The Wright County Conference Championship was held at Lake Marion Regional Park in Hutchinson October 18. It was another chilly day with temperatures in the 30s, and this was Mound Westonka’s first time running the lakeside course.

All-Conference honors were awarded to the top nine varsity runners, while All-Conference Honorable Mention was given to the next nine finishers. Four Mound Westonka runners earned All-Conference at Lake Marion, with another four earning honorable mention.

After multiple wins over their conference foes this year, the White Hawks girls varsity team entered the meet with high hopes. Unfortunately, the Delano Tigers dashed their dreams for the second year in a row, beating the White Hawks by a mere five points. Mound Westonka still walked away with their heads held high though, with their top five runners claiming conference honors. All-Conference awards were earned by senior Laura Sunnarborg for sixth place (20:32), ninth-grader Emma Andrev in seventh (20:39) and sophomore Audrey Kirscht in eighth (20:52). All-Conference Honorable Mention went to eighth-grader Sophia Engesser in 12th (21:16) and sophomore Mari Engesser in 16th (21:40). Sophomore Brooke Garlock narrowly missed honorable mention, finishing 19th (22:07), and ninth grader Payton Stover ran the 5k in 22:48.

The White Hawks boys varsity team claimed fourth in the conference, only two points behind third place Southwest Christian and not far behind first place Delano and second place Jordan. Senior Jacob Trost earned All-Conference for the boys, finishing in ninth place at 17:41. Junior Brandon Knock earned All-Conference Honorable Mention in 14th (18:13), with junior Charlie Paul earning honorable mention as well in 15th (18:20). Sophomore Andrew Finley finished one spot out of honors at 19th in 18:30. Coming in closely after Finley was fellow sophomore Isaac Hays in 21st (18:32). Also competing in the varsity race were senior Ethan Garlock, finishing in 19:09, and freshman Luke Sunnarborg at 19:37.

The junior varsity girls team took home two big wins for their last meet of the season, with ninth-grader Bette Mae Grogan winning the race in 21:37 and also leading the team to first place. Eighth- grader Anna Reginald finished in fourth place (22:17), with junior Cassie Nemecek in seventh (23:09). Sophomore Claire Rashleger was close behind in ninth (23:15). Seventh-graders Vayla Jerome and Elise Hays came in 11th (24:19) and 13th (24:50), respectively.

Eighth-grader Owen Trost had another nice race for the boys junior varsity team, earning sixth place with a time of 19:24. Freshman Noah Huesmann ended his rookie season strong with an 11th-place finish in 20:06. Sophomore Miles Lund was right behind him at 20:07, earning 12th place, with freshman Gavin Thelen not far behind in 14th at 20:17. Eighth-grader Brendan Rashleger finished in 20:37, junior Christian Jordan at 21:35, and eighth-grader August Lang completed the 5k in 22:09.

Highlights from the two-mile middle school races included top 10 finishes by seventh-grader Gabriel Lundgren in third at 12:57, eighth-grader Jensen Blackstad in fifth at 13:16, and seventh-grader Bronx Cupp in ninth at 13:28.

Mound Westonka’s varsity teams return to Litchfield Golf Club on October 27 for the section meet. Congratulations to the junior varsity and middle school teams on their successful seasons.