The Westonka cross country team spread their wings to compete in two invitationals, as they enter the heart of their season. The varsity competed for the first year in the elite Roy Griak Invitational held at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 20, while the JV runners took part in the Caty Delwiche Invitational at Glencoe-Silver Lake High School on September 18. 

On the beautiful grounds of the U of M Les Bolstadt Golf Course, the White Hawks joined thousands of area runners from throughout the Midwest for what proved to be a thrilling day of races.

Coach Butch Humbert reflected afterward:

"At the U of M on Saturday, our team was treated to the great spectacle and race that is the Roy Griak Meet. We participated in two of the eight huge Varsity races, and it was great to run on what is the State Meet course. Although we knew our race times would be slower for a few reasons, it was still fun and worth the experience for our team!"

The Westonka girls finished a strong 11th out of the 44 teams. The White Hawks were led by junior Sophia Engesser, racing to an impressive 13th place with a time of 21:03. Top finishers also included freshman Hadley Hoag in 62nd place in 22:14 and sophomore Ella Pozar in 87th place in 22:42. The varsity girls showed great depth with a cluster of girls finishing within forty-five seconds of each other: 7th grader Raelyn Moslander in 23:16, freshman Eva Savstrom in 23:27 in her first varsity meet, freshman Lydia Engesser in 23:47, and junior Anna Regenold in 24:01. 

The Westonka boys worked together to earn 32nd place out of 46 teams, racing against some of the best athletes in the Midwest. Leading the way for the White Hawks was junior Brenden Rashleger in 19:48, facing the added challenge of racing half the course with just one shoe. Coming in next, and just one second behind, was junior Drew Carlson in 19:49. Completing the team were senior Luke Sunnarborg in 19:56, sophomores Jacob Chilson in 19:57 and Gabe Lundgren in 20:17, senior Noah Huesmann, 20:24, and junior Levi Hays in 20:33.

Earlier in the week, the JV athletes had their turn to hit the racecourse at Glencoe Silver Lake High School. Coach Humbert shared, "The Glencoe Meet (The Caty Delwiche Invitational) was a great opportunity to focus on and feature our JV team, which rarely happens. The meet is named for Caty Delwiche, and it was an honor to participate in this meet, which honors a great person (and runner) who was sadly struck down and killed by a car while running."

The White Hawks girls were led by the duo of freshman Eva Savstrom in 23rd place in 22:51 and sophomore Elise Hays in 30th place in 23:27. Completing the girls JV team were freshmen Madison Nelson and Genevieve Fosler, along with junior Caroline Rips. 

The White Hawks boys were led by the duo of junior Owen Trost in 28th place in 19:21 and sophomore Cal Pearson in 29th place in 19:22. Also scoring for the JV team were sophomore Brody Olson, juniors Jensen Blackstad and August Lang, sophomore Tobin Dykoski, and freshman Kellen Mueller.  

Looking ahead, Coach Humbert remains optimistic: "We now enter the final five weeks of what is essentially a five-month season.  We have much to look forward to - some terrific training opportunities, several team parties and functions, and race times that drop as the temp does." The White Hawks compete next at the Thundering Elk Invitational in Otsego on October 2.