With two meets out of the way, the WEM/JWP Grizzlies’ cross country teams trekked to Daly Park south of Mapleton for Maple River’s Invitational on Thursday, September 12. It’s usually one of the meets where WEM/JWP can see where they stack up with other teams in their conference, like Maple River and United South Central, or Section 2A squads, such as Blue Earth and Minnesota Valley Lutheran. It was an excellent day for both teams, as the girls took first place while the boys took third. The girls had 30 points to MVL’s 52. Blue Earth Area scored 69 points for third, and Medford took fourth, which ended up being last out of all squads eligible to be scored as a team. The boys’ team took third with 79 points, and they were bested by a strong MVL team that took 24 points with USC in second with 60. The Grizzly boys beat Medford at 91 and Blue Earth with 100.
Sophia Stencel of Maple River has always been a top runner in the Gopher Conference and Section 2A. Being at home, she made the run through Daly Park look like a literal walk in the park, clocking in at 20:35, which would have placed her near the top five of the boys’ race. Fellow freshman MaKenzie Westphal led the WEM-JWP squad, taking second at 22:37, which was still nearly a minute ahead of third place.
Seniors Onikia Herme and Madeline Hoehn collected two more top-ten finishes for the team, placing 6th and 8th, respectively, with times of 25:18 and 25:30. Sophomore Emma Huelsnitz was a pleasant surprise, taking 13th with a time of 25:56. Madalyn Miller and Kwynn Krause took two more top 20 spots, finishing the race neck-and-neck with each other and taking 15th and 16th.
8th-grader Lydia Coulsey was denied a top-20 finish, but still placed 21st with a 28:14 run. Other finishers included Jaelyn Wilmes (28th, 29:57.9), Ellie Schlie (29th, 29:58), and Lydia Huelsnitz (35th, 39:00).
Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s boys were not only dominant but large in numbers. Eleven runners from the Chargers took top 20 spots, leaving limited room for other teams. Still, the Grizzlies collected two spots for their third-place campaign, led by 8th-grader Teagan Mulder, who took fifth individually with a 20:38. Senior Alex Kleve collected the other top 20 placement for the Grizzly runners, taking 12th with a 21:48.
From there, it was a challenge. Auston Holicky and Wesley Heinz finished the race together, both taking 24th and 25th, respectively. Maddox Moreno took 42nd with a 27:52.
It was the best outing for the Grizzly cross country program this season. They hope to continue their success with a meet hosted by NRHEG at the Riverview Country Club near New Richland on Tuesday, September 17.
