Most high school teams split their schedules pretty evenly with home and away dates. Not cross country. The boys and girls who participate in the sport of long-distance running have just one opportunity to compete on ‘home turf’ each fall as programs take turns hosting meets. Locally, that race occurs in the first week of the season with the Prowlers staging their annual Thief River Falls Invitational Thursday, Aug. 28.
Held at the Thief River Golf Club, the event will feature races for varsity, junior varsity and middle school boys and girls. It starts at 4:15 p.m.
Eleven other meets that make up the Prowlers’ regular season schedule will take them to Moorhead, Roseau, Bemidji, Warroad, Bagley, East Grand Forks, Perham, Duluth, Alexandria, Pelican Rapids and Park Rapids. The opener will be Monday, Aug. 25, at Moorhead’s M.B. Johnson Park, where competition starts at 10 a.m.
Terri Efteland, who took over as Thief River Falls head coach in 2008, welcomed 49 runners (29 boys, 20 girls) in grades 6-12 for the start of practice.
“Lots of new faces this year,” noted Efteland. “We lost nine seniors last year, which took a lot of our experience. Thankfully they were good leaders, and now the underclassmen like Nolan Johnson – who was my only sixth grader the first year I began coaching – are now the team leaders.”
On the boys’ side, Johnson and Allan Samuelson are the only seniors in the program. The girls have Hallie Frazer, Marquelle Dahl and Alex Skime as upperclassmen.
Team spirit and a family-type atmosphere are two aspects that help make the sport special to Efteland, a former high school runner for the Prowlers and at Jamestown College. She coordinates with assistant coach Kallie Barthold to utilize a variety of practice-day activities in an effort to keep drills upbeat.
“After the first week, Kallie and I can see the fun personalities we will get to work with this year,” said Efteland. “They look forward to the ice baths and what workout is coming each day. This year, we have named many of the workouts – two specifically have been named Terri and Kallie. After they complete them, they decide which they find to be their favorite, or the most challenging.”
Joining the five seniors on the Prowlers’ high school roster are juniors Alexis Lane, Ethan Johnson, Carter Ueland, Gabe Peterson, Chris Klopp, Kelsey Kainz, Matt Pearce, Kaylee Eskeli, Kaitlin Bennett; sophomores Tayton Zutz, Collin Smith, Brandon Kasprick, Blake Boen, Christian Dahl, Payton Graham, Zach Lee, Gabriel Holte, Gavin Bugge, Sam Mosbeck, Cooper Sorvig, Will Smith; and freshmen Emily Ueland, Jared Smith, Anna Robson, Kathryn Kruta, Morgan Espe, Aaron Halsa, Tyler Sele, John Aldag, Jo Koppenhaver and Erin Retka.
Middle school runners in the program include eighth graders Abigail Semanko, Kailee Vigen, Zach Myhrer, Cody Sele, Charles Van Schaick; seventh graders Jerzie Finstad, Rosie McDougall, Tia Petrescue, Jake Davis, Tucker Skime, Noah Rupprecht, Micah Duboer, Bryar Lane, Fritz Koppenhaver; along with sixth graders Alex Samuelson, Elaina Ballard and Raquel Pearcy.
The schedule leads to the Section 8AA meet Thursday, Oct. 23, at Detroit Lakes.
Efteland and the Prowlers are looking forward to their early-season home meet. “We invite the public to come out to the golf course and cheer on the team,” she offered.
LHS Cross Country
Monday, Aug. 25 – Moorhead Invitational, 10 a.m.; Thursday, Aug. 28 – Thief River Falls Invitational, 4:15 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 4 – Roseau Invitational, 4:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 5 – Bemidji Invitational, 4 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 8 – Warroad Invitational, 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 16 – Bagley Invitational, 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 25 – East Grand Forks Invitational, 4:15 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 2 – Perham Invitational, 4 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 4 – Duluth Denfeld Invitational, 10 a.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 7 – Heart O’ Lakes Conference meet (at Pelican Rapids), 4 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 13 – Park Rapids Invitational, 4 p.m.