TMB/WWG’s Lainey Jackels ran a PR of 21:08 to take fifth place in Granite Falls on Monday.
Other varsity runners were: Miranda Mischke (23:06), Evelyn Rentschler (26:03), Allie Duscher (28:21), Stella Munson (28:54), Jaeda Nelson (30:35), Jayda Snyder (32:07), and Payton Daniels (34:37).
“Allie and Jayda ran in their first varsity race, and I am very proud of both of them,”TMB/ WWG coach Billy Dean said. “They worked hard and ran a good consistent pace. The girls team keeps improving, which is fun to see. We just need to keep working on confidence and believing that we can run and be competitive in a varsity 5k race.”
Weston Marten (18:52) paced the Panther boys’ varsity team. Following him were: Noah Schmidt (19:26), Zach Jones (19:58), Jackson Jenniges (20:07), Taylor Squires (21:09), Owen Beier (21:32), Max Swick (21:54), Colin Nelson (22:24), Gatlin Struchen (PR 23:17), Karson Schneider (25:02), Sam Wiborg (25:54), Jaxter Pfarr (26:18), and Trajan Swanjord (PR 28:23).
“Weston led the way today, looking like the Weston from last year with a new season best time,” Dean said. “Noah had a great day, and PR’d by over 30 seconds. He finally broke the sub-20 mark, which is a goal he has had for a while.”
Jones also PR’d, breaking sub-20 for the first time in his career.
“We are very proud of Noah and Zach for being able to accomplish this milestone,” Dean said. “Jackson PR’d with a time of 20:07; he keeps getting better every race, and I think soon we will see him with the other five boys at sub-20.
The TMB/WWG boys now has five runners who have come in at under 20 minutes and two under 19.
“I am very excited when these boys all run a solid race together with these times,” said Dean.
Swick and Nelson both ran in their first varsity race.
“Both boys ran a great race, and I look forward to seeing them continue to compete in the 5k distance,” Dean said. “Taylor and Owen were dealing with some leg issues and not feeling very good, but they both found a way to finish, that shows their grit and toughness.”
TMB/WWG had two girls run in the C race, which was 2,100 meters. Ellah Barker (12:37) and Trinidi Knudson (14:54) both ran a steady, consistent pace, Dean said, and have both been improving all season.
On the boys, side, four Panther runner competed: Keagan Jenniges (9:59), Trenton Daniels (10:12), Vincent Munson (12:21), and Justin Hernandez (14:43).
“This course is pretty tough, with a few longer hills, and I thought our C race runners did a good job and competed well,” said Dean. “Our varsity/JV boys were a little out of order this meet. We had a couple runners who didn’t feel the best in the run and other runners who really shined and picked up the pace.
SEPT. 24 AT STONEY CREEK The TMB/WWG cross country team dealt with less-than-ideal weather last Thursday at Stoney Creek in Renville.
The Panther varsity girls took second place, led by Jackels, who finished third at 21:27. Mischke ran a 23:07 for seventh place, followed by Rentschler (26:57), Munson (28:51), Nelson (32:04) and Daniels (33:55).
“Stella ran a great race today and got a new season best time in the 5k by over 3 minutes,” TMB/WWG coach Billy Dean said. “Payton also had a great day getting a new PR time by close to 2 minutes faster. I’m very proud of the girls’ effort today. We want to keep working hard, but we are moving in the right direction.”
The Panther boys’ varsity team took home third place and were paced by Squires who ran a PR 18:52. Jones (20:09), Jenniges (20:14), Schmidt (20:02) and Wiborg (22:28) all had personal best times.
Other varsity runners for the boys were Tyson Petersen (22:36), Struchen (24:32) and Pfarr (26:52).
“Our boys’ varsity team keeps improving, and we are 14 seconds away from having our top six boys run a sub-20 time which would be amazing to have done by the end of the year,” Dean said. “Overall, I was very happy with our athletes. We had six runners place in their races, and their times keep getting better as the year goes on. They have been working hard in practice and it has been showing on the course.”
Duscher (19:41) and Snyder (24:37) ran in the girls’ JV race, which was 2.4 miles. Duscher finished second overall. For the girls’ C-squad (a little over a mile), Barker (11:33) and Josie Birman (10:22) competed.
The JV boys consisted of Swick, who finished first with a time of 16:10; Nelson (17:49), Schneider (18:41), Xander Brinkley (20:25), Swanjord (22:30) and Cohen Radke (34:27).
The boys C-squad runners consisted of Daniels (7:53), Jenniges (8:16) and Munson (10:29).
