Shaving minutes off their times

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn cross country runners' times and team finishes at the Sibley-Ocheyedan Invitational on Sept. 6 showed vast improvement since the last time they competed on the course at Sibley.

Both varsity teams recorded better scores than they did in 2021, and several individuals' times were faster than they previously ran.

"Our kids are off to a strong start to the season," said Hawk coach Kirsten Taylor. "Our boys' total team points were almost cut in half in comparison to last year's total team points at Sibley-Ocheyedan."

The Hawk boys finished seventh as a team, scoring 173 points. That compares to a 12th-place finish and 301 team points in 2021.

George Vargas placed 23rd with a time of 19:46 to lead H-M-S. Bryce Dodge came within .01 of finishing with the same time he ran in 2021. The senior's time of 20:27.61 was good for 33rd place.

Also competing were sophomores Aiden Bush, 55th, 22:30; Blaine Finster, 56th, 22:33; Ryan Grotluschen, 58th, 22:55; and Damian Dodge, 64th, 23:46.

MVAO/COU won the boys' title with 55 points. Sibley-Ocheyedan finished second with 70 and George-Little Rock/Central Lyon was third with 73. The remaining team scores were West Lyon 143, Adrian, Minn. 156, Sheldon 168, H-M-S 173, Alta-Aurelia 187, Akron-Westfield 188, Trinity Christian 215 and South O'Brien 245.

While the H-M-S girls' improvement was not as dramatic as their counterparts, it was still significant. The Hawks scored 213 points to finish eighth as a team, compared to a 10th-place finish and 259 points a year ago.

Gracie Knobloch and Lexi Croatt finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Knobloch ran a time of 24:47 while Croatt was clocked at 24:49.

"They both put up some great times," Taylor noted. "It's been wonderful having Lexi back after missing last season due to injury."

Rounding out the finishes for H-M-S were Kamryn Ebel, 57th, 27:19; Juliana Pasillas, 61st, 28:16; and Clara Funk, 73rd, 33:24.

Alta-Aurelia won the team title with 47 points, Sibley-Ocheyedan was second with 60 and GLR/CL was third with 66. Other complete teams included West Lyon 90, Hinton 119, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 147, Adrian, Minn. 168, H-M-S 213 and Sheldon 232.

"Many of our kids have shaved minutes off their times at this point from last season," Taylor said. "We are excited to have enough numbers to be able to compete as full teams, and are working hard to keep our kids healthy."

The Hawks will compete at Sioux Central's meet on Sept. 15. H-M-S's home meet will be held on Monday, Sept. 19, at Sanborn Golf and Country Club. Other schools that will be there are Alta-Aurelia, GLR/CL, Harris-Lake Park, Hinton, MMCRU, Sioux Central, South O'Brien and Trinity Christian.