Austin Packers Cross-Country teams play host to 10-team invitational Tuesday

The Austin Packers boys and girls cross-country teams played host to a 10-team invitational at Meadow Greens Golf Course Tuesday afternoon, and in the boys competition, it was Winona taking first place with 25 points, followed by Lake City a distant second with 79 points, and RAACHE, or Rochester Area Association of Christian Home Educators was third with 98 points.  Albert Lea finished in fourth in the team competition with 118 points, followed by GMLOS in fifth with 137 points, and then came Austin in sixth with 161 points.  LaCrescent-Hokah finished seventh with 173 points, followed by the Pacelli Shamrocks in eighth with 185 team points, and Byron and Hayfield were ninth and 10th with 195 and 280 points, respectively.

For Austin, sophomore Thomas Asmus ran the best time for the Packers, as he was seventh overall with a time of 17:08.76, fellow sophomore Jonas Hovland was 25th Tuesday with a time of 18:24.98, junior Noah Sash was 40th with a time of 19:24.84, junior Jackson Hilkin was 42nd with a time of 19:48.39, and senior Riley Ferguson was 47th with a final time of 19:55.25.  For Pacelli, junior Yong Achuoth and freshman Comlan Assogba were 21st and 22nd, respectively, with times of 18:18.80 and 18:21.69, sophomore Grayson Bickler took 34th Tuesday with a time of 19:01.54, freshman JJ Bastyr finished 45th with a time of 19:51.30, and senior Andrew Frederick was 63rd with a final time of 20:57.06.  For GMLOS, senior Eric Shaw took 11th for the top time for the Bulldogs Tuesday with an effort of 17:30.01, sophomore Carter Glynn was 15th with a time of 17:51.54, junior Teague Alden finished 29th Tuesday with a time of 18:48.73, senior Brendon Arndorfer was 39th with a time of 19:24.02, and sophomore Cody Hyrkas took 51st with a time of 20:15.52.

In the girls competition Tuesday, a strong Lake City squad took first place with 63 points, followed by Austin in second with 83 team points.  Winona and Byron were close behind in third and fourth with 86 and 87 team points, respectively, with Albert Lea fifth with 133 points.  The Pacelli Shamrocks were sixth Tuesday with 139 points, followed by RAACHE right behind in seventh with 140 points, and it was LaCrescent-Hokah, GMLOS and Hayfield rounding out the standings Tuesday with 151, 257 and 282 team points, respectively.

The Packers second-place finish was keyed by junior Marissa Shute and freshman Sydney Lewis, who were first and second overall with times of 19:33.36 and 19:46.79, senior Grace Votherms was 20th overall with a final time of 21:32.85, fellow senior Lillyan Wiese was 22nd Tuesday with a time of 21:46.05, and 7th grader Alexcia Austin was 38th with a time of 23:10.78.  For Pacelli, freshman Kya McManus was third overall Tuesday with a final time of 19:49.92, junior Kristen Koopal took 12th with a time of 21:14.52, junior Lexi Lewis was 34th with a time of 22:42.62, 8th grader Claire Bisanti was 43rd Tuesday with a final time of 23:54.98, and junior Liz Frederick was 47th with a time of 24:18.91.  For the GMLOS Bulldogs, sophomore Naomi Warmka was 41st with a time of 23:25.75, sophomore Keyawin Stier took 46th with a time of 24:14 flat, sophomore Karina Lee was 54th with a final time of 25:42.75, senior Delaney Alden finished 56th with a time of 25:57.57, and freshman Mabel Johnson took 60th with a final time of 26:45.45.

Next up for both the Austin boys and girls cross-country teams will be the Big 9 Conferene Meet at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna next Tuesday, October 17th with the girls scheduled to leave the starting line at 3:25 p.m. that afternoon, followed by the boys at 3:55 p.m.