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Springfield/CM girls, MVL boys win Tomahawk

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Grace Feder finished first overall for the girls at the Tomahawk Conference Cross-Country Meet on Tuesday at Winthrop Golf Club.

WINTHROP — The Tomahawk Conference Cross-Country Meet at Winthrop Golf Club on Tuesday saw two familiar faces cross the finish line first.

Springfield/Cedar Mountain senior Mitchell Buerkle finished first on the boys’ side with a time of 17:12.6, while the girls’ side had Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop junior Grace Feder finish first with a time of 20:07.

This was Buerkle’s second consecutive year of finishing as the Tomahawk individual champion, while Feder grabbed her third Tomahawk individual title in a row.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran finished first overall as a team for the boys with 38 points, while Sleepy Eye Unified followed in second (48), Springfield/CM finished third (52) and Wabasso took fourth (83).

For the girls, Springfield/CM/C took first as a team with 36 points, while GFW finished right behind with 37 points. SEU took third (75), Wabasso took fourth (82) and MVL was incomplete. This was the second year in a row that Springfield/CM finished as conference champions.

Despite cold and windy conditions, Feder said that she was proud of her time and that it was the best she’s had at Winthrop.

“I’ve been really blessed,” Feder said. “I was really happy that I’ve been able to win it three times. Today was really special, it was my fastest time running on the course and in some of the worst conditions, so I was happy with that.”

While Feder didn’t start the race out in first, it didn’t take her long to pull ahead and stay ahead.

“I didn’t start out in first, but about 600 meters into the race I took the lead, and I led pretty comfortably the rest of the way,” Feder said.

Taking second behind Feder was SEU sophomore Clare Fischer (20:30.5), while Wabasso senior Chloe Haven took third (20:36.1). Rounding out the top five for the girls was Springfield/CM/C sophomore Lily McCone (20:55.1) and MVL senior Abby Nelson (21:19.5).

For Buerkle, his second straight conference title meant a lot to him after reminiscing about where he started out.

“From where I started back in eighth grade to where I am now, I’m happy with the results and the outcome,” Buerkle said. “But I couldn’t have gotten anywhere without my coaches and previous teammates and ones that I have now. It’s a great feeling.”

Buerkle’s consistent speed on Tuesday had him finish 1:23 faster than second-place runner and SEU junior Nate Fliszar of SEU (18:35.4) and nearly two minutes ahead of SEU junior Joshua Hagen (19:05.2). MVL juniors Dylan Birkholz (19:18.3) and Mitchell Ulrich (19:46.5) rounded out the top five runners for boys.

Tomahawk Conference Girls’ Team Results

1. Springfield/CM — 36

2. GFW — 37

3. SEU — 75

4. Wabasso — 82

Inc. MVL

Top 10 Tomahawk Conference Girls’ Individual Results

1. Grace Feder, GFW, 20:07.0

2. Clare Fischer, SEU, 20:30.5

3. Chloe Haven, Wabasso, 20:36.1

4. Lily McCone, S/CM, 20:55.1

5. Abby Nelson, MVL, 21:19.5

6. Emmie McCone, S/CM, 21:54.7

7. Eliza Koroleva, GFW, 21:59.1

8. Miranda Groebner, S/CM, 22:26.0

9. Marissa Pabst, S/CM, 22:41.6

10. Abigail Willegal, GFW, 22:58.4

Tomahawk Conference Boys’ Team Results

1. MVL — 38

2. SEU — 48

3. S/CM — 52

4. Wabasso — 83

Top 10 Tomahawk Conference Boys’ Individual Results

1. Mitchell Buerkle, S/CM, 17:12.6

2. Nate Fliszar, SEU, 18:35.4

3. Joshua Hagen, SEU, 19:05.2

4. Dylan Birkholz, MVL, 19:18.3

5. Mitchell Ulrich, MVL, 19:46.5

6. Garrett Grathwohl, SEU, 20:08.5

7. Vander Mathiowetz, Wabasso, 20:08.9

8. Caleb Carlovsky, MVL, 20:10.2

9. Ben Potter, S/CM, 20:29.2

10. Matthew Beussman, MVL, 20:45.8

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