'Jacks send a crowd to state cross country

The Cloquet boys cross-country team approached Saturday's 2018 Class AA State Tournament with high hopes, as it was their third trip in as many years to the annual meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

The boys team was hoping to improve on its 16th place finish a year ago and all individuals runners - including Lauren Cawcutt for the girls team - were seeking to post their best times of the year.

The smallest school in the AA division by far, the state meet is a tough race for the Lumberjacks. They had lots of support, as a fan bus made the nearly three-hour trip south to cheer on the runners.

Seniors Blaine Bong and Aiden Ripp finished 1-2 for the Lumberjacks Saturday. Bong, who bested his time last year at the state meet, finished 59th with a time of 16:49.

Ripp was right behind him with a finishing time of 16:50, while junior Jordan Allen was nine seconds behind Ripp, coming in with a time of 16:59. The rest of the Lumberjacks in the following order/time: Josh Sanders 17:29, Dennis Osvold 17:55, Jesse Bahen 18:14 and Cale Prosen at 18:16.

Despite their determination, the Lumberjacks closed out the state tournament in 16th place.

"We are quite lucky to work with such a great group of kids!" head coach Mike Bushey said. "The state meet went OK but not perfectly. We had some good performances and some that were less than what the kids had hoped."

Issac Fink of Duluth Denfeld was also among the AA finishers with a time of 17:06.

Lumberjacks sophomore Lauren Cawcutt was the lone local runner in the AA race, making her own third consecutive trip to state. She finished the race at 20:14 which was good for 143rd place overall. Cawcutt's time was off her 19:56 from a year ago.

"Many times kids that run there for their first time get a bit overwhelmed and that can affect their performance," Bushey said. "Nevertheless, they can be proud of what they accomplished and build on the experience for next year or their next season. They represented this community extremely well."

In the Class A boys race, Esko's Sam Rengo - running in his third consecutive state meet - finished nine seconds faster this year than he did in 2017 when he posted a time of 17:27, good for 99th place overall.

Sydney Binsfield of Proctor was top highest finisher in the girls Class A race Saturday with a 13th place finish and a time of 19:09.

Perham High School did something that had never been accomplished before as both the boys and the girls teams captured the state team titles in Class A, while Edina captured the Class AA boys championship and St. Michael-Albertville finishing atop the standings for the Class AA girls championship.

Individual champions included Acer Iverson of Roseville Area taking the boys AA title, with Andrew Brandt of Wayzata second and Edina's Maxwell Manley placing third.

Emily Covert of Minneapolis Washburn won the girls AA top stop, while Farmington's Lauren Peterson and

Anna Fenske finished second and third respectively.

Greenway Nashwauk-Keewatin's Geno Uhrbom captured the Class A championship with a time of 15:38. Cooper Lenox of Mora placed second and Staples-Motley's Emmett Anderson was third.

Sophomore Grace Ping of Cotter beat out her younger sister Lauren as they finished first and second in the Class A girls race; Morgan Gehl of Murray County was third.

Ava Hill of Mesabi East place fourth with a time of 18:24.