Boys place 7th at Missota CC meet

The New Prague Trojan boys cross country team had a solid team performance Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Missota Conference Championships at their home course at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park.

            The Trojans finished seventh of eight teams in an extremely tough field.  

            “Our boys showed considerable improvement as compared to three weeks ago on the same course, as the top five average improved by more than 30 seconds,” said coach Nick Meyer.

            None of the Trojans earned individual honors, but Meyer said he was happy with the competitive intensity the team showed, adding he was excited for the Section 2AA Championships.

            The section meet is today (Thursday, Oct. 24) in Buffalo. Fifteen teams will be competing with two teams and eight individuals qualifying for the State Cross Country meet Saturday, Nov. 2, at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

            At the Missota race, Shakopee won the team competition with 56 points, with Red Wing second at 64. Other teams were Chanhassen (73), Chaska (76), Farmington (125), Northfield (168), New Prague (176) and Holy Angels (233).

            Farmington’s Justin Hyytinen won the 5,000-meter race in 16 minutes, 24 seconds, three seconds better than Chaska’s Spencer Urick.

            The Trojans’ top finisher was Josh Dvorak, who was 26th in 17:40.

            “Josh has been our steady No. 1 all season, and he was again today,” Meyer said.

            Wyatt Midtvedt finished 35th in 18:03, with Dakota Greenwalt right on his heels in 36th place.

            “Wyatt was our most improved finisher from three weeks ago, and Dakota also moved up compared to his expected finish.”

            Tony Smith (37th, 18:07) was running in just his third race after returning from a summer basketball injury, and had a personal record in impressive fashion.

            Other Trojans were Steven Kvam (42nd, 18:26), who improved significantly from his finish in the New Prague Invitational, Cole Minnick (48th, 18:48), who ran with a lot of pride as he dropped time from three weeks ago, and Justin Gregor (54th, 19:43), who had a great start and battled throughout the race.

            The JV also finished seventh at the meet. Top seven finishers were Jack Siegle (20th, 18:49), John Bowman (39th, 19:32), Asher Floyd (43rd, 19:37), Justin Cameron (44th, 19:38), Greg Vogel (45th, 19:39), Jakbo Friedges (46th, 19:49) and Evan Cashman (51st, 20:20).