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By Cynthia Scott
Rush City cross country runners posted outstanding individual results last week at the St. Johnís Invitational Sept. 30.
Performances were not as strong on Oct. 2 at the Swain Meet in Duluth, but Coach Kevin Smith said he was pleased with his runnersí results nonetheless.
At St. Johnís the boys team placed 2nd and the girls 3rd out of 7 teams.
Outstanding individual results were turned in by Christine Frandsen and Becky Kemen, who placed 1st and 7th respectively in the girls varsity 4000 meters.
In the boys varsity 5000 meters Josh Dahl placed 2nd and Jared Dahlberg 11th.
The girls JV 4000 meter saw first and second place finishes by Kasey Fleming and Laura Hestbeck, respectively, with Rachel Erickson coming in 6th and Tiffani Hoffman 8th.
ìOur kids stand out in small meets,î said Coach Kevin Smith. ìThey are above the ìaverage abilityî runner from most schools. We feel this is because they work hard each day in practice and approach a race with definite strategies in mind. Many of the boys in varsity and JV ran their best times ever. Great effort!î Smith said.
In contrast, Smith said the Swain meet is one of the most challenging for his team. He described the course as the most difficult his team runs, with hills throughout.
ìOur kids ran hard, but the hills slowed the pace of most runners. Most had very little left at the end of their races to move up with. Nevertheless we were happy with the efforts. Running on a difficult course against very strong competition is one of the best ways for a runner to improve,î Smith said.
Top performers were Josh Dahl, 5th out of 110 runners in the sophomore 4000 meters; Christine Frandsen, 26th of 170 runners in class A varsity 4000 meters; and Laura Hestbeck, 17th of 92 runners in the 7th and 8th grade girls 2500 meters.
Results of the Oct. 5 competition against Amery, Wisc. were not available as this issue went to press.
Up next: Cambridge-Isanti at the Grandy Nine, Oct. 12, 4 p.m.
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