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North Suburban Conference Championships

The boys had their best performance in years at the North Suburban Conference Championships in Crystal at Bassett Creek Park.

Behind freshman Andy Magnuson's ninth place finish, the boys propelled all the way up to third place, just a few points behind Robbinsdale Cooper in second.

"Andy had an outstanding race with his ninth place, and he earned his second All-Conference selection," Head Coach Ken Orwoll said after the big meet.

Magnuson finished the race in 17:25 to earn All-North Suburban Conference honors, and Caleb Gieske and Noah Rockenback joined him on that list with 12th and 13th place finishes. They finished as close together as two racers can get, as Gieske, a senior, finished in 17:46.1 and Rockenback, a sophomore, completed the race in 17:46.4. "Both of those guys have just run so well for us all year," Orwoll said.

Senior Josh Olinger kept the Wildcats in good position when he finished in 25th place with a time of 18:03. The finish was good enough to earn him All-NSC Honorable Mention.

Eighth grader Quinton Lee rounded out the varsity score, clocking in at 18:51 in 45th place.

Totino-Grace won the meet with 38 points, and Cooper came in second with 97. The 'Cats were just seven points behind them with 104 total points, and they barely bested Benilde-St. Margaret's, who finished in fourth with 107 points. "The third place finish was our best since joining the North Suburban," Orwoll noted.

Girls

The girls had an unfortunate turn of events when their top runner, Kaylee Ryan, was forced to miss the meet due to sickness. Although it obviously affected the 'Cats score, they still mustered a sixth place finish.

Mary Cross earned All-NSC honors for the second year in a row when she finished in 13th place. The junior completed the race in 16:44.

Kelsey Sorenson and Katie Christy each earned All-NSC Honorable Mention for the Wildcats, cracking the top 30. Sorenson finished in 18th place with a time of 16:58, and Christy finished in 17:09 in 24th place.

Ali Fuller and Liz Coulter paired up to finish out the varsity scoring for Chisago Lakes, finishing in 34th and 36th place, respectively. Fuller, a sophomore, finished in 17:54, while Coulter, a freshman, finished in 17:59.

With Ryan's personal best this year, she most likely would've finished in third place. With 33 points shaved off of the Wildcat score, they would've been in position to earn a third place finish instead of a sixth place.

But, with Ryan full rested for sections, it is a good thing in a the long run as she gets healthy.

North Branch won the meet, while Totino-Grace, Cooper, St. Francis and Irondale rounded out the top five. Chisago Lakes finished in sixth with 125 points, just ahead of Benilde-St. Margaret's who finished seventh with 136 points.

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