Westonka hosted the Section 6AA Cross Country Meet on Oct. 23 at Gale Woods Farm. Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s was perfect weather for the runners to take on what is one of the most challenging and hill-filled courses of the season.
Westonka junior Sophia Engesser finished in eighth place in the girls competition with a time of 19:32, securing her spot in next week’s Minnesota State Cross Country Meet.
The Westonka girls team took fourth place overall with seventh grader Raelyn Moslander (20:29), ninth graders Hadley Hoag (21:02) and Lydia Engesser (21:36), junior Anna Regenold (21:57) and sophomores Ella Pozar (21:59) and Elise Hays (23:01) all finishing the season strong.
The varsity boys team finished in ninth place with neighboring Orono and Delano taking first and second, respectively. Leading for the White Hawks was junior Brendan Rashleger with a time of 18:36, followed by senior captain Luke Sunnarborg, who finished his final high school meet at 18:42. The rest of the seven-man team continued their streak of finishing closely behind one another as follows: sophomore Gabe Lundgren (18:49), juniors Levi Hays (18:51) and Owen Trost (19:01), sophomore Jacob Chilson (19:03) and junior Drew Carlson (19:08).
Head Coach Butch Humbert said, "The star-studded cast of 6AA athletes was on full display on Thursday. It was a great day for racing and all the teams we hosted performed well. It was so exciting to see Sophia advance to State. No one deserves it more. She is a great example of how, if one sleeps, eats and trains well, good things will happen."
The junior varsity and middle school teams competed in the JV Season Finale and the Middle School State Championship on Oct. 25 in St. Michael. Over 350 JV boys and 230 JV girls competed in this meet. Representing Westonka for the girls were Madison Nelson and Caroline Rips. The boys team was comprised of Deacon Ramthun, Brody Olson, Tristan Neve, Elias Ottenbreit and Jensen Blackstad. The middle school ran a 3K, which is their furthest distance of the season. Sixth grader Campbell Hoag (12:35.2) finished in 18th place and eighth grader Sophia Peterson (12:35.7) finished in 20th. For the boys, Peter Berg ran to a second-place finish with a personal record time of 10:11.
Coach Humbert shared, "As always, it is sad to see another season come to a close. The brevity of the fall sports season is unfortunate, but it makes me and some of our kids appreciate it even more."
The White Hawks will cheer on Engesser as she competes at the state meet Nov. 1 at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course. Find more information about the state meet on the MSHSL website. The team will also celebrate their season with a banquet on November 2.
