (20:12.8) and took third place among the 49 competitors.
Riley Quigley was fifth (20:28.6), Gisele McCabe was seventh (20:50.10, Brooks Waagner was eighth (20:51.5), and Kaitlyn Anderson was 11th (22:13.3).
“Our girls were able to run within sight of each other the entire race, and we want to work towards consistently running in packs to strengthen ourselves more,” Olson said.
Maddy Siewert finished in the 18 spot with a 23:53.2. Charlotte Kirschner was 24th (24:56.5), Reese Mueller was 26th (25:09.0), and Lea Taylor was 39th (28:09.6).
In the 2500-m junior high boys race, Jace Blaschko’s 10:18.9 finish was good for sixth place and a 40-second PR (30 seconds faster pace per mile). Jennings Hatanpa was 10th with a 10:48.5. Reid Johnson was 12th with a 10:50.0 for a 57 second PR (37 second faster pace per mile). There were 35 competing.
In the 2500-m junior girls race, seventh grader Quinn Vidden finished in 12:20.9 for 10th place among the 15 runners.
“The junior high athletes continue to improve, with each running at least 40 seconds faster than their previous 2500-m PR on a much hillier course today,” Olson said. “
The Crusaders compete in Sleepy Eye today (Thursday).
Griffin Rutz’s strategy was to lead early.
Reece Nelson was second for the Crusaders.
Anthony McCabe.
Reid Johnson and Jase Blaschko in the JH 2500.
Cookies and pies went to the winner’s circle. For the Crusaders it included, from L-R, Gisele McCabe, Brooks Waagner, Riley Quigley, Griffin Rutz, Reece Nelson, Jack Green, Rollie Matejcek, Jase Blaschko, Jennings Hatanpa and Quinn Vidden.
Photos courtesy of Bree Meyer.