Week 7

This week we had over 40 kids run personal bests.  Tuesday's meet in New Prague made up 39 of the pr's and Saturday in Willmar 2 more ran their best ever times.  It was a busy week with competitions and a heavy practice load.  We are entering the championship part of the season and will be turning up the intensity and lowering the mileage to freshen up legs.  The girls JV team lead the way in New Prague placing 1st behind Emily Krautkremer, Cheyene Westin, and Hailey Witt's 4th, 5th and 6th place finishes.  On Tuesday, Janessa Meuleners (2nd), Krautkremer (4th), Westin (5th), Witt (6th), Mariah Walsh (9th), Nate Loegering (1st), Zak Hughes (4th), all made the medal stand in their respective race.  All around Tuesday's competition was very encouraging.  Saturdays trip to Willmar saw Meuleners (5th), Krautkremer (4th), Noah Hastings (8th), and Skylee Schwingler (14th),  make the award stand.  There were not as many personal records on Saturday but after 39 kids ran their bests on Tuesday it was a bit tough to have another big day or personal records.  This week Tuesday we run at the Ney Center in the LeSeuer Coed meet.  Friday is the homecoming relay.  The following week is the Conference meet at Baylor Park on Thursday.

This is the time of year we work towards now is the time for all the aspects of good running come together, nutrition, sleep, hydration, physical and mental preparation, and to some extent plain old good luck.  It was great seeing all the family and friends cheering us on.  This years team has been working very hard to make their goals a reality.  We thank all the family and friends that have come out to help us achieve our goals by cheering us on.  We have never had such a good group of followers as we have had this year.  See you Tuesday.

Week Six

Another terrific week is in the books.  We had over 15 personal records (PR's) in our race on Tuesday at Crown College and another 15 or so on Saturday in Apple Valley.  It is great to see so much improvement.  Tuesday our kids did a terrific job we had 4 individual race winners.  Emily Krautkremer won the junior high girls 2000 meter race, Nate Loegering won the junior high boys 2000 meter race, Cheyene Westin won the junior varsity girls 4000 meter race and Jacob Schaffer the boys junior varsity 5000 meter race.  Besides those outstanding individual performances both junior high teams won their race, and the girls varsity and junior varsity teams placed 2nd.  I am sure you all heard about our workout on Thursday if you didn't perhaps you noticed how tired your athlete was Thursday night.

With sore legs in tow Saturday we went up against some pretty tough competition.  Although we finished near the bottom of the standings our performances were pretty good.  There has been a continual improvement by our squads and it is due to their incredible hard work and dedication not only in practice but at home and school as well.

Next up for us is the New Prague invitational at the golf course on Tuesday.  Legs should feel pretty good, we are excited to see how well the kids run.  Then Saturday it is off to Willmar for a 1:00 pm start to what should be an interesting race.  I would just like to thank all the parents, family, and friends that have been coming to cheer us on.  The other day I looked around and we have quite a following.  The kids notice and it is nice having so many cheering fans.  Have a great week.

Week 5

 

Hard to believe we are done with week 5 of the cross-country season.  We had a big week competing in the Lion Invitational at NYA and working hard toward our goals in practice.  The Girls Junior High came up big on Tuesday with a second place finish in a meet which had competitors from 20 schools.  Kate Haege, Grace Ludvik, Skylee Schwingler, Vanessa Rosales, and Alexa Lenz all ran personal bests on the 1600 meter course.  The Boys Junior High finished in 5th place with John Morrison, Nate Loegering, Zak Hughes, Kenny Dvorak, Luke Hallgren, and Noah Hastings all running their best times on a 1600 meter course.  In JV action Kelly Morrison ran a solid race placing 2nd overall.  Teammate BreAnn McDermand ran a 30 second PR of 19:14 along with McKayla Siemon, Mariah Walsh, and Haley Witt the team placed 3rd.  Boys JV was 7th with Derek May and Tyler Schumacher leading the way.  In the Girls Varsity Janessa Meuleners won the race in 15:37.  She took it out and lead commandingly for most of the race.  Haley Leger was the second runner for the varsity coming home with and 18th place medal and Emilyn Siemon collected a 20th place medal for her efforts.  The girls performed well placing 4th, their highest placing so far this season.  On the Boys Varsity it was Zander Stier leading the way in 37th place.  Teammates Tony Dvorak, Carter Olson, Dylan Bigaouette, and Carter Corl had strong runs to help the team to a 15th place finish.  Over half the team showed the next morning for our run at 6:30 and wafles to follow.  Then in the afternoon many kids did a nice long run pushing their mileage for the day near 9 miles.  The kids continue to work hard and have fun.  It is incredible to see what these kids are capable of.  The next few weeks are going to be exciting to watch as their hard work begins paying off.

Week 4

The short week saw the Tigers in their first big meet.  Thursday we traveled to Montgomery to participate in the 30 team Gerry Smith Invitational.  13 runners ran a lifetime best race while over 26 runners ran faster this year compared with their last year times.  Over all it was a great showing for our first big meet.  It was a great experience for our young athletes.  The girls were led by Janessa Meuleners who finished in 8th place in a very competitive field.  The girls varsity squad placed 8th out of 24 teams.  The girls JV 7th out of 13 and they were led by Kelly Morrison.  The JH girls were led by Vanessa Rosales and finished 5th out of 10 teams.  On the boys side Zander Stier led the Varsity squad to an 18th place out of 28 teams.  The JV boys led by Jacob Schaffers 3 rd place finish were 9th out of 20 teams.  Nate Loegering led the boys JH with an 11 th place finish the team placed 9th out of 16 teams.  Even though we had a short week we covered some mileage.  Friday mornings run followed by french toast capped off another excellent week.  Next week we see action at Baylor Park near NYA on Tuesday.  Check the calendar for details.  Parents thank you for all your support.

Week Three

We had another terrific week.  The kids finally were able to compete and they did a great job.  The girls JV team scored a perfect score of 15 on Tuesday at Mankato East while the girls varsity defeated Mankato East and MVL.  The boys were second to the Mankato East team running very well with some nice times.  The junior highs both won defeating Mankato East and MVL.  It was nice to compete and it appears our team likes to race.  It was a hot week and we scaled back thursdays practice but had a great Friday workout.  Thank you to the concession stand.  You helped raise nearly $500 dollars at the football game Thursday night.  This coming week we have one meet in Montgomery on Thursday. Check the calendar for details.