November 4, 2004 at 7:33 a.m.
Wildcats on top of the cross country world
Wildcats on top of the cross country world
Second? One spot behind first? That would mean a berth to the state tournament (top two teams advance to state). That would mean beating teams like Hibbing, Duluth East, Cloquet, Hibbing, and Elk River. And how about North Branch? The Vikings snuck past the Wildcats just a few days before at the North Branch Invite. Finishing second would most likely mean defeating them too. Second?
Yep, he meant it, and his team believed it as well. Running in Cloquet last Thursday against the rest of the 7AA field, the ‘Cats used a sixth, ninth, and 12 place finish to place second as a team, three points ahead of Cloquet who finished third. Chisago also finished six point ahead of Duluth East, they were 13 points better than Hibbing, 28 points ahead of Elk River, and 39 points better than North Branch. The only team they didn’t beat was Monticello. The Magic won the boys title with a team score of 77.
“We were kind of a sleeper. None of the northern schools knew what kind of competition we had been running against,” said Orwoll, Chisago Lakes head cross country coach. “It was just an awesome experience. When they were naming off the places, we had no idea where we fell. They started with Hibbing at fifth place, then Duluth East, then at third place, Cloquet. When they announced second place, before they even said our name, we went nuts.”
As they should. The Wildcats trip to state is their first team trip in the history of the program. Adding to that, the ‘Cats also knocked Duluth East out of contention, snapping their streak of six consecutive years advancing to the state tournament. It was smiles all around.
“I knew we had a chance of falling anywhere between second and fifth, it was that tight. I also knew that we had to have a good effort by our fifth runner, whoever that was going to be that day,” remarked Orwoll. “It was a fast course and the kids were just moving right from the start. The youngsters really came through. We have five kids place in the top 50. You expect Leaf, you expect Dery, and you expect Brelje to be near the top, but Andrew Turner and Zach Hunter really came through.”
Indeed they did. For example, Hunter, who is only a sophomore, finished ninth overall, crossing the finish line with a personal best time of 16:47. Hunter followed Leaf who placed sixth overall. Leaf, a senior, ran the course in 16:27, trotting at a pace of just over five minutes per mile.
After Leaf and Hunter, Dery crossed the finish line in 12 place, while junior Turner finished 30. Brelje rounded out the top five for the ‘Cats, coming in 42.
“After the first lap and also the second, we looked in good shape. Leaf in the mix, fourth, fifth, and sixth were all right there,” remembered Orwoll. Hunter had moved up to ninth and Dery was a couple places behind them. I did get a little concerned with our fifth runner (Turner) ran past our number four runner (Brelje). I wasn’t sure if it was enough, but I knew it would come down to the fifth guy. As it turned out, Brelje beat Cloquet’s fifth guy by 10 places. That was the difference.”
The checklist is now almost complete. Conference championship….check, state berth….check. They have one more check to make.
“We have one more thing, everyone wants to go out there and beat someone, we want to beat some people,” commented Orwoll. “We’re not happy just being there, we want to beat some teams. That’s great.”
The boys state cross country meet will take place on Saturday at St. Olaf College. The race will begin at 2 p.m.
Before the boys realized their state tournament dream, the girls ran through the course in the section 7AA girls cross country section meet. While the Chisago Lakes girls squad failed to match what the boys did, you wouldn’t of known it. Cheers came from the Wildcat camp from a different reason- they finished 13 as a team- not 14.
“We beat somebody,” smiled Orwoll. That was our goal, to go out there and get after someone. The girls ran well and did that,” replied Orwoll. “I told them even before the race that even though it’s been a tough season, I was proud of them. They kept on working, there was no whining. I told them the score wasn’t important, but they told me that they were going to beat somebody and they did. I was really proud of them.”
The Wildcats 13 place finish was one better than Duluth Central who took 14. It marked one of the few times this season where the ‘Cats did not finish last. It was a small, yet large victory for a young team that has battled injuries the entire season.
Emmy Wold, who has ran basically the entire season with an injury, led the way for Chisago by finishing 64 overall. After Wold, seventh-grader Chelsea Johnson followed, taking 72. Makayla Grote, an eighth-grader, also finished in the top 80, running 75.
“I had some girls with PR’s (personal records),” mentioned Orwoll. “Chelsea ran well, Emmy led us once again, she was our first girl in, and Makayla also ran well. I think it was a good meet for us to end on because everyone did well.”
In the team race, Elk River and Duluth East advanced to state by placing first and second respectively. In the individual race, the top 10 runners also punched their ticket to the big show.
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