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Kohls takes 2nd, Peters 7th at XC meet

By Travis Rosenau 7 min read

SLEEPY EYE - Senior Titus Kohls and junior Faith Peters represented Minnesota Valley Lutheran well on Thursday at Allison Park as the two finished second and seventh, respectively, in a cross-country invite hosted by Sleepy Eye St. Mary's/Sleepy Eye/New Ulm Cathedral.

SM/SE/NUC also had a strong boys-girls sophomore duo finish in the top 10 as Max Fischer took fourth in the boys race, while Emma Hagen took 10th in the girls race.

Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey won the boys side of the meet with 44 points, while Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair took second (45), MVL took third (62), SM/SE/NUC took fourth (103), Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet took fifth (120), Lester Prairie took sixth (169) and Springfield/Cedar Mountain took seventh (170).

The winning girls team was Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair (19), while MLA/Comfrey took second (67), Springfield/CM took third (68), MVL took fourth (97) and LCWM/Nicollet took fifth (124).

BOYS RACE

Titus Kohls ended the boys race with a time of 17:01, second behind MLA/C junior Cooper Evans, who ran a 16:46.1. Titus Kohls said he liked running the paved Allison Park course as opposed to the grassy areas the Chargers typically run.

"It's a nice relief from grass and gravel," he said. "This one was tough this time, I don't know what was wrong, but my legs were heavy."

Titus Kohls said while he thought he could have had a better time, the second-place finish was still good to see.

"I'm always happy to finish with a medal," he said. "Medaling is where I really want to be and if I get first, that's a plus. I really enjoy being up near the front group and first is sometimes the goal, but not every time."

Heading into the final weeks of the season, Titus Kohls has his eyes set on shaving more time off his PR.

"I really want to break 16:30 because at our last race at Redwood, I ran a 16:45, which is already a giant PR," he said. "That's a great middle point where I'm only 15 seconds away from 16:30. I know a lot of runners are like 15 seconds, but I feel like with the amount of races I have left, I can do it."

For Fischer, who wasn't too far behind Titus Kohls, he said staying around a group of younger runners motivated him to his fourth-place time of 17:18.1, a PR.

"I'm happy how I finished," Fischer said. "I think the reason I finished that fast is I stayed with a pack of younger guys and I didn't want to lose them. I don't want anyone younger than me to beat me [laughs], it's kind of competition, but it's great they stuck with me and I'd like to thank them because I wouldn't have ran that time without them. Honestly, it was kind of fun."

SM/SE/NUC and MVL both run at the Madelia Golf Club on Tuesday, and Fischer is looking to maintain consistency despite a tougher course.

"I want to go sub 17 at least by sections," Fischer said. "I'm gonna try to run a lot more hills. I don't think I'm gonna rub a sub 17 at Madelia just because I ran it last year and it wasn't my favorite course, it wasn't the fastest course, whereas Norwood, our section meet course, is really fast. Everyone like Prs at that course, so hopefully sub 17 by then."

SM/SE/NUC also saw Levi Hagen finish in the top 10 with a season-best time of 17:33.5 to take eighth, while MVL's Tucker Kohls took 10th with a PR time of 18:01.1.

Also from MVL, Solomon Sterling took 14th (18:23.7), while Levi Martens took 17th (18:47.2, PR), Jacob Londgren took 19th (18:54.1) and Jamis Martens took 20th (18:54.9, PR).

Also finishing in the top 30 from the area, SM/SE/NUC's Oziel Lozano took 18th (18:52.2), while LCWM/Nicollet's Conner Thormodsgard took 21st (19:01.9), MVL's Aiden Weisensel took 23rd

(19:32.5), MVL's Weston Scriver took 25th (19:58.7), Springfield/CM's Alexander Bigelow took 26th (20:03.5), MVL's Jonah Hermanson took 27th (20:05, PR), Springfield/CM's Xavier Manderfeld took 28th (20:07) and LCWM/Nicollet's Bennett VanGenderen took 29th (20:10.8, PR). There were 67 total boys running on Thursday.

GIRLS RACE

Faith Peters, who recently set a PR at Redwood Falls Golf Club during the Redwood Valley Invitational on Oct. 1 with a time of 20:44.8, had another strong showing on Thursday. While her seventh-place time of 20:48.9 just missed a new PR, Peters was happy to show her top time wasn't a one-time deal.

"I really would like to PR again, but I'm really happy with this race, actually, because my PR that I ran last race was like 30 seconds faster and it was just like the whole season, I've been running slower," she said. "So I was a little scared that last race was just like a weird race and I wouldn't be able to do that again. But I feel like after this one, I feel like, 'OK, I can actually do this. I can run that time.' It just gave me a lot more confidence for the next race."

Natalie Matzke, now a senior at MVL, finished Thursday with a season-best time of 21:42.4, good enough for 13th place. Matzke set the MVL girls 5,000-meters race record last season with a top time of 19:42.24, and she said while she's had a slower start to her senior year than she'd like, she was happy to get back on the right track Thursday in Sleepy Eye.

"I kind of started on a rough note starting the season," Matzke said. "I've been trying to slowly get back up to where I was last season. I don't know if I'll get back up to where I was last season, I don't know if I'll get back where I was, but as long as I just keep consistently feeling good and get more motivated and stay motivated. I have Faith pushing me because she's surpassed me this year, so I've got to chase after her."

Matzke said the day, which saw the high temps in the upper 60s, was perfect for the run and the race went fast.

"It was gorgeous out and the first mile went so fast," Matzke said. "I didn't run as fast as I normally do that first mile, but it just went so quick. ... I ran my season PR, so that's pretty good. But it feels great."

Peters finished around a pack of Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair runners, who hounded the front of the line with five of the top six finishes. The race was won by Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair's Charlotte Meyer, who ran a 19:39.8.

"There was a whole group of them [Loyola runners] and I was like, 'I'm not catching them.' [laughs]," Peters said. "... I PR'd last week and this was four seconds slower than that, so I was pretty close. I'm happy with that."

Springfield/CM was led by Farrah Dauer, who ran a 21:16.4 to finish ninth, while SM/SE/NUC's Emma Hagen was right behind in 10th with a time of 21:19.7. Also from the area, LCWM/Nicollet's Evie Jones took 11th (21:24), while Springfield/CM's Lydia Dauer took 12th (21:37.2), Springfield/CM's Mya Reese took 15th (21:52.2), Springfield/CM's Marley Hewitt took 17th (22:32.5) and SM/SE/NUC's Millie Lax finished 19th (22:39.8). Also in the top 30 from the area were Springfield/CM's Sylvia Hovland (20th, 23:04), LCWM/Nicollet's Addy Spiess (24th, 23:51.1, PR), MVL's Amelia Hermanson (28th, 24:26.6) and MVL's Lauren Julius (30th, 24:27.6).

There were 62 total girls runners competing.

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