By Student Reporter, Allie Paulzine This past Tuesday September 20, 2022 the MCC/F Warriors competed at the La Qui Parle Valley Invite. The runners battled against the excruciating heat and powerful wind. Even though the running conditions were subpar, the Warriors still had another successful meet. Once again Amanda Overgauuw won the girls race with an impressive time of 18:01. Amanda’s twin sister Ashley once again placed second with another impressive time of 19:20. Following the Overgauuw’s finish was Brylei Schreier (20:30) placing fifth despite the tough running conditions. Then came sophomore Sophia Nelson placing tenth with a time of 22:07. Nelson has been having a terrific season and it will be exciting to watch her progress in years to come. Finishing next for the Warriors was senior Megan Bakke running a 22:50 earning 16th place. A little under a minute later came Lindsey Hause placing 28th with a time of 23:42. Four places behind Lindsey was Lily Daniels with a time of 24:12. Having four runners in the top ten gave the Warriors a tremendous advantage that helped them win the LQPV/DB invitational. The junior varsity girls also had some competitive races themselves. Freshman Allie Paulzine placed 20th with a time of 26:38. Behind Paulzine was Brealyn Damm (29:29) placing 34th. Then was Courtney Gengler placing 35th with a time of 29:35. The third member of this trio was Emma Risacher (29:55) placing 36th. Placing 44th was Molly Clarke with a time of 31:46.
The Warrior boys also had an impressive race themselves. Winning the boys varsity race was Payton Brown of Milbank with a time of 17:19. As for the Warriors, Evan Bumgardner (17:44) placed seventh leading the Warrior boys once again. Bumgardner battled against Pipestone’s Caden Strasser (17:45) but eventually came out on top with Strasser placing eighth. Placing 12th for the Warriors was Jon Olsem with a time of 18:30. Olsem fought hard against LQBV/DB’s Eli Hegland. Olsem ended up beating him by just 24 hundredths of a second. Just one second behind Olsem was Mathew Stapek placing 14th. Then came Caleb Appel placing 17th. Just two seconds behind Appel was Silas Stapek placing 18th. This group of Warrior boys have run as a close pack throughout the first part of the season and it has really benefited the Warriors to have this many people toward the front of the race. Placing 28th for the Warriors was Caleb Ethridge with a time of 19:42. Finishing for the Warriors Boys Varsity race was Zach Kirchner placing 41st with a time of 20:30. The boys won the LQPV/DV invite with 68 points beating Milbank by 9 points. As for the boy’s junior varsity team, Wesley Hause placed 11th with a time of 21:22. Then came Blaine Braun placing 23rd running a time of 22:45. Next was Wyatt Biren running 23:13 placing 29th. Then placing 41st was Carter Knakmuhs with a time 24:24.
After the conclusion of the varsity races the junior highers ran their shortened 2400-meter race. Seventh grader Holland Vogel once again won her race with a time of 12:26. The other girls junior high runner for the Warriors was Ruth Ethridge. She finished her race in 14:53 placing 22nd. The boys junior high team had a great race themselves. Alexander Betz won the boys race with a time of 10:19. Betz has been looking to win a race all season and he was very pleased with how he ran. In second place was Tristan Behrands (10:56). Then in third was Aiden Appel running a time of 11:16. Then five seconds later came Beckett Stelter placing fourth for the Warriors team. Then Dugan Kluis finished his race in 11:31 placing sixth. Tyler Reith then placed ninth running a 12:02. Next up for the Warriors was Gary Plotz placing 30th with a time of 14:32. Soon after he finished came William Biren running a time of 16:15 and placing 36th. This junior high team is quite a powerhouse with six runners in the top ten. These boys definitely have a bright future ahead of them.
Despite the poor running conditions the Warriors still persevered and had a very successful meet. They are excited to compete at their home meet on Tuesday September 27th at the Slayton Country Club!
