Brown, A. Batchelor, and Quantanilla Named Champions at LQPV Meet

The Bulldogs cross country teams competed in the Lac qui Parle Valley (LQPV) Invitational on Tuesday, September 19.  Eric Townsend, head coach for Milbank, commented, “We like coming to this meet. It’s not a very long drive and it always features some very good Minnesota schools. This year was no exception.”  

The boys from Milbank finished in second place to Redwood Valley. Payton Brown won his fourth meet of the season when he claimed  the individual championship. The girls team finished in third  place. Redwood Valley and Canby claimed  the top two spots. Ashlynn Batchelor won her second individual race of the season to lead the girls team.  

“Overall, there were quite a number of improvements from a year ago on the same course.,” Townsend said. “Both teams ran pretty well and can hopefully continue to improve.”

Townsend also singled out junior Tyra Berry, who was 15th overall and the third Lady Bulldog to finish at LQPV.  “Tyra was about 10 seconds faster than a year ago and has been a top-four Milbank runner in most meets this season. She has been on the varsity girls team since her seventh-grade year. “

Townsend also noted that junior Bryan Meyer was the third finisher for the boys team. He placed 12th. “Bryan was over one minute faster than a year ago on the same course.  He has been the No. 3 runner for the varsity team all season and seems to be improving his times from a year ago at each meet this season.”

What’s next for Milbank CC runners? The Bulldogs travel to the Lennox Invitational on Thursday September 28.  The 2023 Border Battle takes place in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Saturday, September 30.

Results for each Milbank team at LQPV:  

Varsity Boys 5K Run
Bulldog Payton Brown won the Lac qui Parle Valley Invitational and the Bulldogs claimed second place as a team. Brown finished in 16:19.05. The second-place runner was William Ahrens of Redwood Valley.  He clocked 16:27.83. Redwood Valley was named the team champion. 

Milbank’s James Batchelor took fifth-place honors at 17:14.92. Bryan Meyer claimed 12th place at 18:12.84. Isaac Graham was on the heels of Meyer at 18:13.29 for 13th place. Liam Heller brought home 38th place for the Bulldogs at 20:03.77. Berry Beckham landed in 41st place at 20:09.65. Grant Van Peursum took 49th with his time of 20:50.67.

Varsity Girls 5K Run
Lady Bulldog Ashlynn Batchelor won the girls 5K run in 19:23.47. She was way ahead of her nearest competitor, Lola Luze of Redwood Valley, who clocked 20:44.24. As a team, Milbank captured third. Redwood Valley won the race, and Canby-Minneota took second. 

Bianca Berry cracked the top 10 at 10th place with her time of 22:13.42. Tyra Berry finished in 22:57.76 for 15th place. Stella Wendland earned 17th place at 23:07.91, just ahead of Ella Koplin in 18th place at 23:08.66. Kynlee Speidel crossed the line at 23:21.24 for 22nd place. Zayda Townsend was 27th with her time of 24:04.83. 

JV Girls 5K Run
Lady Bulldog Elexia Quantanilla won the JV girls 5K run. As a team, Milbank earned third place. Canby-Minneota was in first place, and Redwood Valley was second.

Quantanilla’s winning time was 23.36.48. Macy Mueller took fifth place at 24:58.91. Aria Prasnicki finished at 25:27.79 for 10th place. Jaclyn Wik took 26th at 27:52.28. Yanderyn Olivares crossed the line at 28:46.26 for 29th place, just ahead of Sophia Gastineau in 30th place at 28:50.67. Jazmynne Ronke claimed 32nd at 29:07.69. Camryn Sovell was 41st at 29:50.22.

JV Boys 5K Run
Bennett Graham crossed the line at 20:31.43 to take sixth place for Milbank. Rylan Wendland was right behind him at 20:31.71 to collect seventh place. Mason Anderson of Redwood Valley secured first-place honors with his time of 19:05.41.

Jr High Boys – 2700-Meter Run
Franco Flores was the first Bulldog runner to cross the finish line in the junior high boys 2700-meter race. Flores took 12th place with his time of 11:47.08. Armando Chan of Milbank was close behind at 15th place.He finished in 12:08.73. Tate Pew brought home 28th place for Milbank with his time of 12:53.00. Tyler Pap of Southwest Minnesota Christian won the race in 10:21.04.

Jr. High Girls – 2700-Meter Run 
Zoee Henrich captured 12th place for Mibank. She clocked 12:50.87. Bree Townsend was the second runner to finish for Milbank and the19th overall. Her time was 13:25.28. Raina Untalan took 28th place at 13:57.54. Kylynn Schwandt came in 50th at 12:02.2.