Thief River Falls finished second in both the boys and girls fields at the 2022 TRF Sports Booster Cross Country Invitational Thursday, Sept. 1 at the Multi-Events Center.
The Prowler girls team was edged by West Marshall 26-29. The Fusion and Prowlers were the only complete teams to compete among the seven-team field, as traditionally strong programs like East Grand Forks and Warroad did not have the minimum of five runners to accumulate a team score.
Ella Arntson of DNA Homeschool claimed the girls championship with a time of 21:33.12 – nine seconds better than runner-up Annie Peterson of West Marshall. Jorie Miska of West Marshall finished fourth, giving the Ponies two top-five finishes.
Also scoring for the Fusion were Claire McGlynn in 11th, Bella Westberg in 15th, and Natalie Peterson in 18th.
A pair of Prowlers just missed the top five, as sisters Dru and Livia Harbott finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Reagan Mimnaugh finished 10th. Also contributing to the Prowler team score were Ashlyn Nelson in 14th and Sophia Eidsmoe in 22nd place. Also running for the Prowlers were Mikaleena Bernier, 23rd, and Ruby Geiser, DNF.
Hunter Jordheim of East Grand Forks led the traditionally strong Green Wave squad to the team title Thursday in Thief River Falls. Jordheim was 53 seconds faster than runner-up Isaac Mauch, who led the Prowlers to a runner-up finish with his own second place tally.
Much like strokes in golf, the goal in cross country is to accumulate as few team points as possible. Runners earn points based on finish, and a first place finish is typically worth one point, second is worth two and so on.
Early on, it appeared that the Green Wave and Prowlers would have a showdown for the title. The team score was briefly tied 5-5 between the teams as William MacLean tallied a fourth place finish for the Prowlers (worth three points because the third place finisher was from a non-scoring team), followed by a sixth place finish by Jaxon Mahar that was worth four because it was the fourth place finish among runners from scoring teams.
Colin MacLean’s 11th place finish briefly put the Prowlers in a spot to win the team title with his eight-point total, but the Green Wave clinched the title with five runners finishing in spots 12 through 16.
The Prowlers final two scoring runs came from Corben Coffman in 20th place and Lincoln Davis in 24th place.
Also running and finishing for the Prowlers were Jack Krein, 29th place, and Briley Olsonawski in 41st place.
Results
Girls Varsity
• Top 5 – 1. Ella Arnston, DNA Homeschool, 21:33.2; 2. Annie Peterson, Stephen-Argyle Central, 21:42.43; 3. Carlo Lopez Santamarina, Bagley, 22:39.23; 4. Jorie Miska, Stephen-Argyle Central, 22:59.38; 5. Amelia Machlitt, Clearbrook-Gonvick, 23:04.58.
• TRF places – 7. Dru Harbott 23:23; 8. Livia Harbott 23:26; 10. Reagan Mimnaugh 24:32; 14. Ashlyn Nelson 25:51; 22. Sophia Eidsmoe 27:53; 23. Mikaleena Bernier 29:08.
• Team scores – 1. West Marshall 26; 2. Thief River Falls 29. Incomplete – DNA Homeschoool, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Bagley, Warroad, East Grand Forks.
Boys Varsity
• Top 5 – 1. Hunter Jordheim, East Grand Forks, 17:57.74; 2. Isaac Mauch, Thief River Falls, 18:50.64; 3. Josiah Sundby, DNA Homeschool, 19:46.14; 4. William Maclean, Thief River Falls, 19:47.35; 5. Elliot Arntson, DNA Homeschool, 20:13.55.
• TRF places – 2. Isaac Mauch 18:50; 4. William MacLean 19:47; 11. Colin MacLean 21:19; 20. Korben Coffman 23:35; 24. Lincoln Davis 24:46; 29. Jack Krein 25:13; 41. Briley Olsonawski 28:09.
• Team scores – 1. East Grand Forks 29; 2. Thief River Falls 44; 3. Warroad 69; 4. Bagley 100.
Girls Junior High
• Winner – Leah Sundby, Riverside Christian, 14:26.36.
• TRF places – 10. Elory Mossestad 16:03; 14. Kayla Peterson 16:18; 23. Claire Munter 18:08; 27. Aliyah Novak 18:47; 29. Claire Schuster 19:15.
Boys Junior High
• Winner – Wyatt Crist, Warroad, 12:17.54.
• TRF places – 12. Eli Nelson 15:41; 13. Wyatt Novak 15:41; 18. Toby Sobotta 16:49; 19. Dylan Lane 16:50; 23. Allen Smith 17:56; 28. William Dagg 19:57.