International Falls finished fourth in both the boys and girls races Thursday in the Roseau Rams Invitational.
John Sobczynski led the Bronco boys with an eighth-place finish in 19 minutes, 34 seconds. Reggie Gorden finished close behind in 10th in 19:53, while Jake Jensen (19th, 20:51), John Bartkowski (20th, 20:53) and Frank Nevanen (21st, 21:00) rounded out the lineup by finishing in a pack.
“Overall we had a great meet today,” Jensen said. “The heat was brutal, but we still performed well. A lot of the younger runners really stepped up and pushed our varsity guys.”
Adam Davies finished sixth for the Broncos and 24th overall in 21:11 and was followed in by Charlie Gordon (27th, 21:29), Josh Baumchen (29th, 21:39), Aaron Marx (31st, 21:41), Nick Bujold (32nd, 21:49), T.J. Wickstrom (35th, 23:05) and Dylan Janssen (38th, 24:47).
Warroad won the meet with 40 points, and they edged Thief River Falls (44), Roseau (70), International Falls (78), Lake of the Woods (162) and East Grand Forks, who had an incomplete lineup.
In the girls race, Stephanie Christianson was the lone top 10 finisher for the Broncos with a ninth-place tally in 17:15. Amber Harms finished 12th in 17:32, Amy Auran was 15th in 18:15, Rachel Foss finished 19th in 18:33 and Bailey Bernard was 25th in 19:37. Four more Broncos raced varsity — Paige Boyum (26th, 19:38), Cali Treat (27th, 19:51), Kelsey Eibler (35th, 21:43) and Britni Hendrickson (40th, 24:30).
“The conditions weren’t favorable with the heat and the bugs, but we pulled through,” Hendrickson said. “We ran in groups today, which was nice because we were able to push each other. Now all we need to do is get our groups closer together.
Warroad won the girls meet, as well, with 56 points. They were followed by Lake of the Woods (61), Roseau (68), International Falls (80), East Grand Forks (93) and Thief River Falls (129).
The Broncos’ next meet is Monday at Warroad.
