Mischke 5th, Jackels 10th at Luverne; Marten tops at Adrian

Miranda Mischke did much more than hold her own at last Thursday’s cross country meet in Luverne.

Running on a difficult course, Mischke took fifth place overall with a time of 22:28 for the Panthers. Mischke finished just over 1 second behind the fourthplace runner and was less than 1 minute out of first place.

Lainey Jackels also cracked the Top 10 with a 10-place run of 23:11.

“Miranda and Lainey were two of our big highlights,” TMB/WWG coach Billy Dean said. “They both ran great races.”

For the fifth-place TMB/WWG boys’ varsity steam, Jaxter Pfarr was first for the Panthers, taking 24th place with a time of 20:57, and Weston Marten was 25th at 20:59. Other finishers for the boys were: Owen Beier (31st at 21:53); Jackson Jenniges (33rd at 22:10); Logan Petersen (36th at 22:33); Taylor Squires (45th at 23:17); Noah Schmidt (49th at 23:36); Tyson Peterson (54th at 24:52); Gatlin Struchen (57th at 25:15); Owen Maguire (58th at 25:25); Sam Wiborg (63rd at 27:58); and Adam Hippe (71st at 33:16). Struchen’s time was a PR and in his second varsity race no less.

“Gatlin ran a great race,” Dean said. “He looked very strong in his second varsity race.”

For the girls’ C team, Gracelynn Struchen was 21st at 19:44 (PR); Stella Munson was 23rd at 20:39; Jaeda Nelson was 24th at 21:02; and Payton Daniels was 27th at 24:47. For the boys, Xander Brinkley took 20th with a time of 20:01; Trajan Swanjord was 22nd at 21:30; and Cohen Radke was 24th at 28:51. “They had a pretty big hill that the varsity kids had to run up twice and it was a pretty warm day,” Dean said. “We are ready for some cooler weather. But with all of those elements, I still think our kids did a great job of competing hard.” This week, the Panther boys’ team finished in fifth place at Tuesday’s Dragon Invitational in Adrian. Marten was TMB/ WWG’s top runner, taking 16th place with a time of 18:51, beating his previous best by 51 seconds.

“Weston ran an amazing race,” TMB/WWG coach Billy Dean said. “He finished in 16th place, which was one spot away from placing. He started the race strong, stayed consistent through the race and had a great finish.”

Jenniges was 42nd at 21:00; Beier was 44th at 21:04; and Squires took 50th at 21:51. Other finishers for the varsity boys were: Peterson (58th at 22:12); Wiborg (69th at 22:58); Struchen (70th at 23:07); Pfarr (71st at 23:08); Zach Jones (82nd at 25:27); Maguire (84th at 26:09); and Hippe (31:52).

“Jackson had a great race and was close to a PR; Taylor and Jaxter ran tough through some sickness and showed some grit just to compete,” said Dean. “Owen Beier, Logan, Noah, Tyson, Zach, Adam, Gatlin and Sam all had a phenomenal race and all of them PR’d in the 5K race.

For the girls, Mischke finished 15th with at PR of 21:30; Jackels was 37th at 23:20; Evelyn Rentschler was 72nd at 26:42; Munson was 77th at 27:05; Struchen was 85th at 30:04; Nelson took 88th place at 33:22; and Daniels was 90th at 39:40.

“Miranda ran an amazing race,” said Dean. “She finished the race with a time of 21:30, which is a PR for her by 51 seconds and finished in 15th, which was good for a medal. She also had a great start of her race, ran very well in the middle and had a strong finish. Evelyn and Gracelynn both had season-best times at the 5K distance and ran a great, consistent race. Lainey was our second girls runner and showed a lot of mental toughness battling through some soreness. Stella, Jaeda and Payton all ran a great race and they also PR’d.”

For the TMB/WWG C team, Brinkley ran a 7:07 (1,600 meters) for 21st place; Swanjord was 31st at 8:43; and Radke was 33rd at 10:30.

“Xander, Trajan and Cohen all PRd and ran very well,” said Dean.

A total of 16 runners set new PRs.

“As coaches, we were very proud of our athletes today and the effort that they put into the race,” Dean said. “We continue to look to improve as we enter our postseason races.

Next up for the Panthers is the Camden Conference meet on Tuesday, Oct. 14, in Cottonwood.