Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

Going into the Cambridge-Isanti Invitational on Friday, Sept. 7, Rangers head cross country coach Deno Johnson thought his group of runners was well-prepared to take on the six other teams.

ìWe went into it thinking we would definitely be the favorites for this one,î he said.

When it was all said and done, his thoughts were confirmed as Forest Lake earned 28 points to win the meet. The lowest score is the way to go in cross country, and the Rangers easily outdistanced their next closest competitors, Centennial, who were a distant second with 86 points.

Leading the pack for Forest Lake was junior Ben Brodin, with a second place finish and a time of 17:16. Just behind him was senior captain Zach Clark with a time of 17:27, which was good enough for third overall.

From there, the team started to bunch up, and thatís exactly what Johnson and assistant coach John Fick are looking for this season. Leif Nordgren came in sixth, Spencer Cossalter in eighth, Zach Waldoch in 9th and Seamus Glewwe in 10th.

Another bonus from the afternoon was the performance of the junior varsity team. Andrew Orth and Nate Moen not only placed one and two in the JV meet, but their times also vaulted them up to varsity for this Thursdayís trip to St. Francis.

All of this is good news to Johnson.

ìWeíre pleased with that inter-team competition,î he said. ìWeíre also very happy that our top two (runners) push each other pretty hard; especially the second half of the race. Clark and Brodin were going at it tooth and nail.î

While the team isnít running together as much as Johnson nor Fick would like, the boys are coming along nicely. At the end of last season there was a 34 second gap between the crucial first and fifth place finishers. On Friday, there was only 54 seconds that separated Waldoch from Brodin.

The cross country team looks to build on this success when they participate in the St. Francis Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 14.

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605