Bulldog Cross Country Teams To Vie For Season Titles
High School Sports August 18, 2015 Staff Writer 0
The Milbank Area boys and girls cross country teams hope to be in the hunt for the Northeast Conference and Region 1A titles later this season, according to head coach Eric Townsend.
The teams kicked off their seasons Monday, August 17, with the first day of practice. All practices begin at the high school and are for runners in grades seven through 12.
Following are the additional practice dates for the first week of practice:
Wednesday, August 19 – 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. – practices
Thursday, August 20 – 2 p.m. team and individual photos with practice following at 3:30 p.m.
Friday, August 21 – 9 a.m. camp fun
Saturday, August 22 – Camp fun
Monday, August 24 – 3:30 p.m. – practice
7 p.m. – Mandatory parent-athletes sports meeting at high school theater
Townsend will head into his 15th season as the head coach of the Bulldog cross country teams. He will be assisted by Josh Schmeichel.
The girls team took second place in both the NEC and region meets last year and qualified as a team for the state Class A meet for the third consecutive season. The boys finished third in the conference and region meets and qualified individual runners to the state meet.
“Fans can expect to see an awesome group of hard working young athletes this year,” mentioned Townsend. The boys team will reload this season as it lost three of the top six runners to graduation. The girls team will return everyone from last season and have high expectations this year. The team has an opportunity to compete in a couple new meets this year. The Bulldogs will compete in the Redfield and New London meets as well as the exciting Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, MN. “This meet is always a fun atmosphere for the runners to experience,” noted Townsend.
“Our goal is for both teams to run their best times and places in October,” explained Townsend. “Both team should be in the hunt for an NEC and region title. Every year the goal is to qualify both teams to the state meet.”
Townsend feels Redfield, Aberdeen Roncalli and Webster will be the teams to watch this season in addition to the Bulldogs. Teams that make up Region 1A of Class A include Milbank Area, Aberdeen Roncalli, Britton-Hecla, Clark-Willow Lake, Deuel, Great Plains Lutheran, Groton Area, Redfield-Doland, Sisseton, Tiospa Zina and Webster Area.
The team will travel to Camp NeSoDak at the end of the first week of practice for its annual cross country retreat. “This has become an exciting event.” said Townsend.
Click here to see photos of the first practice!
Following is the complete season schedule for the cross country teams:
| Date | Time | Name | Location |
| 08/31/15 | 5 p.m. | Milbank Breathe Easy | Milbank |
| 09/03/15 | 4 p.m. | Redfield-Doland | Redfield |
| 09/12/15 | 9:30 a.m. | Hardees Invite | Milbank |
| 09/17/15 | 4:30 p.m. | New London-Spicer | New London |
| 09/21/15 | 4 p.m. | Deuel Invite | Clear Lake |
| 09/26/15 | 1 p.m. | Roy Griak Invite | U of M |
| 10/01/15 | 4:30 p.m. | Sisseton Invite | Sisseton |
| 10/08/15 | 3:30 p.m. | NEC Meet | Webster |
| 10/15/15 | 3:30 p.m. | Region 1A Meet | Webster |
| 10/24/15 | TBA | State Class A Meet | Sioux Falls |
Staff Writer
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