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