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Ashby-Brandon-Evansville Competes in Melrose Cross Country Event

By Craig Olson, 09/21/21, 11:00PM CDT

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The Ashby-Brandon-Evansville Cross Country teams ran at Melrose on Tuesday. This was the first time the girls’ team competed as a team and were able to record a team score.  They finished tenth with 277 points.  The boys’ recorded 159 points, good for a sixth place finish.

 

Lacey Siira and Hope Rovang have been showing promise in practice and the Junior High meets so I wanted to see what they could do in a varsity race,” said A-B-E Head Coach Robert Bosma. “I talked to each last week about the possibility and they both needed a little convincing, but they ran awesome. Lacey was our second runner and had a great kick at the end of the race to catch a girl. I think she has time to shave now that she knows she can run the full 5k. Hope was also nervous and started really slow. She then ended up running for a while with Tuyet Vy Bui and they used each other for a lot of the race. It was great to see the teamwork and leadership out of Vy. Ashley Paulson ran another great race and her strategy is really developing. She has already set the school record, but she wants to improve that mark with every race. And each race, she's looking for the next girl to run with and battle. Quynn Beherns continues to battle injuries, but is a leader for these girls in many ways. It's really hard for anyone else to take a day off when she pushes herself so hard.”

“On the guys' side, Jayden Hoidahl led the way for the team,” said Bosma. “Early in the day, he told me it was going to be a fast race and he proved it. He was battling with a pack of guys for a majority of the race. At the beginning of the year, his goal was to break 19 minutes. Now, he expects to break 18 minutes before the Conference Meet. His times are dropping and he is never satisfied with where he is.  Logan Froemming had by far his best race this year. He is more aggressive with running strategy and it's showing with his times. After a couple of races that he didn't feel himself, he changed his focus and it made a difference tonight. Wes Siira and Kian Gackle ran a lot of the race with Logan. At practice, we talk a lot about using each other's energy to keep the pace going and this pack did exactly that tonight. Abram Fossel was chasing the pack for most of the race. After not running last year, he is getting back to his form from before his break. Tonight, he looked comfortable and in control. Micah Fossel had a strong start to the race, but had trouble with his leg for much of the race. August Bredberg had his first race in a couple weeks. He has been injured and rehabbing some leg pain. Tonight he said he felt great and the race proved it. He was strong for most of it and stayed pretty conservative. Once he can trust his body to do what he wants it to do again without pain, he will see his times improve greatly.”

Ashby-Brandon-Evansville
7. Ashley Paulson 21:12.8, 61. Lacey Siira 25:29.6, 67. Tuyet Vy Bui 27:15.6, 68. Hope Rovang 28:30.3, 74. Quynn Beherns 34:34.9

 

Varsity Girls Team Scoring
1. Minnewaska Area 52, 2. Wadena-Deer Creek 69, 3. West Central Area 77, 4. Litchfield 102, 5. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 155, 6. Melrose 168, 7. New London-Spicer 171, 8. Paynesville 218, 9. Pequot Lakes 220, 10. Ashby-Brandon-Evansville 277, 11. Sauk Centre 280

 

Top 5 Individuals
1. Caroline Kuehne (LPGE) 19:34.9, 2. Lexi Bright (WCA) 19:50.9, 3. Olivia Danielson (MWA) 19:54.5, 4. Lauryn Ankeny (MW) 20:25.8, 5. Sydnie Chevalier (MWA) 20:39.6 

Ashby-Brandon-Evansville
16. Jayden Hoidahl 18:11.9, 26. Logan Froemming 19:06.4, 33. Wesley Siira 19:21.6, 38. Kian Gackle 19:28.7, 46. Abram Fossel 19:43.8, 47. Micah Fossel 20:01.1, 60. August Bredberg 21:29.6

 

Varsity Boys’ Team Scoring
1. West Central Area 37, 2. Pequot Lakes 51, 3. Sauk Centre 93, 4. Litchfield 124, 5. New London-Spicer 133, 6. Ashby-Brandon-Evansville 159, 7. Minnewaska Area 177, 8. Wadena-Deer Creek 177, 9. Melrose 184, 10. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 282

 

Top Five Individuals
1. Brandon Kampsen (SC) 16:53.3, 2. Alex Salwasser (WCA) 16:56.4, 3. Kade Runge (WCA) 17:10.1, 4. Ole Rogness (LITCH) 17:33.1, 5. Jesse Clausen (PL) 17:37.8

Other highlights included Kenneth Spielman (12:47.1) winning the Junior High boys’ race. “He ran a very intelligent race and followed another runner for most of the race waiting to make his move,” noted Coach Bosma. “It was great to see such veteran strategies from a young individual.  Cohen Reiland and Donell Lee keep pushing the varsity guys. Every time they run great, it forces the varsity team to push onward. No spot is guaranteed and they want the other guys to know it. Twenty-six 5th and 6th grade runners came along to run the Elementary Fun Run mile. It was great to see the excitement of a potential future team experiencing their first CC race. They will get to go to one more race this year and are already planning how they can improve.”

The next meet for Ashby-Brandon-Evansville is Saturday in Milaca.