The White Hawks cross country team wrapped up the regular season with a meet near home on October 13.  The original meet was to be held at Watertown-Mayer High School on October 11, but it was moved to B’s on the River. The team was disappointed to hear news of the move from the normal spot, but by the end of the meet, most were happy for the new golf course location.

Many personal bests were recorded on the cold day with temperatures in the 30s. Senior Laura Sunnarborg finished her last regular season race for Westonka by placing first in 19:37. All seven varsity runners placed in the top 12, with ninth-grader Emma Andrev in third (20:10), sophomore Audrey Kirscht following in fourth (20:22), eighth-grader Sophia Engesser in seventh (20:43), sophomore Mari Engesser in eighth (20:52), sophomore Brooke Garlock in 11th (21:05), and ninth-grader Payton Stover in 12th (21:25). The White Hawks easily took first, versus the seven other teams in attendance.

The boys varsity team had a great meet as well, with almost the entire team placing in the top 20. Senior Jacob Trost led the way with a fourth-place finish in 17:31. Junior Brandon Knock came in next at fifth with a 17:42. Sophomores Isaac Hays and Andrew Finely claimed eighth and 13th, respectively, completing the 5k in 17:47 and 17:56. Senior Ethan Garlock took 15th with a time of 18:15, and freshman Luke Sunnarborg placed 19th in 18:26. Junior Charlie Paul finished right behind in 18:28 for 21st. The boys team finished in second, only four points behind the winner, Southwest Christian.

With only eight teams in attendance, the junior varsity races were run at the same time as the varsity races. Westonka won the boys race, led by eighth-grader Owen Trost. Trost finished first for the JV runners in a time of 18:33. Sophomore Miles Lund claimed second, finishing in 18:39. Also contributing to the team score were freshmen Gavin Thelen (19:11) and Noah Huesmann (19:33), and eighth-grader Brendan Rashleger (19:50).

The girls junior varsity team also won, led by ninth grader Bette Mae Grogan, who placed second with a time of 21:35. Eighth-grader Anna Reginold placed third for JV, finishing in 21:38. Junior Cassie Nemecek (22:23), sophomore Claire Rashleger (22:24), and seventh-graders Vayla Jerome (23:15) and Elise Hays (23:18) all contributed to the White Hawks win as well.

Mound Westonka runners dominated the middle school races, with 20 out of the 28 runners. Eighth-grader Jensen Blackstad finished the 2-mile first in 13:00. Sixth-grader Genevieve Fosler took second for the girls in 14:35.

Next up for the White Hawks is the Conference Championship on October 18.  Hutchinson will host the meet at Lake Marion Regional Park.