---

Chelsea Johnson continued her phenomenal season with a top five finish at the section meet and a trip to the state meet at St. Olaf College this weekend.

Johnson, a junior who has paced the Wildcats girls' squad all year long, finished in 15:34 to earn fifth place among 90 participants. "She has worked so hard this past year and it's great to see it pay off," beamed Head Coach Ken Orwoll.  "Chelsea has ran so consistent all year and [the section meet] was no different. She ran with the lead pack and was two seconds off her personal best."

The next three finishers were a trio of youngsters that could lead to big things in the future for the Wildcats. Freshman Mary Cross finished in 48th place with a time of 17:05. Behind her was two eighth graders, Kaylee Ryan and Madi Vukich, who both have impressed their teammates at such a young age. " It was also great to have Kaylee back racing, she did a great job as our third finisher," Orwoll noted.

Senior Makayla Grote finished just behind Vukich wih an 18:44.9. Her fellow upperclassman, Becca Schmidt, rounded out her Wildcat cross country career with a 19:49 in 89th place. "Makayla Grote and Becca Schmidt finished their high school careers, always thinking of team first, and supporting and motivating their younger team mates," Orwoll said. "They will truly be missed next year."

The girls finished well out of contention in 11th place with 281 points. Grand Rapids and Forest Lake will be the Section 7AA representatives at the state meet. with GR finishing with 57 points and Forest Lake with 59.

Boys

The boys cross country team also struggled to an 11th place finish. Although they didn't have a standout performance on their side like the girls did, some consistency in the middle kept them ahead of Cloquet, Princeton and Duluth Central.

Sophomore Josh Olinger and seventh grader Andy Magnuson ran side-by-side throughout the meet and finished in much the same manner. Olinger was the first Wildcat to cross the checkered line in 18:25.1, but Magnuson was right there with him, finishing in 18:25.3. the pair finished in 40th and 41st place.

Sophomore Caleb Gieske finished in 19:17, good for 61st place.

Freshman Peter Tengwall and sophomore Bart Vukich capped the Wildcats varsity scoring with a 77th place and 82nd place, respectively.

Juniors Riley Myers and Alex Walter finished off Chisago Lakes' varsity squad.

"Andy Magnuson had a personal record and Josh Olinger was also a couple seconds off his best time," Orwoll explained. "The top five runners score for team points and our top five were sophomores or younger, so the future looks good."

The 'Cats 301 points put them in 11th place for the 14-team meet. Forest Lake won the meet with 49 points and Duluth East finished second with 103 points. 

---