Owatonna hosted the boys and girls Cross Country Big 9 meet on October 20 at Brooktree Golf Course. It was a cloudy and warm day in Owatonna. With twenty four teams at the course, as well as quite a few spectators, the meet was buzzing with activity. Following them was the boys varsity race. Leading the team were both Senior Captain Nick Raichle, who finished 12th and Junior Braydon Kubat, who finished 9th, which earned them both All Conference. Nick got his all time best time of 16:57 and when asked how he was able to push beyond his limits, he said, “I knew the city was watching so I had to perform, and I knew it was going to be one of my last meets so I just gave it my all.” Although having some top notch finishers, the team finished 8th out 12.
The last race of the boys and girls Cross Country was October 29. It was held in Owatonna at Brooktree golf course. When asked how they prepared, Senior Jack Lehrer said, “we started to taper down the practices, and we did some lighter workouts to save our legs for sections.” It was a very chilly day, about 45 degrees, overcast and a persistent northwest wind. Senior Austin Medvec said, “It was freezing cold out there but once you started running and got your blood flowing, it wasn’t too bad.” The team finished out their season 10th out of the 16 teams in sections. Not the way the team wanted to finish but Coach Chatelaine said, “Our boys gave it their all and I couldn’t ask for anything else. They work hard all year, I’m very proud of them. It was a great season and one to remember.” Although the season is over, many of the boys are ready to start to preparing for track.