Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

It was another difficult task for the girls cross country team as they had to face numerous teams with rich histories, but after seeing the likes of senior Kristi Buerkle and sophomore Gina Lange run to personal records, co-head coach Kristen Fairman was happy with the Rangerís ninth place finish at the 4AA Section Meet.

ìWe did have some very good performances,î she said. ìI think they did outstanding. Iím proud of them.î

Admitting that she doesnít like to run in extreme heat or cold, Buerkle found the 50 degree temperatures more to her liking than the biting wind they had to deal with at the conference meet.

ìI felt a lot better,î she said. ìIt was my personal best by three seconds so it was the best way to end the high school career.î

Buerkle was the first Ranger across the finish line in 19th place and a time of 15:38.90. The secret to her success was nothing more than hard work.

ìItís the last race - youíre going to put everything into it, whatever you got, and it just ended up good.î

Behind Buerkle was all-conference runner Elizabeth Peterson with a time of 16:01.35 (32nd place).

It would be safe to say that Peterson would have fared better had she not had to race with one shoe dangling from her foot. About halfway through the course another participant stepped on her foot and then it was a matter of trying to run with her heel exposed like she was wearing a Nike slipper.

Behind her was a pleasant surprise in sophomore Gina Lange. According to Fairman, Lange knocked off more than 10 seconds from her previous best time (42nd place, 16:13.20).

The remainder of Ranger runners were Annie Dehmlow (58th, 16:39.05), Brittni LaFontsee (79th, 17:23.45), Bridget Holmes (80th, 17:26.85), Julia Hipp (83rd, 17:27.65) and Megan Gooley (86th, 17:30.80).

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