Brown and Koplin Win First at Sioux Falls Invite

The Milbank cross country teams competed in the Sioux Falls Charger Invitational hosted by Sioux Falls Christian High School on September 12 at Yankton Trails in Sioux Falls. Eric Townsend, head coach for the Bulldogs, commented, “This meet was a great opportunity to compete against some of the better teams in Class A. The boys team placed third overall against some very good teams.  Payton Brown had an outstanding race. He won the varsity boys race and beat some of the best runners in Class A.”

“James Batchelor also ran very well and placed fifth overall,” Townsend added. “The girls team placed seventh.  Ashlynn Batchelor (4th) and Bianca Berry (20th) both placed in the top 20. Overall, this was a good meet for the Bulldogs.” Seventh grader Ella Koplin brought home the win for Milbank in the JV girls 4K race.

Looking ahead, Townsend said, “Both teams need to continue to improve and stay consistent in their training.  A few injuries and illnesses will hopefully continue to improve this next week.” 

Today, Tuesday, September 19, the Bulldogs traveled to the Lac qui Parle Valley (LQPV) Invitational at Madison, Minnesota. 

Results from the Sioux Falls Charger  Invitational
Boys Varsity 5K Run
Bulldog Payton Brown won the Boys 5K race. He crossed the finish line in 15:46.25. Dakota Valley runners took second and third place. Sioux Falls Christian earned fourth place, and Bulldog James Batchelor (16:46.18) was fifth. Also for Milbank, Isaac Graham (17:42.12) took 22nd place. Liam Heller (18:53.06) came in 37th; Beckham Berry (19:22.84), 52nd; and Grant VanPeursem (20:55.56), 70th.

Top 10 Teams and Points: 
1. Sioux Falls Christian–25  
2. Dakota Valley–55  
3. Milbank–62  
4. Lennox –64  
5. Tea Area– 86 
6. West Central–90
7. Vermillion–105
8. Madison–133
9. Sioux Falls Lincoln–147
10. Canton–215 

Girls Varsity 5K Run
Lady Bulldog Ashlynn Batchelor claimed fourth place in the girls varsity 5K run. Her time of 19:10.22 put her behind the top three runners–all from Sioux Falls Christian– and ahead of two other runners from Sioux Falls Christian who took fourth and fifth place. Ellie Maddox posted the winning time of 18:07.40.

Bianca Berry (21:01.74)  earned 20th place for Milbank. Stella Wendland (22:23.46) took 35th place. Kynlee Speidel (23:20.65), 52nd; Tyra Berry (23:32.66),  53rd; and Zayda Townsend (24:06.42), 62nd.

Top 10 Teams and Points:
1. Sioux Falls Christian–11
2. Vermillion–67
3. Tea Area–78
4. West Central–83
5. Dakota Valley–85
6. Lennox–96
7. Milbank–109
8. Sioux Falls Lincoln–133
9. Canton–150
10. Madison–165

JV Boys 4K Run 
Graham Bennett earned 12th place for the Bulldogs in the JV boys 4K run.. He clocked in at 15:25.25. Cole Brown of Dakota Valley crossed the finish line first at 14:19.39. Rylan Wendland of Milbank took 26th place when he finished at 15:57.44. 

JV Girls 4K Race
Seventh grader Ella Koplin came in first with her time of 16:37.56 to win the girls 4K race for Milbank. Elexia Quintanilla (18:10.61) took 21st place for the Lady Bulldogs.  Aria Prasnicki (18:13.19) was right behind her in 23rd place, as was  Macy Mueller (18:23.22) in 26th place.

Yanderyn Olivares (20:14.03) earned 52nd place. Jaclyn Wiik (20:38.23, 58th; Sophia Gastineau (22:15.03), 73rd; Camryn Sovell (22:17.73), 75th; and Jazmynne Ronke (22:23.29), 78th. 

Top 9 Teams and Points
1. Harrisburg–24
2. Lennox–53
3. West Central–61
4. Milbank–64
5. Sioux Falls Christian–68
6. Tea Area–104
7. Sioux Falls Lincoln–108
8. Canton–111
9. Madison–174

Middle School Boys 3K Run
Franco Flores was the Bulldog’s top finisher in the boys middle school 3K run. He placed 38th  with his time of 12:56.50. Max McDonald of Sioux Falls Christian won the race at 10:47.73. Bulldog Armando Chan (13:24.26) took 49th place. Tate Pew (14:35.95) finished at 72nd.

Middle School Girls 3K Run
Bree Townsend was the top Lady Bulldogs finisher in the girls  middle school 3K run. She claimed 29th place with her time of 14:10.02. The winner of the race, Brianna Reilly of Harrisburg, clocked in at 11:17.09. Raina Untalan (15:01.54) took 41st place. Zoee Henrich (15:07.76) was 43, just ahead of Bailee Hendricks (15:07.98) in 44th place. Kylynn Schwandt (20:19.34)  secured 79th place.

Top 8 Teams and Points:
1. Tea Area–23
2. Sioux Falls Christian–28
3. Harrisburg–36
4. Sioux Falls Lutheran–90
5. Dakota Valley–103
6. Milbank–116
7. Lennox–117
8. Abiding Savior Academy–146

Submitted Photo: Ella Koplin at Sioux Falls Charger Invitational