Boys runners win in Norwood Young America
The White Hawk boys varsity team finished in first place and Scott Harrison won the varsity 5k
Scott Harrison (677) leads the way at the Lions Invitational in Norwood Young America. Harrison won the race and helped propel the boys varsity to first place. (Photo submitted by Carol Franck)
The White Hawks cross country team finished successful at their cross country meet last week at Norwood Young America’s Baylor Park, including team and individual first place finishes.
The boys varsity won the Lions Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 11, and junior Scott Harrison took home first as an individual with a time of 16:39 in the 5 kilometer race. Harrison won the race by over seven seconds — the second place finisher, Adam Armbruster from Delano High School, finished the race in 16:46.
Head coach Chris “Butch” Humbert said the team’s biggest challenge at the Sept. 11 meet might have been the heat.
“We did really well,” he said. “It was 95 degrees and just blazing hot.”
The team’s other top runners did not finish too far behind Harrison. The second White Hawks finisher came in at 17:29, good for fourth place out of 140 runners. Behind him was Kole Retterath in 10th place with the time of 17:56.
Other top boys varsity runners include Grant Piepkorn, Billy Opheim, Danny Humbert and Adam Brandt.
“All finished in the top half of the field, which led to an impressive victory in Norwood Young America,” he said.
The White Hawks finished with 77 team points, 39 points in front of second place Holy Family Catholic High School. Delano, Montevideo and Glencoe Silver Lake high schools rounded out the top five finishers.
Kendra Franck
The girls varsity ran another incomplete race, with only eighth grader Kendra Franck participating in the race. Frank finished with a 17:44 4-kilometer time, good for 28th place out of 112 runners.
Humbert said that he will continue to run an incomplete girls varsity for a while longer. He will fill the empty varsity spots with the top J.V. runners later in the season.
“We’re so thin on girls that I’m just running a girls J.V.,” he said. “We have eight girls looking to fill four spots.”
The girls J.V. managed a fourth place finish out of nine teams. Top finishers include eighth place finisher Ella Kohls, 15th place Hanna Brustad and 21st place finisher Abby Wharram.
The boys J.V. race finished in first place by six points in what Humbert called a “heated battle.”
Rudy Rice took second out of 249 runners, followed by Matt Humbert in ninth and Zach Altman in 15th.
The White Hawks next race was a home meet on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at the Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista.
Humbert said this meet will be interesting for the White Hawk boys, with stiff competition coming from Minneapolis Southwest High School.
“It will be a good gauge to see if we can stick close to them,” he said. “(The Grasshopper Invitational) is a big one for us, the only home meet we have.”
Humbert added that the Gale Woods Farm course is very challenging.
“The times are not blazing fast,” he said.
Homecoming football run
The cross country team will also be continuing their homecoming tradition of running the game ball from the opposing team to Haddorf Stadium.
Humbert said this year they will be running from Waconia High School, a considerably shorter distance then the 2011 run from Annandale High School.
“A lot of my older kids will run the whole thing,” he said.
