Elk Mound boys fifth, girls eighth at Knute Invite

FALL CREEK — Led by a seventh place finish by Ben Holzwarth, the Elk Mound boys cross country team finished fifth in the team standings in a field of 11 with 78 individuals competing. The girls team placed eighth as Emma Hayes placed 14th, competing against 65 individuals and 10 total teams.

Holzwarth cruised through the course at 18:23 while the top spot went to Bryan Tomek of Tomahawk in 16:40. Next in for the Mounders was Mitch Zimmer in 25th at 19:34, followed by Andrew Zabel in 29th at 19:49. Not far behind came Shawn Lane in 33rd at 20:13 and Caleb Kruger in 41st at 20:32.Drew Sternecker completed the course in 22:51 for 61st place and Hunter Hermes was on his heels in 63rd at 22:54.

Hayes was just nine seconds away from a top 10 finish as she ran the course in 18:00 but was almost two minutes behind the winner Dempsey Fogarty of Colfax who finished the course in 16:02. Freshman Waive Melgaard continues to hold the number two spot for the Mounders, placing 30th at 19:20 followed by Sam Jain in 45th at 20:31, Danae Sternecker in 57th at 22:43, Josie Hayes in 62nd at 23:19 and Alex Hagberg a spot behind in 63rd at 24:15.