Cross Country Travels to Redfield

Blue skies and a lot of wind were the conditions at Redfield on Thursday, August 30 but that didn’t stop the runners from giving their all and even cutting time. Coach Eric Townsend said, “The Redfield Invite was a great opportunity for both teams to finally get out and compete after weeks of practice. Overall, we were all pleased with the results from the meet. Both teams competed hard and gave maximum effort. It was good to see some of the NEC and Region schools that we will face at the end of the season. There were also a number of top-notch Class B schools too. This meet was a good stepping stone and barometer to see where we are right now compared to those schools. Both teams still have work to do to be where we want to be at the end of the season, but we like where we are in our training as of now.”

The Milbank Varsity boys placed 2nd overall in the meet falling behind Warner who won the meet. Top 40 finishers for the boys were Nick Batchelor, (3rd) Zippy Bock, (16th) Nathan Loutsch and Ben Harstad at 31 and 34 respectively.

Coach Townsend praised, ” Nathan Loutsch had an outstanding first meet of his senior season at the Redfield Invite. He was the 3rd Milbank finisher and placed 31st overall. His time was 1 minute and 16 seconds faster than the season before on the same course. Nathan has started his season very strong this first and in practices the first weeks. He has always been a hard worker in practice as well. It will exciting to watch Nathan continue to help lead this year’s boy’s team his senior season.”

The Varsity girls, despite not placing top three in the overall meet, had six runners place very well. Maurina Street and Danica Schulte finished 10th and 11th, with mere tenths of a second separating their finishing times. Amaya Street, (15th) Taylor Thue, (22nd) Elisabeth Schwenn, (25th) and Maiah Brown (32nd) also crossed the finish line in the top 40.

Coach Townsend said, “Amaya Street had a great first meet of the season at the Redfield Invite. She was the 3rd Bulldog finisher and placed 15th overall. Her time was 19 seconds faster than the year before on the same course. Amaya has looked very good in practice and in her first meet of the season. She is one of the hardest workers in practice on the team. Hopefully, her hard work and drive will help her continue to improve throughout the season. We are excited to watch her continue to be a leader on this year’s girl’s team.”

Next meet for the Bulldogs will be the Hardee’s Invite at home on Saturday, September 8th. Meet starts at 9:30 at The Pine Hills Golf Course.