C-M-L to host Camden meet today in Canby
Jenny Kirk jkirk@marshallindependent.comArticle Photos
The Camden Conference cross country meet this year has fewer teams represented than ever, but the number of talented runners has not necessarily dwindled.
Canby-Minneota-Lincoln HI will host the Camden meet, which kicks off at 4 p.m. today in Canby.
"The kids are familiar with the course and it's always nice to run on your own, so we'll have a little advantage," said C-M-L head coach Beth Jessen. "The weather is looking a little more promising too."
Four teams will compete for the Camden title, with C-M-L, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, Lakeview and MACCRAY/Renville County West. The coaches decided to make participation unlimited, although only the top five runners will be factored into the team score.
"More schools are pairing their cross country programs," said Jessen. "So we have less teams. Last year MACCRAY and RCW were apart. Dawson-Boyd went with Lac qui Parle Valley and Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg is with Benson now too. But we are still expecting close to 100 kids to participate."
TMB won the boys title last year, while the Lancer girls came out on top.
"The boys want to repeat, but they know it's not going to be easy," said TMB head coach Marie Hanson. "It changes the dynamics with a small meet, but that's their goal."
Junior Jeremy Hoflock, since joining cross country halfway through the 2008 season, has been solid for the Panthers.
"Jeremy's very competitive once he's in the race," Hanson said. "He's not as experienced yet, but he seems to be getting faster. He kind of figured it out last year and he works hard in practice."
Joe Hook and Reed Salmon have also been consistent for TMB.
"Joe has basically been our second runner, although once in awhile, Reed snags that spot," said Hanson. "Joe is stronger this year and I think Reed will gain some physical strength next year too."
Rounding out the Panther top-5 are Andrew Vroman, Jesse Miller and Aric Carpenter.
Jessen said the Lancer boys know they could be in the running for the title after finishing second last year.
"If I have my five boys that ran at Adrian, I think they have enough there to do it," Jessen said. "It'll be a good conference match-up. It'll be interesting to see how they do without a lot of other towns there."
Nick Stoks has been the lead runner for the Lancers, while Luke Jessen has been a steady second.
"I'd favor either Nick or MACCRAY/RCW senior Taylor Bodin to win the race," said Beth Jessen. "Nick has been right on Taylor's heels all season long. He could win it. TMB's Hoflock will be up there too."
Ted Berckes, who has been injured most of the year, will also be competing for the Lancers along with Levi Citrowske, John Deslauriers, Michael Schmidt and Wyatt Johansen.
"Except for Schmidt, who just came out this year, we are still pretty young," Beth Jessen said. "Ted has something in his lower leg bothering him. Wyatt is an eighth-grader and he ran a really nice race at Adrian."
With only two athletes on the boys team, Lakeview will not be eligible to compete as a team. But Noah Dovre and Randy Louwagie will be participating as individuals.
On the girls side, C-M-L is looking to repeat last year's stellar performance. Besides winning the title in 2008, the entire Lancer team won All-Conference honors. With new runners stepping into vacated roles on the team, C-M-L has the opportunity to dominate all the way around again.
"The girls should hopefully win the meet," Beth Jessen said. "Their goal is to make the whole team All-Conference. TMB's Karli Tholen will probably play in there somewhere too. She was the only non-C/M/L girl to make it last year."
Seven girls have rounded out the Lancer lineup for the past few meets, including Leah Jessen, Dana Kraus, Erin Kamrath, Morgan Merritt, Chelsea Deslauriers, Hailey Citrowske and Grace Berckes.
"I'll probably run seven girls at the meet," said Beth Jessen. "But we have three more girls that have had times all close together."
TMB has struggled with sickness on the team, but Hanson is hoping that the girls will be able to put together a good meet.
"I feel like we need just one good meet," she said. "There have been a lot of illnesses going around. We're in good shape, but we lack confidence yet. We just need to put it all together."
Tholen has paced the girls team all season and she has the potential to make All-Conference said Hanson.
"Karli has had a rough patch of not feeling good," Hanson said. "Her muscles are mis-firing at times. It happened in Luverne and she was a little precarious about it. But she's good about coming on strong and she's very knowledgeable."
