Cross country wraps up at State
BY EMILY SCHERESKY
Sports Writer
As autumn comes to an end, so does the fall season of cross country. The runners had a busy month trying their best to make new records for themselves to be able to compete with runners from around the region, as well as around the state.
Regionals for cross country was held Oct. 14 in Bowman. In the regional competition, teams can have as many runners participating as they want, which is not the case for state. Some of the top placers for the girls were Jade Koski, Brook Tibke, and Amanda Odegard. Koski took 11th place, and Brook Tibke received 21st. Odegard finished in 25th.
All placers in the top twenty are considered All-Region runners, so Koski was one of 20 to receive this honor. As well as All Region, Koski was one of three girls to be nominated as Region Athlete of the Year. Teammate Odegaard was also nominated for the award. Southern McLean had 12 girls running the 5k, and the team received third place overall.
Coach Laura Tweeten explained that the goal for regionals was to place top three for both boys and girls, which they did succeed in doing. The boys team also received third in the region.
Leading the boys team were Coltan Hyttinen, Denny Neustel, and Ben Frederick. Coltan Hyttinen received fourth at regionals, making him an all region athlete. Neustel received 21st, and Frederick rounded out the runners with 26th.
In the regional competition, there is also a junior varsity 3k. Colton Schmidt ran for the boys junior varsity, where he took 28th. Coach Tweeten said both the girls and the boys ran especially solid races in regionals, as a majority of them beat their personal best in their race.
