MINNETRISTA — Behind a runner-up finish from senior Dylan Riniker and solid races throughout the lineup, the Stillwater boys cross-country team outdistanced Two Rivers 57-78 to win the 17-team Victoria Lions Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at Gale Woods Farm.
Bloomington Jefferson placed third with 90 points.
It was the third victory in five races with the regular varsity lineup for the fifth-ranked Ponies, who also won at Marshfield and Faribault earlier this season.
“Based on the great job my assistant (Katie Kadera) did and our leaders and captains, they ran well,” said Ponies head coach Ryan Miller, who followed the race on-line while stuck at home with the flu. “They ran well. They saw a top-10 team in Two Rivers and really just took care of business at each position.”
Riniker crossed the line in 16:00.3, which was less than nine seconds behind individual winner Caleb Dickel (15:51.8) of Minneapolis Washburn.
“It was fun to see them battle it out,” Miller said.
Andrew Walsh was next for the Ponies in eighth place with a time of 16:11.8, followed by Max Gerald (16:36.9) and Evan Goddard (16:41.2) in 13th and 16th place. George Nelson (16:43.0) finished less than two seconds behind Goddard in 18th place to complete the scoring.
“We had a breakthrough performance with Max Gerald,” Miller said. “He was huge for us coming on with a season best time and being our No. 3 runner for the first time all year. It was certainly a bright spot. Max is an extremely strong runner and starting to find some consistency in training again after some injuries. The proof is in the times that he is capable of when he is healthy.”
Stillwater finished ahead of seventh-ranked Two Rivers in four of the five scoring positions.
“It’s a challenging course and there’s a pretty significant uphill about 800 meters into the race that can really spread out the field, so I think our guys did a nice job of packing up through 1,600 meters,” Miller said. “It’s challenging to stay together in the middle part of the race.”
• Josiah Bliss (17:19.5) and William Demar (17:55.0) finished first and second, but the Ponies lost the tie-breaker to finish second behind Minneapolis Washburn after both teams totaled 31 points. Edina followed in third with 111 points. Cole Wanvig (18:31.8) and Kingston Windschitl (18:33.6) placed sixth and seventh for Stillwater.
It was an impressive showing considering teams were allowed 10 runners in the varsity race and some others were also sidelined with illness.
“We were holding out four of our top five on JV due to illness or injury and they still performed well,” Miller said.
Team standings
1. Stillwater 57; 2. Two Rivers 78; 3. Bloomington Jefferson 90; 4. Osseo 127; 5. Belle Plaine 133; 6. Minneapolis Washburn 141; 7. Chanhassen 222; 8. Minneapolis Roosevelt 252; 9. Waconia 259; 10. Edina 261; 11. Prior Lake 288; 12. St. Louis Park 299; 13. Eastview 338; 14. Apple Valley 361; 15. Chaska 371; 16. Shakopee 447; 17. Bloomington Kennedy 453.
Top 5
1. Caleb Dickel (MW) 15:51.8; 2. Dylan Riniker (St) 16:00.3; 3. Quinlan Rundquist (Oss) 16:06.7; 4. Lucas Esten (TW) 16:07.10; 5. Connor Heltemes (Ch) 16:08.2.
Stillwater results
2. Dylan Riniker 16:00.3; 8. Andrew Walsh 16:11.8; 13. Max Gerald 16:36.9; 16. Evan Goddard 16:41.2; 18. George Nelson 16:43.0; 33. Carson Fellows 17:09.7; 44. Harper Drexel 17:25.7; 45. Vincent Crowley 17:25.9; 48. Wyatt Wolfe 17:28.7; 75. Davis Rolstad 18:03.3.
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