PAGE: LOCAL SPORTS
GCC: Huskies ninth at section
By Dan Condon (November 04, 2009)
The Jackson County Central girls’ cross country team used three top-35 finishes, including an all-section performance, to finish ninth at the Section 3A cross country meet last Thursday in Adrian.
Leslie Handzus led the Huskies with a 22nd-place finish, crossing the finish line of the 4,000-meter race in 16:54. She earned all-section honors for finishing in the top 25.
Angela Handzus finished 31st in 17:17 and Megan Johnson was right behind, finished 33rd in 17:18.
Hope Belknap (60th, 18:27) and Kinbrae Bezdicek (72nd, 18:46) rounded out the scoring the for Huskies, who finished with a team score of 205.
Breanne Rentschler (74th, 18:48) and Sarah Christopher (112th, 23:29) also ran for the Huskies.
The top three teams played out as expected, with four-time defending state champion Adrian taking the team title with a score of 56. Mt. Lake-Butterfield-Odin was right behind, finishing with 63 points to join Adrian at this weekend’s state tournament.
Adrian enters state ranked fourth and MLBO is ranked seventh.
Canby/Minneota/Lincoln HI, ranked 11th in the state, finished third (118), followed by Montevideo (125), Luverne (125), Worthington (177), Windom (178), Redwood Valley (183) and JCC. The Huskies beat Hills-Beaver Creek/Ellsworth (225), Springfield/Cedar Mt.-Comfrey (325), Lakeview (337), Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (345), Murray County Central (382) and MACCRAY (392).
“They came and gave it their all,” co-head coach Brad Strom said of the Huskies. “The girls were as prepared as they’ve ever been. We’re right in the thick with those teams that aren’t elite teams but still solid teams. We’re still beating a lot of programs.”
Co-head coach Kerri Kocak was also pleased with the results.
“One thing is for sure,” she said, “The girls give their best effort each meet and this one was no exception. They were in the mix of things.”
Both coaches pointed out the fact that the Huskies were just 27 points from sixth place, a number that can be made up fairly easily in a big meet like the section tournament.
“In that big of a field, it just takes five runners moving up five places each,” Strom said. “In a big field, that’s not that hard with girls running in large groups of four or five runners.”
Strom and Kocak both like the fact that all seven varsity runners return next year and look forward to the possibilities.
“We’re a good team and we have everybody coming back” Strom said. “We believe we’ll be much better next year. We’re at a plateau where we’ve been for the last two years with this group. We just have to find out what it takes to get to the next level.”
Huskies earn gold award
The JCC girls earned the Gold Academic Award for having a team grade point average of 3.75 or higher.
“Not only are they dedicated athletes, but they are good students as well,” Kocak said of the Huskies.
Leslie Handzus led the Huskies with a 22nd-place finish, crossing the finish line of the 4,000-meter race in 16:54. She earned all-section honors for finishing in the top 25.
Angela Handzus finished 31st in 17:17 and Megan Johnson was right behind, finished 33rd in 17:18.
Hope Belknap (60th, 18:27) and Kinbrae Bezdicek (72nd, 18:46) rounded out the scoring the for Huskies, who finished with a team score of 205.
Breanne Rentschler (74th, 18:48) and Sarah Christopher (112th, 23:29) also ran for the Huskies.
The top three teams played out as expected, with four-time defending state champion Adrian taking the team title with a score of 56. Mt. Lake-Butterfield-Odin was right behind, finishing with 63 points to join Adrian at this weekend’s state tournament.
Adrian enters state ranked fourth and MLBO is ranked seventh.
Canby/Minneota/Lincoln HI, ranked 11th in the state, finished third (118), followed by Montevideo (125), Luverne (125), Worthington (177), Windom (178), Redwood Valley (183) and JCC. The Huskies beat Hills-Beaver Creek/Ellsworth (225), Springfield/Cedar Mt.-Comfrey (325), Lakeview (337), Tracy-Milroy-Balaton (345), Murray County Central (382) and MACCRAY (392).
“They came and gave it their all,” co-head coach Brad Strom said of the Huskies. “The girls were as prepared as they’ve ever been. We’re right in the thick with those teams that aren’t elite teams but still solid teams. We’re still beating a lot of programs.”
Co-head coach Kerri Kocak was also pleased with the results.
“One thing is for sure,” she said, “The girls give their best effort each meet and this one was no exception. They were in the mix of things.”
Both coaches pointed out the fact that the Huskies were just 27 points from sixth place, a number that can be made up fairly easily in a big meet like the section tournament.
“In that big of a field, it just takes five runners moving up five places each,” Strom said. “In a big field, that’s not that hard with girls running in large groups of four or five runners.”
Strom and Kocak both like the fact that all seven varsity runners return next year and look forward to the possibilities.
“We’re a good team and we have everybody coming back” Strom said. “We believe we’ll be much better next year. We’re at a plateau where we’ve been for the last two years with this group. We just have to find out what it takes to get to the next level.”
Huskies earn gold award
The JCC girls earned the Gold Academic Award for having a team grade point average of 3.75 or higher.
“Not only are they dedicated athletes, but they are good students as well,” Kocak said of the Huskies.