Lauryn Ankeny and Maeson Tank won individual titles for the Lakers at the WCC Boys and Girls Cross-country Meet at the Benson Golf Course last Monday afternoon.

Ankeny led the Laker girls to the team title, while Sauk Centre edged the Laker boys for the WCC championship.  The girls team had six runners placed in the top-20, while the boys team had four.

“The kids have been running well the last couple of weeks and are starting to peak for sure,” coach Jennifer Johnsrud said. 

Minnewaska Area now gets set for the Section 6A Cross-Country Meet, set for Friday, Oct. 27 at Wadena-DC.  It’s going to be a battle for state berths as Staples-Motley, Wadena-DC, West Central Area, Sauk Centre, Bertha-Hewitt and Minnewaska Area are among a number of teams from the section that have strong cross-country programs.

Tank and Ankeny both qualified to state last year, while the entire Laker girls’ team made it to state two seasons ago.  The 2023 State Cross-Country Meet is set for Saturday, Nov. 4 at St. Olaf College. 

WCC Cross-Country Meet

The Laker cross-country program had a great day at the WCC Meet last Monday at Benson, placing first in the girls meet and second in the boys, while also coming home with both individual titles.

It was the fourth-straight conference title for the girls’ team, while the Sauk Centre boys won their third-straight team title, winning by 24 points over the runner-up Lakers.

Lauryn Ankeny led her team to the WCC title with a time of 20:15 to place first.  She won by 30 seconds over the runner-up finisher from Benson-KMS.

Minnewaska Area had 55 points, followed by Melrose Area with 60, WCA with 65 and Sauk Centre was fourth with 95 points in the 8-team competition.

Nori Song was next for the Lakers, placing sixth out of 51 runners (21:16), while a pack of runners for Minnewaska Area followed her as Jillian Deutsch was 16th (22:24), Sydney Ankeny was 17th (22:38), Piper Citrowske-Lee placed 18th (22:49), Sophia Wallin was 19th (23:05) and Aubrey Stark placed 39th (24:59).

“It has been a hit to lose junior Teagan Stark midway through the season,” coach Johnsrud said.  “She blew out her ACL in the Powder Puff game and is going to have surgery to repair it at the end of the month.  It doesn’t look good for her track season either.

“We’re thankful we have a pair of seventh-graders that have made a big impact on our team this fall; Nori Song and Jillian Deutsch.  They’ve given our team a big lift.”

In the boys’ race, Maeson Tank edged Sauk Centre’s Jacob Drevlow for the individual title by one second with a time of 16:54.  There were 49 total male varsity runner.

That helped the Lakers placed second overall behind the strong Sauk Centre team.  The Mainstreeters had three of the top five runners to total 32 points, followed by the Lakers with 56, Montevideo with 64 and Melrose with 100.  Tank’s time was the first time he has gone under 17 minutes.

Minnewaska had four runners place in the top 20 as Zach Palmer placed seventh (18:02), Jayce Kovarik was 12th (18:43) and Ian Mills 14th (18:51).   “Jayce has been sick most of the season fighting bronchitis and severe allergies,” coach Johnsrud said.  “Antibiotics kicked in and he is finally feeling better.”

Also running for the Lakers were Carter Dinsmore in 22nd (19:24), Luke Hoffmann in 35th (20:06) and Ryan Koehntop in 44th place (21:37).

•  In the girls’ JV race, Minnewaska’s Izzy Bautista placed sixth overall with a time of 23:56, while Autumn Hess was 13th (26:50) out of 21 runners.  WCA’s Skylar LaRue won the race in 23:20.

Sauk Centre dominated the boys’ JV race with the top six runners, including champion Noah Borgerding (19:17), and 10 of the top 11.

Tate Wasilowski placed 15th for the Lakers in 20:51, while Chase Wacker was 34th (22:28).

In the junior high races, Ayden Svenning placed fifth in the girls’ race with a time of 14:55, while Rylan Tank placed second in the boys’ race with a time of 12:18, just six seconds from first.

Morris Area’s Anna Boyle won the girls’ race in 14:09, while Montevideo’s Henry Godfrey was the boys’ winner in 12:12.

at WCC Meet at Benson

Girls varsity team results:  (1) Minnewaska Area 55  (2) Melrose Ara 60  (3) West Central Area 65  (4) Sauk Centre 95  (5) Morris Area-CA 114  (6) Benson-KMS 147  (7) Montevideo 195 . . . BOLD/BLH incomplete

Girls top five:  (1) Lauryn Ankeny, Min 20:15  (2) Amber Rosemeier, BKMS 20:45  (3) Victoria Linscheid, SC 20:47  (4) Maria Hinnenkamp, Mel 20:53  (5) Danica Kerzman, Mel 21:03

Minnewaska Area times:   (1) Lauryn Ankeny 20:15  (6) Nori Song 21:16  (16) Jillian Deutsch 22:24  (17) Sydney Ankeny 22:38  (18) Piper Citrowske-Lee 22:49  (19) Sophia Wallin 23:05  (39) Aubrey Stark 24:59 . . . 51 total runners

Boys varsity team results:  (1) Sauk Centre 32  (2) Minnewaska Area 56  (3) Montevideo 64  (4) Melrose Area 100  (5) West Central Area 104  (6) Benson-KMS 176  (7) Morris Area-CA 177 . . . BOLD-BLH incomplete

Boys top five:  (1) Maeson Tank, Min 16:54  (2) Jacob Drevlow, SC 16:55  (3) Carter Kjesbo, WCA 17:31  (4) Devin Crawford-Klinnert, SC 17:56  (5) Logan Wiehoff, SC 17:57

Minnewaska Area times:   (1) Maeson Tank 16:54  (7) Zach Palmer 18:02  (12) Jayce Kovarik 18:43  (14) Ian Mills 18:51  (22) Carter Dinsmore 19:24  (35) Luke Hoffmann 20:06  (44) Ryan Koehntop 21:37 . . . 49 total runners

Check out more photos in our photo gallery!