International Falls’ girls cross country team recorded five top-10 individual finishes that counted in the point total when the Broncos won Tuesday’s Ely Invitational.
Falls had 23 team points, followed by Mesabi East (48) and Ely (54) as the only teams to have enough runners finish to count in the team standings.
The top two Bronco girls runners went 1-2 with eighth-grader Lexi Erickson coming in first on the 4,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 1 second, and junior Sydney Raboin 23 seconds behind her.
The three other Falls runners who counted in the team standings included: senior Amber Harms, fifth in 17:36; junior Amy Auran, sixth in 18:01; and senior Rachel Foss, ninth in 18:29.
“This is always a tough course because there are so many hills, but I was very happy with how all of the girls responded,” said Foss. “Winning this meet was a goal of ours this week, but now we are moving on to our next goal, which is to win the meet in Hibbing on Thursday.”
Bronco boys third
In the boys competition, the Broncos came in third without one of their top runners, senior Marco Griffith, being one of the finishers.
Virginia won with the top score of 22, followed by Ely (35) and the Falls (62).
Junior Wyatt Ulrich had the Broncos’ top time with a seventh-place finish on the 5,000-meter course in 19:06. Senior Logan Veillieux was also among the top 10 by placing ninth in 19:19.
Three other senior Falls runners who counted toward the team score included: Cade MacKay, 11th in 19:40; Corin Wenger, 15th in 20:15; and Jason Pumper, 20th in 20:58.
“The course was a tough one because of all the hills, and our times showed,” Wenger said. “But we will come back all the stronger on Thursday.”
Falls head coach Paul Hjelle said the Broncos need to be ready to run for Thursday’s meet at Hibbing.
“There are going to be a lot of teams from our section in Hibbing,” Hjelle said. “It should be a good test for us.”
