The White Hawks cross country team traveled to Glencoe on Sept. 19 for the Caty Delwiche Invitational. The meet is held in honor of Caty, a cross country runner from Glencoe that was hit by a drunk driver as she was running near her college campus as a freshman in 2007. She had just come off a stellar high school career and the running community was shocked by this tragedy. Her parents and family hand out the awards at the meet, and her spirit is still very much alive in Glencoe and in the entire running community as a whole. 

Despite unseasonably hot weather, with temperatures soaring into the mid-80s at race time, the Mound Westonka girls pushed through the heat to secure another victory, finishing 65 points ahead of second-place Litchfield. Out of more than 100 runners in the 5K, Westonka impressively placed six athletes in the top 30.

"We kind of considered the Glencoe Silver Lake Meet our Homecoming "game," and although it was a road game, we had great parent/fan support and came home with a big victory," shared coach Butch Humbert.

Sophomore Sophia Engesser led the White Hawks again, earning sixth place with a time of 21:37. Eighth grader Hadley Hoag came in next at 21:49 for eighth place, and senior Audrey Kirscht cracked the top ten as well, finishing in 22:11. Next in for the White Hawks was sophomore Anna Regenold, eighth grader Lydia Engesser, senior Brooke Garlock, and ninth grader Elise Hays.

The boys team also had a successful day, finishing fourth out of 15 teams. Senior Isaac Hays notched another top-10 performance, placing eighth with a time of 18:15. Senior Andrew Finley followed in ninth place at 19:19, followed by junior Luke Sunnarborg. Rounding out the team in a tight group for the White Hawks were freshman Gabriel Lundgren, sophomores Brendan Rashelger and Levi Hays, and freshman Jacob Chilson.

Sixth grader Raelyn Moslander highlighted the middle school race for the White Hawks, securing an impressive third place with a time of 14:39 over the two-plus-mile course. Seventh grader Peter Berg also reached the medal stand, finishing strong in fifth place with a time of 14:30.

"Looking ahead, it will be great to race on the north side of the cities on Oct. 3, as we hit the road once again to compete at Prairie Park in Otsego," said Humbert. "That meet features 22 teams, some of them Class AAA big schools, which will be good for us to go against."

"Except for having a few kids banged up and needing to get healthy, as we hit the half point of the regular season, I would say we are in good shape and are cruising smoothly," Humbert added. "As always with MWCC, we are enjoying a solid mix of fun, hard workouts, and days off to recover."