Above: Jorden Rossow led the Loyola-Cleveland varsity boys.
After a meet of several personal records in Sleepy Eye a week earlier, the Loyola-Cleveland cross-country team came back strong on the flat Madelia golf course on Thursday.
With a 71, the varsity boys took third of 10 teams, five points behind winner Springfield/Cedar Mountain. Mountain Lake Area was second with 68 points.
Jorden Rossow was first for the Crusaders and ninth of the 73 runners with an 18:37.20 finish.
“Jorden ran well again tonight,” said head coach Dale Compton. “After dealing with a bit of a lower leg injury earlier this year, he seems to be back to full strength now.”
Rounding out the Crusader first five, Nathan Strobel was 12th (18:46.10), James Young was 14th (18:49.20), Sam Vetter was 16th (19:08.70), and TJ Waldron was 25th (19:50.00)
“TJ had another really nice race,” Compton said. “He is getting stronger every week. We are excited to see how he finishes the season.”
Also for Loyola-Cleveland, Andrew Buboltz was 29th (19:58.20), and Carter Zimmerman was 43rd (20:43.20).
The varsity girls took sixth place.
Running her second fastest 5K ever after setting a PR at Sleepy, Molly Koester was the top finisher on the Crusader girls team. She finished eighth of 62 runners with a 22:41.83. Kathryn Huisken was 24th with a 23:57.67, Jewell Factor was 37th with a 25:40.64, Cora Koester was 39th with a 25:41.09, and Alexa Bolstad was 62nd with a 34:38.07.
In the junior high boys 2400-m race, the Crusaders had five of the top six spots. Corbin Diechman earned gold with a 9:20.35. Next in line was Soren Kelly (9:41.13). Mitchell Buboltz was fourth overall (11:19.58), Elijah Mons was fifth (10:19.94), and Thomas Soupir was sixth (10:25.42).
“Elijah Mons ran very well for our JH boys team,” Compton said. “He ran one of his best races as a Crusader. Over the last 800 meters, he was able to pass six or seven runners to move into the top five, helping the junior high team to a first-place finish."
Rounding out the 25-runner field for the junior high Crusader boys, Isaac Coudron was 16th (11:44.68), Jack Sullivan was 19th (13:02.01), and Charlie Maxfield was 23rd (13:38.65).
In the junior high girls 2400, Charlotte Kirschner was in sixth place of 22 runners with a 11:52.22 finish. Valentina Rohlfing held the 10th spot with a 12:00.69 completion. Hannah Coudron was 15th with a 13:02.34. Anika Sathoff's time didn't register.
Up next for the Crusaders is the Valley Conference Championship at Fox Lake Golf course in Sherburn on Tuesday at 4:00 pm.
Nathan Strobel rounds a corner.
TJ Waldron keeps pace with a couple of competitors. He finished in the Crusader first five.
Valentina Rohlfing runs in the pack at the start of the junior high 2400.
Elijah Mons (right) runs to-to-toe with teammate Mitchell Buboltz down the stretch.
Charlie Maxfield focuses on his stride.
Anika Sathoff in the junior high race.