Bluejays girls cross country punches ticket to state as team, Feldkamp as individual

The Waseca girls cross country team missed out on qualifying for the state meet last year as a team by just two points, but this year was different.

The Bluejay cross country teams competed at the Section 1AA championships at North Alexander Park in Faribault on Thursday, Oct. 14. Waseca had a great showing at the meet, as the girls team placed second in the team standings, advancing to the state meet, and senior Isaac Feldkamp finished in eighth place, qualifying for state as an individual.

The girls team was looking for vengeance as they placed in third place last year at the meet, with Faribault taking second place and advancing to the state competition. The Bluejays did their job and finished in section place with 77 points, 13 points ahead of third place Faribault.

The Bluejays had seven runners compete in the girls race, with senior Callie Dufault and seventh-grader Ellie Kopischke leading the way for the Jays. Dufault finished in fifth place with a time of 19:35.7 while Kopischke finished in sixth place with a time of 19:36.2.

Sophomore Stella Omtvedt finished right outside of the top ten in 11th place with a time of 19:50.1 and freshman Maren Schimming finished right outside of the top 20 in 21st place with a time of 20:34.9. Eighth-graders Jenna Yoder (36th) and Quinn Yoder (37th) and sophomore Taylor Markeson (44th) also finished for the Bluejays.

Waseca’s boys team finished in sixth place with 186 points out of 12 teams in the section. While they did not qualify for state as a team, Feldkamp qualified as an individual for the second straight year.

Winona and Northfield were the top two teams in the section as they are moving on to state. Since the first six runners who are not a part of the two state teams qualify for state as individuals, Feldkamp was the fourth runner to qualify as he finished in eighth place with a time of 16:47.0. Winona had runners finish in second, third and seventh place while Northfield had a runner finish in fourth.

The Bluejays had six total runners compete in the boys race, with senior Tristan Godwin (28th), senior Tyler Jellum (43rd), junior Wyatt Hager (45th), senior Tanner Hanson (62nd), and seventh-grader Luke Feldkamp (76th) all finishing for Waseca out of 82 total runners.

The MSHSL State Championship will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2 with the girls team racing in the Class AA girls race at 10:00 a.m. and Feldkamp racing in the Class AA boys race at 10:45 a.m. Awards for both the races will be presented at approx. 11:15 a.m. The competition will take place at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course.

OFFICIAL TEAM PLACEMENTS

Girls

1. Northfield (53)

2. Waseca (77)

3. Faribault (90)

4. Byron (123)

5. Austin (128)

6. Winona (143)

7. Stewartville (150)

8. Red Wing (166)

9. Albert Lea (227)

10. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (261)

Boys

1. Winona (40)

2. Northfield (71)

3. Stewartville (96)

4. Kasson-Mantorville (115)

5. Red Wing (140)

6. Waseca (186)

7. Austin (207)

8. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (208)

9. Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon-Wanamingo (220)

10. Byron (233)

11. Faribault (249)

12. Albert Lea (267)