October 2, 2008 at 8:55 a.m.
Despite rain, Wildcats host one and only home meet
Despite rain, Wildcats host one and only home meet
Rain interrupted Chisago Lakes' first and only home meet of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 23. It was to be a big invite with eight teams participating, and it would've given the Wildcats some stiff competition on their home course.
Instead, with the rainout, the meet was rescheduled to Thursday, Sept. 25. But, the damage had already been done as most of the other teams already had a meet scheduled on Thursday or Saturday, so only Maranatha Christian was able to participate in the event, making it a dual instead of an invitational.
The team got to run, however, and that's what counts in the end goal for a good run at sections.
The boys took to the Ki Chi Saga State Park course first, and they had a solid outing against and incomplete Maranatha squad.
Caleb Gieske earned second place honors in the race, finishing with a time of 19:21. "Caleb had an outstanding race on our tough course," Head Coach Ken Orwoll said. "He ran a very consistent pace to place second."
Josh Olinger was the next Wildcat to cross the finish line, clocking in at 20:30 in fourth place.
Riley Myers and Peter Tengwall then crossed the finish line in succession, and Myers made it in 21:01, and Tengwall crossed in 21:08 for a fifth and sixth place finish, respectively. "Peter ran a great race, with a great finish and he pulled some of our upperclassmen," Orwoll explained.
Bart Vukich rounded out the varsity scoring for the Wildcats, finishing in seventh place with a time of 21:48.
Alex Walter and Tim Bertram were the other varsity Wildcat runners who crossed the finish line. Walter finished in 23:33, and Bertram was close behind, finishing in 23:37.
Chisago Lakes won the team title by default since Maranatha Christian didn't have a full team.
In the girls race, both teams had full squads of runners going for them, so it was a heated race all the way through.
Chelsea Johnson earned a first place finish for the girls, ending the 4K race in 16:15.
Underclassman Mary Cross, with a Maranatha Christian runner attempting to pass her with 100 meters left, held off the charge to finish in fourth place in 17:58.
"Chelsea and Mary continue to have great races for us," Orwoll pointed out.
Kaylee Ryan was the next 'Cat to cross. Her time of 18:21 earned her a seventh place finish on the day. Makayla Grote and Madi Vukich rounded out the varsity scoring for the Wildcats in ninth and tenth place, respectively. Grote finished in 19:27, and Vukich finished in 19:50.
Becca Schmidt was the other varsity runner for the Wildcats, and she finished the race in 21:25 in 11th place.
In the team total, Maranatha Christian edged out the Wildcats by seven points. Maranatha had 24 total places, and the Wildcats had 31 total places.
"It was fun to have a meet on our home course," Orwoll said. "It was great to see our other runners run as competitively as they did."
The next meet for the team is the prestigious Swain Invitational in Duluth on Saturday, Oct. 4. The races start at 9 a.m.
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