Falls’ girls cross country team came three points short of placing first Monday at the Warroad invitational.
Warroad won its own invite with the low team score of 62, followed by the Falls (65), Roseau (98), Grafton (119) and Thief River Falls (119) rounding out the top five.
Sophomore Sydney Raboin recorded the Broncos’ top individual finish by placing sixth on the 4,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 26 seconds.
The other four Falls runners whose finishes counted in the team standings included: seventh-grader Lexi Erickson, 11th in 17:06; senior Amber Harms, 12th in 17:07; sophomore Amy Auran, 15th in 17:20; and junior Rachel Foss, 21st in 17:58.
“I’m really proud of the younger girls that just keep stepping it up,” Harms said. “Losing by three points was disappointing, but it’s good to know we’re right up there with the other teams.”
In the boys competition, the Broncos also placed second, but by 62 points.
Thief River Falls won with 30, followed by the Falls (92), Roseau (100), Grafton (109) and Bagley/Fosston (126) as the top-five schools.
The five Bronco runners who counted in the point standings all placed in the top 25 individually on the 5,000-meter course. They included: junior Marco Griffith, 14th in 18:36; sophomore Wyatt Ulrich, 16th in 18:55; senior Charlie Gordon, 17th in 18:59; junior Logan Veillieux, 21st in 19:29; and junior Aaron Geiss, 24th in 19:43.
“It was a lot nicer to do one big loop (for the cross country course) than several smaller loops,” Gordon said. “Our runners all did good and we are closing the gap (between runners).”
Falls’ next meet is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at Eveleth-Gilbert High School.
