The Northwest Nighthawks capped the season at the Section 5A cross country meet in Mora with their best performances of the year. In each of the varsity races, there were 137 finishers representing 22 teams.
The boys' team ran a team record time and finished 11th--a huge improvement over their 19th place finish last year. 8th grader Luke Swanson (12th place) led with a team record of 17:26, being just one spot away from individual State qualification in a sport otherwise dominated by upperclassmen. Next came sophomore Grant Olson (60th, 18:54), followed by junior captain Phillip Kippley (65th, 19:05), sophomore Jayden Peterman (76th, 19:16), sophomore Josh Gavin (89th, 19:51), 9th grader Isaac Nielsen (99th, 20:06), and junior AJ Ulwelling (107th, 20:26).
The girls' team ran their second fastest-ever team time and finished 9th--up from 10th place last year. Erika Swanson (3rd place) led with a season best of 19:34, qualifying for the State meet for the third time with one of the best performances of her career. Next came sophomore Margaret Myskowski (51st, 22:08), followed by sophomore Marielle Chamberlain (65th, 22:35), sophomore Jerilynn Simmer (71st, 22:57), senior captain Naomi Brenden (72nd, 23:00), sophomore Erin McGowan (89th, 23:42), and senior captain Sienna Chernyavsky (122nd, 26:20).
Erika is the only girl in our Section this year to be making a third trip to the State meet as an individual qualifier, which is a big accomplishment--maintaining solid performances year after year requires new levels of commitment, strength, and perseverance. She is really maturing as an athlete and as a leader. Part of that comes from experience, but it also comes from working hard at sportsmanship. Have fun and have a great race next weekend, Erika!
The Class A State Championship races will be held at St. Olaf College next Saturday, November 4, at 1:00 P.M. (girls) and 2:00 P.M. (boys). Admission is free for spectators. Be sure to leave plenty of time to park and take the shuttles to the race course.
