With a regular season of preparation in, the Bulldog cross country team cleared their first postseason hurdle at the West Region Championships in Beulah on Saturday. A cool morning, as well as the season’s first snow greeted 21 teams from western North Dakota. Things quickly heated up for the Dawgs.
The elementary race kicked off the day for the Bulldogs, and it started with a bang. Taylor Wanner captured the elementary crown, closely followed by his brother Austin in 3rd. Jeslyn Arpan led the ladies with a top 5 finish, as 10 elementary athletes but their talents to the test. Jeslyn was followed by Adyson and Landyn Gerbig, Julie Sarsland, Raegen Honeyman, Rhyann Kelly, Olivia Welch, and Emma Umbriet.
As the varsity boys toed the line, they knew they were going to be in for a fight. With the reigning champions from New Town dominating the scene, the Bulldogs were focused on a battle for 2nd. The dawgs ran a very strategic race, maneuvering over the hilly course, and picking off competitors throughout the 5000m race. After six consecutive New Town runners crossed the line, it was the Bulldogs who took over. Senior Mason Moran led the charge finishing in 9th place, and the pack soon followed. 8th grader Brian Miller crossed in 10th, while Kamrin and Alex Madrigal finished in 13th and 15th place respectively. Andrew Miller finished the scoring in 18th place. All five scorers earned All West Region honors. Camden Wokal, Ethan Fischer, and Austin Richard battled to push other teams’ scorers back crossing the line in 52nd, 55th, and 68th respectively. When the final scores were tallied, the Bulldogs finished in 2nd place, 46 points ahead of Beulah-Hazen
The girls were next up, and entered the day as the heavy favorite. Much like the boys, the race began very tactical. An unforgiving course, and tough competition were the obstacles ahead. Lacey Feist assumed her role, leading the girls team, as she meticulously passed competitors along the way. Following in her footsteps, Natalie Kempenich and Alexius Miller executed their game plan, moving forward as a pack. Mikayla Bartholomay battled to keep pace, as Abigail Bartholomay finished in the last scoring position. When the dust had settled Feist finished in 5th place, Kempenich 9th, Miller, 11th, and M. Bartholomay 16th. All four girls earned All West Region honors. A. Bartholomay finished 24th, to round out the Bulldogs scoring. Closely behind Abi, the Bulldog’s depth was in full force. Vanessa Fischer, Brooke Peterson, and Jocelyn Kulseth packed up to finish in 29th, 31st, and 32nd repsectively. Brenna Wokal, Quin McKitrick, and Michaela Fischer all set personal bests on the day.
In the JV divisions, Noah Wokal led a trio of top 20 runners, as he finished in 14th, as Ben Knopp raced step for step to finish in 15th. Levi Kelly rounded out the JV boys with a 17th place finish. In the JV girls division, Audrey Lazzara captured 20th place to earn herself a JV all region honor.
The Bulldogs will use next week to prepare for the season finale as they will head to Jamestown on Oct. 22 for the North Dakota State Cross Country Championships.
