The Thief River Falls boys and girls cross country teams kicked off their respective seasons Saturday in Perham at the 19-team “Brave Like Gabe” Early Bird meet held at Arvig Park in Perham.
The 19-team meet included five teams that participated in the 2021 State Meet, making it one of the tougher season-openers for the Prowlers in recent years.
“Great competition today,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Natasha Reierson. “We have not been top-half for varsity teams in a big meet for a few years and both varsity teams finished 9th and 10th. We had goal times met for most of the runners and even career PR’s for some.”
The Thief River Falls boys team was led by a pair of top-40 finishers, with Isaac Mauch finishing 27th and William MacLean checking in at 38th to help lead the Prowlers to a ninth place finish in the boys team standings.
Also finishing for the Prowlers were Curtis Griffin in 43rd place; Colin MacLean, 64th; Lincoln Davis, 80th; Korben Coffman, 85th; and Jack Krein 94th.
Fargo North won the boys championship with all five scoring runners finishing in the top-24 and two in the top 10. North’s Owen Sondag was the boys race winner.
The Prowlers had similar pacing on the girls side with Dru and Livia Harbott finishing 29th and 37th, respectively, to lead the girls team to a 10th place finish. Also running for the Prowler girls team were Reagan Mimnaugh, 57th; Ashlyn Nelson, 63rd; Ruby Geiser, 66th; Sophia Eidsmoe, 74th, and Mikaleena Bernier, 84th.
Meet host Perham won the girls championship. All five of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring runners finished in the top-14.
Results
Girls Varsity
• Top 5 – 1. Calia Chaney, Pequot Lakes, 19:26.20; 2. Mia Hoffmann, Bemidji, 19:29.16; 3. Anjalie Aho, Menahga, 20:27.15; 4. Gracie Morris, Perham, 20:34.25; 5. Lily Elbert, Shanley, 20:35.16.
• TRF places – 29. Dru Harbott 22:24; 37. Livia Harbott 22:43; 57. Reagan Mimnaugh 24:08; 63. Ashlyn Nelson 24:53; 66. Ruby Geiser 25:00; 74. Sophia Eidsmoe 25:41; 84. Mikaleena Bernier 27:18.
• Team scores – 1. Perham 41; 2. Moorhead 78; 3. Wadena-Deer Creek 127; 4. Shanley High School 132; 5. Little Falls 134; 6. Bemidji 147; 7. North 161; 8. Hawley 204; 9. Pequot Lakes 208; 10. Thief River Falls 230; 11. Pelican Rapids 298; Incomplete – Menahga, Frazee, New Testament Christian School, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Bagley, Ada-Borup, Lake Park-Audubon, Parkers Prairie.
Boys Varsity
• Top 5 – 1. Owen Sondag, North, 16:34.35; 2. Carson Maish, Bemidji, 16:40.11; 3. Bjorn Anderson, Perham, 16:49.25; 4. Eli Hall, Pequot Lakes, 16:59.16; 5. Taylor Johnson, Lake Park-Audubon, 17:15.11.
• TRF places – 27. Isaac Mauch 18:42; 38. William MacLean 19:21; 43. Curtis Griffin 19:36; 64. Colin MacLean 20:34; 80. Lincoln Davis 22:05; 85. Korben Coffman 22:37; 94. Jack Krein 24:11.
• Team scores – 1. North High School 56; 2. Bemidji 69; 3. Perham 102; 4. Moorhead 135; 5. Lake Park-Audubon 138; 6. Little Falls 159; 7. Hawley 190; 8. Wadena-Deer Creek 203; 9. Thief River Falls 233; 10. Pequot Lakes 258; 11. Shanley 286; 12. Pelican Rapids 288; 13. Ada-Borup 336; 14. Bagley 410; Incomplete – New Testament Christian School, Frazee, Menahga, Parkers Prairie, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.
Girls Junior High
• Winner – Myriah Tharaldson, Perham, 22:03.20.
• TRF places – 22. Kayla Peterson 15:46; 30. Elory Mossestad 15:58; 63. Aliyah Novak 18:49.
Boys Junior High
• Winner – Ethan Erickson, Shanley High School, 11:38.40.
• TRF places – 46. Eli Nelson 15:15; 47. Wyatt Novak 15:17; 54. Jack Dodson 15:35; 71. Dylan Lane 16:39; 80. Allen Smith 17:47.