By Student Reporter, Allie Paulzine The MCC/F Warriors competed at the Section 3A Championships this past Thursday September 27th in Luverne. It was a marvelous day with perfect conditions for running. The Warriors were once again very successful with the girl’s team qualifying for state for the fourth year in a row. The girl’s team fought hard to come home section 3A champs scoring just 58 points. The boys team also had a successful race placing fifth with 170 points. The Warriors also had runners qualifying individually: Evan Bumgardner, Amanda Overgauuw, and Ashley Overgauuw.
On the girl’s side, winning the Section 3A Championships was senior Amanda Overgauuw with a time of 17:34. While watching Amanda run one spectator remarked “It looked like she was flying. I’ve never seen someone run like that.” Behind Amanda Overgauuw was twin sister Ashley Overgauuw placing second with a time of 18:28. Ashley had battled with Luverne’s Jenna DeBates (18:30) for a majority of the race but ended up coming out on top beating DeBates. Next came Brylei Schreier running a 20:12 fighting hard for 13th place. Megan Bakke placed 20th with a time of 21:01 with Sophia Nelson (21:08) close behind in 22nd place. In 35th was Lindsey Hause PRing by over a minute with a time of 21:51. Then came Lily Daniels with an equally impressive race running a 22:13.
The boys also had some success. Evan Bumgardner led the Warriors, placing 6th with a time of 16:37 earning a trip to the state meet as an individual. Silas Stapek ran an 18:11 and placed 36th. Close behind Stapek was Jon Olsem placing 41st with a time of 18:16. Running an 18:46 and placing 47th was eighth grader Alex Betz. Finishing just three seconds later was Caleb Appel in 49th place. Caleb Ethridge then finished in 79th place with a time of 19:39. Finishing off the Warriors in 85th place was Zach Kirchner with a time of 20:09. The boys team had quite a successful season and have a bright future ahead of them. Can’t wait to see what next year has in store for them.
Every runner has a lot to be proud of this meet. Whether or not they came out with the results they wanted, they all ran their hardest and that is an accomplishment in itself in this challenging sport.
The girls team along with Evan Bumgardner will be competing next Saturday November 5th at the Minnesota State Cross Country Championships at St. Olaf college. Go Warriors!!
