State Meet Week

Saturday morning is the State Cross Country Meet and Ruby will be competing at 3:15pm.  We will have a bus for our runners that are wanting to go down to watch and support Ruby, Lachlan and Owen.  That bus will leave at 1:00pm.

The races will be held this year at the U of M Les Bolstad Golf Course, the same location as the Roy Griak Invite.  Know that parking on site is not available and that you will need to park at the State Fair Grounds.  Please click on this link on where to park and go through the info below if intend to drive down:

https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/2024-cross-country-spectator-shuttle-map.pdf

SPECTATOR PARKING & SHUTTLE SERVICE: Spectator parking is free of charge and will be available on race day at the MN State Fair Lot "Buffalo Lot" at 1641 Underwood Street.  This lot can only be accessed from Larpenteur Ave or Hoyt Ave.

• Spectators should plan to arrive at the shuttle parking lot at least 60 minutes prior to the start of the race(s) they wish to see. 

• Shuttle service to and from the golf course and the parking lot will be provided from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on race day. The shuttle pickup and drop off points will be posted with large “Shuttle Stop” signs. 

• Spectator Parking is NOT ALLOWED on site at the golf course and there is limited street parking near the venue. Security will be at each entry point of campus and will only admit busses and team vans with official parking passes, and vehicles with a current disability permit or license plates.

Also, if you are intending to watch the race(s), you will need to purchase tickets prior to arriving.  Please go to this link and then scroll down to Cross Country and then follow the prompts: https://www.mshsl.org/tickets

STREAMING: All six races and each award ceremony will be streamed. Go to nspn.tv/MSHSL for details. 

SOUVENIR MERCHANDISE AND TOURNAMENT PROGRAMS: Tournament merchandise will be available for sale on Friday and Saturday in a tent near the start line but also online: https://mshsl.signatureconcepts.shop/. Digital tournament programs are available at no charge on the League web site. Go to www.mshsl.org/programs to download copies.

SPECTATORS ON COURSE: Need to stay behind the fences in order that all runners will have a fair opportunity to do their best. Spectator interference may result in the disqualification of a team or individual.

If there are any questions, please let me know,
Thanks

Denny

 

Section 7AAA Results

Congratulations to Ruby as she finished in 6th place today at the Section 7AAA Meet, beating her own School Record and Qualifying for the State Meet for the 2nd year in a row!! 

Congratulations to the whole program, both the Boys and Girls teams, as they put together as good of a day as they could have.  Despite both Varsity teams finishing 8th out of 8 teams, today's races were not just about team or individual placings, but about something else, growth and development, and taking steps forward in the times that they have been running, and ending the season in a different place then where we started in August.  Of the 28 runners that competed for the Cardinals today, 23 ran All Time Personal Records and 3 more ran Season Bests!!  So many of these improvements were not by just a few seconds, most of them were significant amounts of time faster than any time they had run before!  It shows the hard work that they put in throughout the season!  We hope this will be a big, positive step as we move forward.  There are always points that one can look at that can be looked back on that indicate where things started to move forward in a positive direction.  Hopefully, today was that point! 

Thank you for all of the Cardinal fans, friends and families that came out to support the hard work that the runners put in, not only today, but for the whole season!  

The team will meet tomorrow at normal practice time to do team voting but also continue to help Ruby as she gets ready for the State Meet next Saturday, Nov. 1! We are putting together a bus for those that would like to come along to watch and support her!

Lastly, team uniform turn in will be a day or two after our team banquet, which is on Monday, Nov. 3rd.  Once I have the day confirmed, I will let everyone know.
Thanks,

Denny 

Section 7AAA Meet Info

Here are a couple of items for next week as well as for the Section Meet on Thursday, Oct 23 for the Varsity and JV at Anoka High School.  A list of who will be running Varsity is also below.  Those not listed will be running in the JV races.

Monday's practice will still be held at 3:15.  There may not be school for everyone, but some still have PSEO classes and Coach Jerlie has to work during the day, and she will be in charge of practice on Monday.

As for the Section Meet, this will be the last meet of the season for most of the team, but also the opportunity to qualify for the State Meet at the U of M Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 1st.  Please note that this year both the Varsity and the JV will be in the afternoon session at Anoka High School, so there will be one bus leaving at 1:00 and everyone will return after the JV races are complete.

Those that qualify for the State Meet will be the 1st and 2nd place teams, as well as the 6 fastest runners that are not on those two teams.  The weather is looking like temp wise will be perfect for fast times, hard to say at this time if there will be any rain or not.

Also, please remember that there are no dogs allowed at the Section Meet.  We don't want a dog getting loose during the race and interfering with a runner.

For the Middle School Runners, there is a Middle School Championships on Saturday, Oct. 25 at the St, Michael Recreation Center in St. Michael.  If you are thinking of running, please let me know by Tuesday, Oct. 21st so I can register you.

We will be meeting as a team on Friday, Oct. 24 to do team voting and to take a survey for the school district.  It will be important that everyone be there to vote and to complete the survey.

Section Varsity Runners:
Boys: Dagi, Josh, Tate, Josey, Nixon, Mohammed, Truman

Girls: Ruby, Josy, Mackenzie, Emily, Ella, Faith, Emmy

Bus Leaves at 1:00

Varsity times:
Boys - 2:30
Girls - 3:10

JV times:
Boys - 4:20
Girls - 4:50

Any questions, please let me know, but do know that Lauren and I will be out of town and will not be back until Monday evening.  I will check messages, but not sure on the reception or availability to answer any questions right away.  I will get back to them though.
Thanks,

Denny

Week of October 13

Here are a couple of items for the week ahead:

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is practice as usual, 3:15.  Runners, please bring your spikes with you.

A reminder that the ABC 3K that was canceled

Thursday is the JK5K, which is not a meet, just a practice in which we will work on specific items while running a 5K.  Bus will be leaving at 9:00 am from the high school and we will start the JK5K at 10:00 am, everyone together.  We will then be back to the high school at about 11:00.

Friday practice will be at 10:00 am at CRHS.

If there are any questions, please let me know. 
Thanks
Denny

2025 Cross Country Running Banquet

 2025 Cross Country Running Banquet 

The season is coming to an end it is time to look back on the accomplishments of the 2025 edition of the Coon Rapids Boys and Girls Cross Country teams.

This year, our banquet will be on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025 starting at 6:00 at the CRHS Cafeteria.  This will be a Pot Luck affair with each grade of athletes bringing the following: 

7 Seniors: Desserts

5 Juniors: Beverages

11 Sophomores: Entrees

9 Freshmen & Under:  Salads

Please note that there are 30 members of the team, 2 managers, plus three coaches, as well as family members of these athletes that will be attending, so please bring accordingly.  All plates, silverware, napkins, and cups will be supplied.

Due to Allergy concerns, if you do make anything with nuts in it, we ask that you mark it.

This will be a night in which we will be handing out all team awards and such, so we do appreciate you being a part of this event to celebrate the accomplishments of the athletes and the team. 

We are also wanting this to be a more formal affair for the athletes.
If there are any questions, please let me know.  Thanks, Denny

NWSC Meet Results

Congratulations to Ruby as she finished an impressive 2nd place at the Northwest Suburban Conference Meet today in Elk River, running an all-time best time for herself, as well as breaking her own school record for 5K!  She helped the Girls team to a 9th place finish out of 13 teams, moving up from 11th a year ago.  The Boys team, led by Dagi, 44th, and Josh, 45th, finished in 13th place as a team, despite missing one of our top runners. However, 6 of the 9 Boys ran Season or All Time PR's as did 17 of the 28 runners on the team, with many others being within seconds of Season or All Time PR's!  

It was a near perfect weather day, with solid course that was still challenging, but our times continue to improve, and that is all we can ask of the runners.  Put forth solid efforts and continue to do the work to help reach goals.  Thanks to all of those that were able to make it out support the runners!  

Two other items of note:  

1st, the Boys team will be running the Game Ball on Friday for the annual Homecoming Run from the opposing school.  This year is from Hopkins High School and the Boys will be running in groups of 4 or 5, with each group running 5 miles.  We will have a bus that will pick us up at 3:00 and drive us down to Hopkins, as well as be with us the whole time.  I will also be biking with them the whole time.  The total route will be about 20.8 miles long, with us crossing the Mississippi River at the CR Dam.  A lot of planning has been put into it, and it is a great team bonding experience!  This will be I believe the 20th year of this tradition, that will bring the team out onto the Football field before the game begins at 7:00.  The Girls team will still have practice at our normal time.

2nd, there will not be an ABC 3K at Greenhaven.  I have a feeling that this race will no longer happen.

Thanks and any questions, please let me know,
Denny

NWSC Meet Week

Thanks to those that were able to make it out and Volunteer today at the Twin Cities Marathon!! 

Below is information on the upcoming week.  A reminder that Wednesday is the NWSC Meet at the Elk River Country Club, also, Friday is the Homecoming Run for the Boys team from Hopkins High School.  The Bus will be leaving at 3:00, and we will be doing a relay with groups of about 3, where each group will be running 5 miles to get the 20+ miles home.

NWSC Meet:

Bus Leaves @ 1:00

3:15    Boys Varsity Race 

3:55    Girls Varsity Race 

4:35    Boys JV Race 

5:15    Girls JV Race  6:00    Awards Presentation

1. Total All Conference awards to be equal to two times the number of schools participating: Year 2025: The top 28 finishers in the girl’s varsity race and the top 28 finishers in the boys’ varsity race will be recognized during the award ceremony. 2. Honorable mention All Conference honors will go to the 29 st through 42 th place finishers in the boys and girls varsity races.

Just a forewarning for Parking at the Conference Meet, most people will be able to park on the driving range that is north of the main lots, but some may have to park on the street that will be a little bit of a walk.  This is a busy road, so if you do end up parking on a neighborhood street, beware trying to cross to get to the course.  If there is any change in parking, I will let you know.

Elk River (Conference Championships): 20015 Elk Lake Rd.  Highway 10 west to Proctor Ave. in Elk River, go north (right).  Go 2 miles to the Elk River Country Club, which will be on the right.  Additional parking will be available at Woodland Trails, just north of the Country Club.

NWSC Meet @ Elk River GC, October 8, 2025
Girls	Boys
JV	JV
Genavive Kostuck	Ben Moline
Vera Lee	Elijah Post
	Vincent Congdon
Varsity	Xavier Pantoja
Ruby Demmer	Kaiden Castillo
Josy Sinigaglia	Zach Reiland
Mackenzie Reiland	Avalyn Nagan
Faith Kue	Max Kirkpatrick
Emily Bornes	Ethan Elliot
Alexa Sabatke
Emmy Fuller	Varsity
Ella LaGree	Dagi Alemu
Nyah Fruth	Josh Hyatt
	Tate Burnett
	Josey Jacobs
	Nixon Glenn
	Truman Smith
	Mohammed Mustafa
	Cullen Jayasekera
	John Vandagriff

Marathon Water Stop Info

Some information for those helping at the water stop Sunday:

We just wanted to touch base with a few reminders prior to race day:

Our fluid station is at mile 7 of the course On E. Lake Harriet Pkwy., between Roseway Rd. and E. Lake Harriet Blvd (near the Rose Garden)

Please ask volunteers to arrive at 6:45am to prepare for the first runners arriving around 8:30am.  Runners should be through our station and we should be cleaned up between 10 and 10:30am

Feel free to park on the streets around the water station (around the Rose Garden) but take note of no parking signs, specifically on E. Lake Harriet Parkway

Jobs will include the following.   We would appreciate your help in assigning folks to various jobs. 

Fluid Station Table set-up - Assist with removing tables and other supplies from the supply van

Water Transportation - (2-4 individuals) Fill water barrels from water hose and transport on wheels to tables.

Nuun Mixers - (2-4 individuals) Mix the Nuun hydration fluid in Nuun jug

Pro Fluids Table Assignment - (4 individuals) Assist the Pro Fluid Captain with their table set-up and fluid distribution.  Once Pro runners have passed these volunteers will return to the regular fluid station to assist with cup pickup. 

Water and Nuun cup pourers - (24-42 individuals).  Pour water and Nuun into cups and stack 3 high on tables.

Cup Holders - Nuun and Water - (36-84 individuals).  Hold cups for runners to grab.  Shout either Nuun or water as runners approach. Wear plastic gloves. Stay on the street curb.

Clean-up Crew - (start with 10 individuals and add more as runners thin out). Rake/shovel or pick up discarded cups or other waste.

Organics Monitors - (2-4 individuals).  Monitor cup organics trash bins and replace liners as needed.  

We need to make sure that all volunteers clean hands at the hand washing station and use gloves while handling fluids for the runners.  

Volunteers will be given a t-shirt to wear and a light snack for breakfast.  No coffee or hot chocolate

HOKA ONE ONE/Cardinal Cup

Thanks to all that came out tonight to watch and support our runners for their 2 mile Time Trial under the lights!! It is an opportunity for the team to have a lower key race, at a shorter distance, where they could just go out and race fast!  The energy level was high among the runners, and despite being warmer than we would like, they went out and put forth great efforts and were very supportive of their teammates!  It was a positive step forward, big improvements from a year ago, and we are hoping to build off of this as we head to the Conference Meet next Wednesday!

The results are posted on the right side of the blog, and Congrats to Team Nemo for winning the Girls race and Team White for winning the Boys race!!  

Thanks,
Denny

Week of Sep. 29

Here are a few quick things for the week ahead for everyone to prepare for:

Monday evening is the HOKA ONE ONE/Cardinal Cup 2 mile on the track.  We are wanting the runners at the track at 6:00pm and due to the smaller size of our teams this year, we will run both together.  Something that we would like to try continuing this year is to have the "Future Cardinal" 1 or 2 lap run in between the two races.  So, please bring any younger siblings as well as let others you may know to come as well to come participate!  We would like to run the "Futures" race at 7:00 and the team at 7:15-7:20.  Teams are posted below.

Our Team Picture Day will be on Friday and we will be at the CR Dam.  We will start our pictures around 3:30 and then we will have our team practice after.  Please follow the information on this link to see and order any of your runner(s) pictures: https://download.photoday.io/ad97bbea-26cf-44c3-875b-b2b20d8f287b/Coon+Rapids+Cross+Country+25-26+-+Picture+Day+is+Coming!.pdf

Lastly, due to the fact that the Conference Meet the following week is on a Wednesday, we are going to have a Saturday morning practice to help prepare for that meet.  We will be on the track at 8:00am.

Thanks,

Denny

Girls
Nemo	Dory
Ruby Demmer	Josy Sinigaglia
Faith Kue	Mackenzie Reiland
Emily Bornes	Ella LaGree
Emmy Fuller	Alexa Sabatke
Nyah Fruth	Jessika Larson
Vera Lee	Genavive Kostuck
Boys
Red	White	Black
Dagi Alemu	Josh Hyatt	Tate Burnett
Truman Smith	Nixon Glenn	Josey Jacobs
Mohammed Mustafa	Cullen Jayasekera	John Vandagriff
Vincent Congdon	Elijah Post	Ben Moline
Xavier Pantoja	Kaiden Castillo	Zach Reiland
Ethan Elliot	Max Kirkpatrick	Avalyn Nagan

Cambridge Invite

On a warmer, sunny day, with a soft course that had some muddy spots, the improvements on our team are showing, not only within the individuals, but in the team placings as well!  15 of our Runners ran either Season or Personal Records, as we go through a tough part of our schedule, shows the effort that they have been putting into their workouts and their dedication to improving themselves!!

The Girls team finished in a solid 4th out of 8 teams, led by Ruby's 4th place finish on tired legs, while Dagi's 12th place finish and Josh's 16th place helped the Boy's finish in an improved 5th place team finishing out of 9 teams!  On the JV side, Genevive had a positive turn around race to finish in 34th out of 55 runners, as the continued duo of Ben and Eli led the JV Boys to 8th out of 10 teams, as that group of runners continue to fill in our programs depth.  

We have a lot of work left to do, and we are racing to do the best that this current team can do.  Little things can and will make the difference as to where we end up, and we will continue to teach and help develop our runners to give themselves the best opportunity to reach goals.

Thanks to our families, friends, and other spectators that helped support the team!  Next up will be the Cardinal Cup/HOKA ONE ONE 2 mile time trial on the track on Monday, Sep 29th.

Denny

Week of September 22

There are a few announcements in this post, so please make sure to read through all of the information.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a t-shirt for the NWSC Meet, please follow this link:

 https://nwsc25.itemorder.com/ 

We just got this information on Friday, but this order is due on Tuesday, Sep. 23!

We will be working at a water stop for the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, October 5th as a fundraiser for the team.  If you would like to help, please read through the information and go to the link below to fill out the registration form.

Fluid Station 3 (Mile 7) during Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend on Sunday, October 5.

I've attached the group volunteer packet work for you to review and complete if you are planning on joining us. Additionally, I've outlined the steps all volunteers from you group will need to follow to officially sign up.

Steps to register as a volunteer:
1.    Click on the Volunteer Registration Website: https://twincitiesinmotion.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=101047
2.    Enter First Name and Email Address and click "Submit"
3.    Complete or update Volunteer Application, if applicable (this is a one-time step and volunteering for additional events going forward, will only include entering First Name and Email Address as the Volunteer Application creates a unique Volunteer Profile).
4.    On the Volunteer Registration Website: https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://twincitiesinmotion.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=101047enter___.YXAzOnR3aW5jaXRpZXNpbm1vdGlvbjphOm86YjYxOWVjNmJmOWRiOTI3ODJjM2FiY2ZhMjk1M2Q3ODg6NzphM2E5OmNjNDQyYWQ2MGQ4NmRjNjUwMzMyOTRkMTdmMzAxNmVmYWYwMWQ2MzZiMGJmNzQ0ZGNlN2M2NDEyZTY2ZTYyN2M6dDpUOkY, enter this password: FLUID325 and click "Submit"

5.    The volunteer position will appear, review/complete the waiver (parent/guardian must review/complete waiver for volunteers under the age of 18).

Fluid Station 3 (Mile 7) Volunteer Details
Time: 6:45am - 10:35am
Location: E. Lake Harriet Pkwy. near parking bays by Rose Gardens (between Roseway Rd. and 42nd St. W.)
Volunteer Details: Assist with Fluid Station setup. Service runners as a water and/or Nuun Mixer, Pourer or Holder. A select number of individuals will also assist with Pro Fluids, if applicable. Assist with Fluid Station clean up. Assist with other duties as assigned by Fluid Station captain.

Below is the information for Tuesday's Norm Ayen/Cambridge Invite, at Purple Hawk Golf Course, about 4 miles north of Cambridge.

First race is at 4:00 and then it will be a rolling clock, so exact times of the next races are not known.
7-8/C Race Girls (2.4K)
7-8/C Race Boys (2.4K) (This may be combined with the Girls 7-8/C Race)
Girls Varsity
Boys Varsity
Girls JV
Boys JV

Live Results: live.herostiming.com

Cambridge Invitational: Purple Hawk Country Club: 36300 Highway 65 NE, Cambridge, 55008. Take Hwy 65 North to Cambridge.  Continue on Hwy 65 about 4 miles north of Cambridge to Purple Hawk, which will be on the left side of the highway.

Norm Ayen (Cambridge) Invite @ Purple Heart GC, September 23, 2025
Girls		Boys
JV		JV
Genavive Kostuck		Elijah Post
Jessika Larson		Ben Moline
		Xavier Pantoja
Middle School Race (2400M)		Kaiden Castillo
Vera Lee		Zach Reiland
		Avalyn Nagan
Varsity		Vincent Congdon
Ruby Demmer
Josy Sinigaglia		Middle School Race (2400M)
Mackenzie Reiland		Max Kirkpatrick
Ella LaGree
Alexa Sabatke		Varsity
Emily Bornes		Dagi Alemu
Emmy Fuller		Josh Hyatt
Faith Kue		Tate Burnett
Nyah Fruth		Josey Jacobs
		Nixon Glenn
		Cullen Jayasekera
		John Vandagriff
		Mohammed Mustafa
		Truman Smith

Roy Griak Results

The Roy Griak Invite is one of the bigger races in the country, with teams from around the country coming in to up the competition.  Improvements show in different ways sometimes.  It doesn't always have to show with Season or All Time Bests , it can sometimes show in the overall places of the teams, as well as how the team may have done in the same event the year before, which was the case for our girls team this year, as the boys showed improvements with their developments, running times that were faster than many of their PR's from a year ago! It wasn't a perfect day of running, good temps but a course that was a little spoungy. But that didn't stop our runners as they put forth solid efforts and held their own for where they are currently at in their developments.

Congratulations to Ruby as she continues showing solid performances in the bigger competitions and running smart throughout to move up to 5th place overall in the Maroon Division for Girls.  This helped the Girls team finish in 31st place as a team out of the 49 teams in their Division.  The Boys team was led by Dagi, who finished in 84th out of 412 runners, and helping the team finish in 30th place out of the 49 schools in the Boys Maroon Division.

Thanks to all of the family, friends, and even staff and alumni that were able to come out and watch and support the runners!  There were a lot of spectators out watching the races at the Griak, and to hear and see a few that are familiar are always helpful in dealing with the energy!

Next up is an Invite on Tuesday in Cambridge.  Information on the races will come out tomorrow, Sunday.

Thanks,
Denny

Chisago Lakes Results

On a day that was extremely warm, and on a course that had a lot of open space, our middle school and JV runners ran solid races.  Top runners for the Boys were Eli and Ben, racing with each other and racing it to the line, again, with Eli getting the edge this time!! Vincent and Vera were the first to the line for Middle School Boys and Girls respectively, while Genavive accepted the challenge, not feeling the greatest, as our only JV Girl.

Despite the times not being what our runners would have wanted, the one thing that we as coaches are proud of with the JV/Middle School Runners today, is they worked to the best of their abilities!  They fought, and some struggled, but they ran the race and did what they could to finish.  They will have the opportunity to run faster times in the near future, but for today, times are not what was important, it was the effort and what they could learn about themselves!

Our results are now posted on the right side of the blog with a link to the overall results.  If the link does not work, please let me know and I will see if I can find a different one.  Thanks to all of the parents/fans that sat in the heat to watch our runners! 

Thanks,

Denny

Week of September 15

Below is the information for both Tuesday's Chisago Lakes Invite at the Ki-Chi-Saga Park and Saturday's Roy Griak Invite at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in St Paul. For Tuesday, there is only one race for the Middle School runners (3:30), Girls (4:00) and one for the Boys (4:40).  For Saturday, we are in the Maroon Division for both the boys and the girls races.  Start times are 9:00am for boys and 9:45am for girls.  Please note that at both races, pets are Not allowed.

One other item of note, the Girls team will be wearing Pink uniform tops for both days. We are hoping it will be easier to spot our Girls during the Griak race.  We have not decided if the Boys will wear an alternative uni yet.  We will discuss it at practice Monday and let everyone know.

Lastly, for the Varsity that will be running on Saturday, we would like to for them to come with for support and to get their workouts in there. If they are not able to come with, we would like to be notified so we can let them know their workouts.  With Saturday, we would like those that raced on Tuesday to come with as well so they can see and experience the atmosphere and races.  There will be races throughout most of the day, with close to 200 high school teams competing in 4 races.  We won't stay all day, but if you would like to stick around and watch the rest, it's a good day of racing! (There are also college races on Friday morning)

Any questions, please let me know,

Thanks
Denny

Roy Griak Invitational (Les Bolstad Golf Course):  Bus leaves at 7:30

U of M Golf Course. Take 35W South to Cleveland Avenue South to West Larpenteur. Turn right and follow for a ½ mile on Larpenteur and you will see the Driving Range and Golf Course on the right. For parking use S101 (on the corner of Cleveland and Commonwealth) and the Gortner Ave Ramp. Shuttles will transport to the golf course. Park at your own risk on city streets. 

The University will be charging $12.50 entry fee for adults and $10.50 for students/youth/seniors (62 & above). Kids age 3 & under are free. (Credit card Only)

Please click on this link for more spectator information: Griak Spectator Information

Chisago Lake Invitational (Ki-Chi-Saga County Park): Bus leaves at 1:15.  29061 Glader Blvd, Lindstrom, 55045. Highway 10 east to I35W North.  Take I35W North to I35 North and continue for about 4.5 miles to Hwy 8 East. Take Hwy 8 to Lindstrom and take a right onto CR 25, Olinda Trail and continue to Glader Blvd, taking a left.  Park will be about .8 miles on the right.

Meet Information: Chisago Lake Invite, Course Map

Chisago Lake Invite @ Ki-Chi-Saga Park, September 16, 2025
Girls	Boys
JV	JV
Genavive Kostuck	Ben Moline
	Elijah Post
Middle School Race (3200M)	Kaiden Castillo
Vera Lee	Xavier Pantoja
	Zach Reiland
	Avalyn Nagan
	Ethan Elliot
	Middle School Race (3200M)
	Vincent Congdon
	Max Kirkpatrick
Roy Griak Invite @ Les Bolstad Golf Course, September 20, 2025
Girls	Boys
Varsity	Varsity
Ruby Demmer	Dagi Alemu
Josy Sinigaglia	Josh Hyatt
Mackenzie Reiland	Tate Burnett
Ella LaGree	Josey Jacobs
Faith Kue	Nixon Glenn
Emily Bornes	John Vandagriff
Emmy Fuller	Truman Smith
Jessika Larson	Cullen Jayasekera
Alexa Sabatke	Mohammed Mustafa
Nyah Fruth

Waconia Wildcat Invite Results

Solid performances, a new challenging course on a warmer day, and solid competition allowed our runners to continue to grow and take steps forward towards their goals.  5 PR's and 4 Season Bests, as well as PR's by all three of our runners that were in the Middle School at the 2 mile distance, lead the improvements, with many runners being mere seconds away from a Season or all-time best time!

Ruby continued her solid start to the season with another top 10 performance, finishing in 6th place, helping the girls team to improve to 7th place out of the 9 scoring teams. Dagi continued his improvements, finishing in the top 20 with Josh finishing in 29th as our only 2 Varsity Boys.  We decided to run most of our boys team in JV to give all of the 9th and 10th graders on our team a chance to race together and compete against others closer to their age and current levels and it showed.  Tate raced to win and held onto 4th and Josey finished in a solid 15th place to help the JV Boys to a 4th place team finish out of the 10 teams racing.  Emmy led the 4 JV girls as they all raced close together and all 4 finishing within 30 seconds.

Our results are posted on the right side of the blog as well as a 2025 Season Bests list that I will update after every meet.

Next up is the Chisago Lakes Invite for our JV/MS runners on Tuesday and the Roy Griak Invite on Saturday, Sep 20th.  Information and who will be in which race will be posted this weekend.

Thanks to all that came out to watch yesterday!  It was a fun race!
Denny

Week of September 8/Waconia Wildcat Invite

Below is information for the week to come.  Practices will continue with weight training for the high school runners at 2:25 and then the running portion will begin at 3:15 when the middle school runners get there. 

We will be going to a new meet for us, the Wildcat Invite at Crown College on Thursday.  There is a link to the information that Waconia has sent to us, but there are also directions as well as who will be running in which race.  We will be doing a change with our boys since the majority of them are 9th or 10th graders, young in racing and close together in time.  We will be running our only 2 seniors on Varsity, our top two runners, and the rest of the high schoolers in the JV race.  We want to build their confidence, to not only make us stronger for this season, but start building for next year as well.  Plus, we can honestly say we have 9 of them that are trying to fill 8 spots for the Griak Invite next week, and would like for them to compete and race together for those spots this week.  

The bus will be leaving at 2:00 Thursday.  The meet will get done earlier than last week, so it should not be as late of a night.  However, if you need to bring your runner home after their race, please let me know in advance.

Schedule: * UPDATED SCHEDULE (9/10/25)

4:00pm Middle School Race 2mi (Boys & Girls Combined) 

4:30pm Jr. Varsity Boys 5K
5:00pm Jr. Varsity Girls 5K
5:30pm Varsity Boys 5K  (up to 7 athletes)
6:00pm Varsity Girls 5K (up to 7 athletes)

Meet Information:

https://www.runwaconia.com/wildcatinvite

Directions:

Waconia Invitational: Crown College, 8700 College View Dr, Saint Bonifacius, 55375.  Highway 10 east to Hwy 610 and continue to Hwy 169 South.  Take 169 South to I94 West and follow to I494 South.  Follow on I494 to MN Hwy 7 West and continue to Saint Bonifacius.  Take a left onto Main St (CR 92) and continue for about 1.1 miles to the college entrance and take a left on to College View Dr.

Wildcat Invite @ Crown College, September 11, 2025
Girls	Boys
Varsity	Varsity
Ruby Demmer	Dagi Alemu
Josy Sinigaglia	Josh Hyatt
Mackenzie Reiland
Emily Bornes	JV
Ella LaGree	Tate Burnett
Faith Kue	Josey Jacobs
	Nixon Glenn
JV	Truman Smith
Emmy Fuller	John Vandagriff
Alexa Sabatke	Cullen Jayasekera
Jessika Larson	Mohammed Mustafa
Nyah Fruth	Ben Moline
	Elijah Post
	Xavier Pantoja
Junior High Race (2 miles)	Zach Reiland
Vera Lee	Avalyn Nagan
	Kaiden Castillo
	Junior High Race (2 miles)
	Vincent Congdon
	Max Kirkpatrick

Any questions, please let me know,

Thanks,
Denny

Bauman/Rovn Results

A tough course and conditions and weather that were getting wetter as the evening progressed didn't stop the runners from solid progress and improvements last night at the Bauman/Rovn Invite at Gail Woods.  The team accumulated 21 PR's or Season bests out of the 25 who ran in the 5K races, with the our 3 middle school runners also running paces that were faster than they had in the past.  There was a lot of positive energy with the team, before, during and after the races, something as coaches we like to see and feel will make it easier helping them all get stronger for the rest of the season.

Top overall performer on the day went to Ruby who finished an impressive 8th place in the Girls Varsity race, to help the girls finish in 14th out of the 15 scoring teams.  Dagi was the top Varsity Boy in 54th place to lead the Boys to 14th out of the 16 scoring teams.  Ben and Eli finished together to top our Boys JV runners as Emmy improved from a week a go to be the first Girls JV runner.

Thanks to all of the family and friends who came to support the runners and enjoyed the rain with us!! Next up is the Waconia Invite at Crown College next Thursday, Sep. 11.

Thanks,
Denny

Bauman/Rovn Invitational Information

Below is the team roster for Thursday's Bauman/Rovn Invite as well as the start times for each race and Directions.  Please note that parking is tight, so please give yourself plenty of time to get there before the races start, but also consider car pooling if possible.

If there are any questions, please let me know,
Thanks
Denny

Bauman/Rovn Invitational: Gail Woods: 7210 County Rd 110 W, Minnetrista, 55364.  Highway 10 east to Hwy 610 and continue to Hwy 169 South.  Take 169 South to I94 West and follow to I494 South. Follow to Hwy 12 West, then exit onto Shoreline Dr, which is actually County Road 15, and continue going west.  Shoreline Dr will take you in and around Lake Minnetonka, and continue to Mound, where you will take a left onto Bartlett Blvd/County Rd 110W The park entrance will be a couple of miles after you take a left, on the right side of the road.  The WRA Park will be on the left side of CR 110W.  There is limited parking at Gail Woods, so consider parking at WRA Park, near the park.  

Bus Leaves @ 1:45

JV Boys @ 4:00, Girls @ 4:30

Varsity Boys @ 5:10, Girls @ 5:35

MS (1.8K) Boys @ 6:05, Girls @ 6:30

Live Results will be found on Wayzata Results

NO DOGS ALLOWED AT GALE WOODS FARMS.

Bauman Rovn Invite @ Gail Woods, September 4, 2025
Girls	Boys
Varsity	Varsity
Ruby Demmer	Dagi Alemu
Josy Sinigaglia	Josh Hyatt
Mackenzie Reiland	Tate Burnett
Faith Kue	Josey Jacobs
Emily Bornes	John Vandagriff
Ella LaGree	Cullen Jayasekera
	Truman Smith
JV	Nixon Glenn
Jessika Larson	Mohammed Mustafa
Emmy Fuller	JV
Alexa Sabatke	Ben Moline
Nyah Fruth	Elijah Post
Genavive Kostuck	Xavier Pantoja
	Zach Reiland
Junior High Race (1.8 Miles)	Kaiden Castillo
Vera Lee	Avalyn Nagan
	Junior High Race (1.8 Miles)
	Vincent Congdon
	Max Kirkpatrick