Third time's a charm?

A solid overall team performance helped to propel the Cloquet boys cross-country team to a second-place finish - and a berth in the state cross-country meet this week at the Section 7AA meet held in Princeton on Thursday, Oct. 25.

"It was pretty exciting for our kids!" exclaimed Cloquet coach Mike Bushey. "We knew there was a good chance to qualify, but we still had to have a solid day. This is the third year in a row for the boys team and the fourth in six years for us to qualify for state. We've been quite fortunate to have such great kids."

Forest Lake took top honors with the lowest overall score of 34 points with Cloquet right on their heels with 69 points. Third place went to Elk River with 130 points.

All in all, it was another superb performance for the team which received a fifth-place finish from junior Jordan Allen as their top qualifier. Allen came in with a time of 16:39.7 and was followed by senior teammates Blaine Bong in ninth place at 16:53.7 and Aidan Ripp in 10th with a time of 16:57. Junior Jesse Bahen took 17th with a time of 17:06; freshman Cale Prosen came in 28th with a time of 17:40; junior Dennis Osvold took 29th with a time of 17:43, and sophomore Josh Sanders claimed the 32nd position with a time of 17:45. Alternate runners were freshman Sam Buytaert and junior Tyler Harns-Synkiew.

"Our seniors have had so much leadership and consistency for us," Bushey said. "They've been around for a while and have seen how things work. They learned from older kids and now they are passing down the lessons to the next group."

Going into the race, the 'Jacks runners and coaches all felt they were in a good place and just needed to continue to do what they have done all season and things would fall into place.

"Our plan was to just have the kids 'do what they do' and everyone just needed to run the race they've been running for the past month," explained Bushey. "We didn't need anything out of the ordinary. When someone tries being a hero, or takes unnecessary risks, that's when things can go goofy."

The running conditions in Princeton were nearly perfect with an overcast sky and cool temperatures with low humidity, allowing runners to showcase their skills on a fairly flat racecourse with rolling hills.

On the girls side, the lone qualifier for Cloquet was sophomore Lauren Cawcutt, who finished with a time of 19:56, good for 18th place. This will be Cawcutt's third trip to state.

"Lauren ran her best race of the year," said an excited Bushey. "We knew coming in that there were about 15 girls with realistic chances for the eight qualifying places. Lauren had to run perfectly and she did."

In cross-country the top two teams qualify for the state meet as well as eight other qualifiers not on those top two teams.

CLASS A SECTIONS

The lone local state qualifier in the Class A race held in Cloquet Thursday, Oct. 25, was Esko's Sam Rengo, who finished with a time of 17:08, which was good for 10th place.

"Sam had his most consistent year from a running standpoint," said Esko coach Jerimy Hallsten of the senior. "He consistently ran in the low 17s and had one of his fastest races at the section meet."

Rengo will be running in his third state meet this week when he heads to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. on Saturday.

According to Hallsten, his work ethic is impressive.

"Sam has always had a great work ethic," he said. "Anything he may be lacking in natural ability, which isn't much, he more than makes up for in hard work.

"His day-in and day-out nose-to-the-grindstone approach is seen by others, inspires them, and is a natural motivator for them."

The Minnesota State cross-country Class A and Class AA girls and boys meets will be held at St. Olaf College Saturday, Nov. 3. Bushey said there's a group of fans organizing to go down for the meet.