The Mound Westonka White Hawks cross country team traveled to Montgomery on September 8 for the Gerry Smith Titans Invitational. Thirty four teams participated, making it one of the largest meets in the state. Temperatures in the 80s caused the organizers to push the race schedule back to later in the day at the hilly Montgomery National Golf Club.

The girls varsity team arrived at Montgomery as the defending champions, after winning the Invitational in 2021. Waconia and Belle Plaine came in with high hopes but to no avail. The White Hawks won their third straight meet of the year, with great runs from everyone on the team. 

Ninth grader Emma Andrev led the pack, placing sixth in 20:34. Sophomore Audrey Kirscht and senior Laura Sunnarborg ran most of the race together, with Kirscht finishing 12th in 21:16, and Sunnarborg in 14th in 21:24. Eighth grader Sophia Engesser came in next at 21:51, with sophomore Mari Engesser finishing in 22:21. Sophomore Brooke Garlock and junior Cassie Nemecek completed the White Hawks team at 22:33 and 22:56, respectively.

The boys varsity team continues to run closely top to bottom, with senior Jacob Trost finishing at 18:07, just ahead of junior Charlie Paul at 18:09. The rest of the crew came in about a minute tightly behind them. Junior Brandon Knock led that group at 19:08, with senior Ethan Garlock and sophomore Isaac Hays crossing the finish line together at 19:14, and sophomore Andrew Finely right behind them at 19:16. This earned the team fifth place in the large invitational.

The boys junior varsity placed sixth as a team, led by ninth grader Luke Sunnarborg completing the 5k in 21:25. Fellow ninth grader Gavin Thelen came in next for the White Hawks at 21:32, with sophomore Miles Lund finishing in 21:35. The team rookies, ninth grader Noah Husemann and junior Christian Jordan, continue to improve their times, finishing Montgomery in 22:35 and 23:21, respectively.

The junior varsity girls team landed three runners in the top 10.  Ninth grader Payton Stover and Bette Mae Grogan led the way, finishing in sixth (23:56) and seventh (24:08). Sophomore Claire Rashleger placed 10th in 25:19, with junior Sierra Jerome finishing in 28:41.

The middle school boys race is always an exciting one, with the team trying to keep their unbeaten streak, dating back to 2020.  Eighth grader Owen Trost earned second place for the third meet in a row with a time of 9:24. Classmates Drew Carlson and Brendan Rashleger came in next at 9:58 and 10:03. Behind them were seventh graders Jacob Chilson and Brody Olson at 10:06 and 10:19. Adding up those top five scores, Mound Westonka was tied with Waconia at 56 points each. The tie breaker for the 2.5k would go to the sixth runners from each team, and luckily for the White Hawks, their sixth and even their seventh beat Waconia’s sixth runner. Seventh graders Gabe Lundgren (10:20) and Bobby Trost (10:22) kept the streak alive for the White Hawks!

The middle school girls team continued their rookie journeys with a fifth place finish in the 2.5k at Montgomery. They were led by eighth grader Anna Reginald in 11:23. Reginald was followed by seventh graders Vayla Jerome and Elise Hays, finishing in 11:32 and 11:59. Sixth grader Hadley Hoag’s 12:13 and eighth grader Ella McClellan’s 12:35 also contributed to the team’s fifth place.

The White Hawks have started out the season hot, and hope to continue their success at the Lions Invitational on September 12 at Baylor Park in Young America.