Bulldogs Take Home the Beef At Milbank-Hardee’s Invitational

Milbank Area Bulldogs had five runners in the top 20 of the Milbank-Hardee’s Invitational cross country meet September 10, at Pine Hills Golf Course. The meet featured over 300 runners from three states. Earning a top 20 finish for Milbank Area were: Taylor Thue, Danica Schulte, Amaya Street, Nick Batchelor, and Tanner Bock.

“This was the best meet of the season for both our teams,” stated Bulldog head cross country coach Eric Townsend. “We had a great week of practice and that carried over into the meet. Placing five runners in the top 20 is a big accomplishment at this meet. With a great mix of teams, competition is difficult.”

In the girls varsity race, Thue led the Lady Bulldogs with a 10th place finish. Schulte earned 13th place, and Street was 19th overall. “Danica improved her time on the same course from a year ago by 40 seconds,” stated Townsend. “She has developed into one of the top runners in the region.”

Milbank finished fourth overall as a team with 59 points. LQPV-Dawson Boyd won the event with 24 points. Redfield-Doland was second with 46 and Madison placed third with 59 points. Other teams included Flandreau, 59; Breckenridge/Whapeton, 97, and Montevideo, 117.

Batchelor led the boy’s team with a 11th place finish. Bock was close behind in 16th overall. “Nick ran an outstanding first varsity race of his career,” said Townsend. “He works hard in practice and has a natural gift.”

The boy’s team landed in fifth overall with 81 points. LQPV was first with 26; Breckenridge/Whapeton, second, 36; Redfield-Doland, third, 55; Montevideo, fourth, 57; Madison, sixth, 88; Great Plains Lutheran, seventh, 102, and Flandreau, eighth, 122.

“The meet was a huge success with perfect weather for the runners,” Townsend said. “A huge thank you to Hardee’s for sponsoring the meet, Pine Hills for allowing us to host this meet, and the volunteers who made this meet possible.”

Four senior runners and their parents were honored for their years of dedication to the sport. They are: Caden Bjordahl, Kody Johnson, Karlee Mertens, and Brooke Fraasch.

The next meet for the Bulldogs is Thursday, September 15, in New London, MN. Start time is 4:30 p.m.

Complete results from the races at the Milbank-Hardee’s Invitational:                                                                                                                                         Girls Varsity 5K Race
10. Taylor Thue, 21:09.39; 13. Danica Schulte, 21:34.66; 19. Amaya Street, 21:55.78; 27. Allison Leddy, 23:26.62; 30. Jatana Grajczyk, 23:39.21; 34. Shea Hooth, 24:16.85; 37. Christina Lusk, 24:27.91; 47. Sophia Seffrood, 28:38.63.
Boys Varsity 5K Race
11. Nick Batchelor, 18:19.77; 16. Tanner Bock, 18:53.56; 27. Zippy Bock, 19:33.13; 29. Kody Johnson, 19:36.61; 33. Alex Farrell, 19:41.85; 43. Caden Bjordahl, 20:38.77.
Girls Junior Varsity 4K Race
2. Maiah Brown, 18:57.00.
Boys Junior Varsity 4K Race
4. Ben Harstad, 16:10.43; 6. Max McCulloch, 16:32.25; 16. Landon Brown, 16:56.93; 21. Isaac Fischer, 17:21.13; 23. Jack Sandvig, 17:28.71; 38. Jadus Medicine Crow, 18:16.81; 47. JD Lusk, 19:36.17; 50. Elias Magilke, 19:45.50; 62. Andrew Falk, 22:21.31.
Girls Middle School 3K Race
19. Marion Mischel, 15:12.79; 26. Isabelle Nowick, 15:50.54.
Boys Middle School 3K Race
7. Isaac Johnson, 12:28.02.