Lower times translate into higher finishes
H-M-S boys fifth, girls 10th at S-O meet
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MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS
Gracie Knobloch runs the backstretch at the Sibley-Ocheyedan Invitational. She placed 44th in the race.
Faster times are translating into improved individual and team finishes for the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn cross country program.
That was evident at the Sibley-Ocheyedan Invitational on Sept. 5, where the Hawk boys finished fifth out of 15 teams, placing ahead of some larger schools.
George Vargas ran a strong race to finish 11th overall. He ran the 5K course in 18:41.
Other competitors were Ryan Grotluschen, 35th, 20:41.79; Aiden Bush, 36th, 20:41.92; Damian Dodge, 59th, 21:55; Blaine Finster, 64th, 22:02; and Easton Teal, 90th, 24:47.
"Our Top 5 boys' average times are slowly going down. That is obviously helping with our individual placings and overall team score," said Hawk coach Kirsten Taylor. "Our 2-5 runners were through the 1-mile mark together, which was awesome to see."
Okoboji topped the team standings with 23 points. MVAO/COU was second with 68, Sheldon was third with 71 and Sibley-Ocheyedan finished fourth with 112.
H-M-S scored 187 points, followed by Western Christian 216, Ridge View 235, West Lyon 242, George-Little Rock/Central Lyon 247, Alta-Aurelia 260, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 263, Adrian, Minn. 276, Akron-Westfield 291, South O'Brien 297 and Hinton 303.
"Our boys are getting more competitive as a unit through every meet. They continue to set high expectations for themselves," Taylor said.
On the girls' side, H-M-S was led by Lexi Croatt, who ran a time of 24:30 to place 32nd. Gracie Knobloch placed 44th in 25:53; Jocelyn Abonce was 64th in 28:47; Clara Funk finished 66th in 28:58; and Kamryn Ebel came in 67th in 29:05.
"A few of our girls' times weren't too far off from their season/personal bests. Clara bounced back from last week and ran tough," Taylor observed. "We really focused on the 1-2 mile mark and pushing through that back part of the course that is segregated and gets stagnant."
MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS
Damian Dodge and Eli Thiner of Sheldon battle for final position at the S-O Invitational. Dodge finished ahead of Thiner to place 59th.
The Top 4 teams were Hinton 69, Okoboji 75, Alta-Aurelia 76 and G-LR/CL 81. Other team scores were West Lyon 105, BH/RV 170, Adrian 181, MVAO/COU 199, Ridge View 205 and H-M-S 225.
"I am very pleased with where things are at with our teams this early in the season. A majority are considerably ahead of where they were at this point last year," Taylor noted. "We have a lot of season left. I'm excited to see where H-M-S wraps things up."
In girls' JV, Kamrynn Visser placed 43rd in 37:58. Boys' JV runners were Carter Dolphin, 28th, 27:55; Moises Gonzales, 36th, 30:47; and Parker Salton, 40th, 33:33.
H-M-S will compete in the Sioux Central meet on Sept. 14 and host its home meet on Sept. 18 at Sanborn. Other teams to compete are Alta-Aurelia, G-LR/CL, Harris-Lake Park, Hinton, MMCRU, Sioux Central, Trinity Christian and West Lyon.
