SCHROEDER, MCCONNIEL RUN STRONG IN BERESFORD
Competing against nearly 100 runners from schools of all sizes, Freeman Academy/Marion senior Tavin Schroeder finished eighth at the Beresford Early Bird Invitational last week, as cross-country teams from around the state opened their 2023 fall season.
Schroeder crossed the 5,000-meter course in 16:54.07, which was the top time among Class B competitors. And Schroeder’s teammate Finley McConniel had a strong race, as well; the Marion junior placed 19th in the field of 99 with a 17:33.37 clocking.
The Bearcats’ third runner, Marion junior Hayden Schmidt, placed 62nd in 20:11.73 — a push that gave the FA/Marion boys eighth in the team standings, which was the best of any Class B team.
Also representing the Bearcat boys was Jayson Allison, a Freeman Academy sophomore who placed 87th in 21:34.70.
For the Freeman Academy/Marion girls, Estelle Waltner led the way with a 33rd place finish among 79 runners in the varsity race, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 22:19.37.
FA junior Sieta Wiersema placed 18th out of 83 runners in the girls JV 4,000-meter race with a time of 19:10.62 while FA sophomore Armando Miller finished 80th in a field of 134 in the boys JV 4,000-meter race in 19:04.46.
A host of other area runners competed at the Beresford Invitational held Friday, Aug. 25. Here’s a look.
Freeman Public
For the Flyers, their best showings came from seventh-grader Olivia Schultz and eighth-grader Brayden Mangel. Schultz placed 18th out of 109 runners in the junior high 3,000-meter race in a time of 13:31.34 while Mangel was 37th in the varsity race with an 18:53.82 clocking.
Also for Freeman Public:
Freshman Lane McCune was 52nd in the varsity race in a time of 19:49.00;
Competing the JV competition and field of 134, sophomore Gideon Rembold was 116th in 20:55.58 while freshman Owen Andersen was 127th in 22:15.62;
And in the junior high race, sixth-grader Korbin Jensen finished 37th in 12:34.07; seventh-grader Josh Oleson was 46th in 12:46.33; sixth-grader Collin Randall was 47th in 12:46.33; seventh-grader Liam Loofbourrow was 98th in 15:04.08; and eighth-grader Pete Rembold was 119th in 17:39.22.
Menno
For the Wolves at Beresford, senior Ashton Massey led the team, finishing 20th in the varsity competition with a time of 21:07.56. Freshman Zoe Schaeffer was 39th in 22:43.42 and freshman Ashlynn Fergen was 73rd in 27:18.27.
Also for Menno:
Sophomore Erick Buechler finished 45th in the varsity competition in 19:41.37;
In the boys junior high competition and field of 127, seventh-graders Danniel Schaeffer and Egan Mettler finished 57th and 86th, respectively, with clockings of 13:03.60 and 14:13.11;
In the girls junior high race of 109, seventh-graders Ivana Schaeffer was 63rd in 15:26.13; Savanah Wielenga was 65th in 15:32.36; Leah Crick was 75th in 16:05.92; Emma Rempfer was 98th in 10:04.90; Briley Cross was 99th in 19:08.54; and eighth graders Emmalyn Heckenlaible was 102nd in 20:11.81 and Baily Neuharth was 105th in 21:49.78.
