Fatigue holds Viking girls’ CC to fifth, boys’ sixth at Rice Lake

By Cara L. Dempski

RICE LAKE — The Rice Lake Cross Country invitational at WITC-Rice Lake last Tuesday was the Colfax cross country team’s third race in 10 days.

The September 12 race proved a tiring one for the Vikings, and head coach Joe Doucette acknowledged it was a hard one for the boys’ and girls’ teams.

“It was a tough day for us,” he said. “We were really hoping to run better. It was our third meet in 10 days, and we looked pretty tired. We hung in there and did the best we could, but did not have a lot of great races.”

Regardless of the fatigue, the girls’ team wound up in fifth place out of 12 small-school division teams after earning 116 points, while the boys were sixth out of 13 small schools with 178.

Junior Erica Kallstrom finished in the individual medals after crossing the line in 22:13.8 for eighth place. Mackenzie Jensen also picked up a medal for her 15th-place finish in 23:13.7. Hailey Prince was the third Colfax girl to finish, running a 24:18.3 race for 29th.

Sophomores Juelia Berger and Jayna Bowe rounded out the girls’ team with 35th and 37th after finishing in 24:42.5 and 25:07.1.

Bloomer sophomore Emily Freagon won the girls’ individual race with a time of 20:40.3.

The Glenwood City girls topped the team standings for the small-school girls’ division with just 63 points. Elk Mound picked up just 105 points for fourth, something Doucette noted after the race.

“Both Glenwood City and Elk Mound, who are in our conference, are quite a bit better than us at this point in time,” the Viking coach said.

On the boys’ side, Luke Heidorn led Colfax to the finish with a time of 19:20.6 for 28th. Brady Lawrence was the next to cross the line, finishing in 19:48.9 for 34th.

Noah Heidorn and Cole Seehaver took 36th and 37th with times of 19:51.3 and 20:01.8, while sophomore Sawyer Best was 57th after racing to a 20:56.8 finish. Dennis Sonnentag earned 78th with his 23:04.4 race.

McDonell Central senior Isaac Bohaty won the individual race in 17:18.2, helping the Macks to a 49-point team win in the boys’ small-school division.

Doucette’s focus is getting his team rested prior to the start of Dunn-St. Croix competition in the coming weeks.

“We said earlier last week you have to work through some meets and keep an eye on the big meets later in the year,” he said. “I hope that is the case this week. We tried hard, but looked tired. It is a while before we race again, and I think we will show great improvement as the year goes on.”

The Vikings will have over a week away from competition before they hit the course at Durand September 21 and compete in the Griak Invitational at Arcadia September 23. They host a meet on their home course at the Whitetail Golf and Supper Club next Monday, September 25.

GIRLS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 8. Erica Kallstrom 22:13.8, 15. Mackenzie Jensen 23:13.7, 29. Hailey Prince 24:18.3, 35. Juelia Berger 24:24.5, 37. Jayna Bowe 25:07.1.

GIRLS’ SMALL-SCHOOL TEAM RESULTS: 1. Glenwood City 63, 2. Phillips 86, 3. Shell Lake 97, 4. Elk Mound 105,  5. Colfax 116, 6. St. Croix Falls 151, 7. Cumberland 189, 8. McDonell Central 191, 9. Boyceville 212, 10. Prairie Farm 243, 11. Webster 245, 12. Bloomer 264.

BOYS’ INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 28. Luke Heidorn 19:20.6, 34. Brady Lawrence 19:48.9, 36. Noah Heidorn 19:51.3, 37. Cole Seehaver 20:01.8, 57. Sawyer Best 20:56.8, 78. Dennis Sonnetag 23:04.4.

BOYS’ SMALL-SCHOOL TEAM RESULTS: 1. McDonell Central 49, 2. Elk Mound 87, 3. Phillips 101, 4. Bloomer 115, 5. Unity 141, 6. Colfax 178, 7. Gransburg 185, 8. Glenwood City 194, 9. Drummond 207, 10. Webster 222, 11. Cumberland 233, 12. Boyceville 264, 13. Shell Lake 376.