A great number of teams joined Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn at the Iowa Great Lakes Cross Country Invitational held September 5 at Brooks Golf Course in Okoboji. The Invite was co-hosted by Okoboji and Spirit Lake.
The field was separated into two classes with HMS competing in Class B. The Hawk boys were third in that class behind Sioux Central and Sibley-Ocheyedan, scoring 84 points.
“Aiden Bush had a nice run, going sub 20 minutes for the first time this season,” noted HMS coach Naet Hoaglund. “James Carlin continues to run strong and improves each time out. Damian Dodge, Ryan Grotluschen, Easton Teal and Blaine Finster have been really consistent runners for us and running strong times.”
Bush placed 14th, Dodge 17th, Grotluschen 19th, Teal 22nd, Carlin 23rd and Finster 27th. Newcomer Simone Dellavedova was moved up to the varsity for this meet and finished 30th. Running JV were Karter Zimmer (sixth place) and Moises Gonzalez (ninth).
Once again with only two varsity runners, the HMS girls did not post a score. Kamryn Ebel came in 12th and Gracie Knobloch 26th.
“I was pleased with how our girls ran,” commented Hoaglund. “Kamryn and Gracie both shaved off some time from their previous meet and continue to make strides. I was happy with how both were able to finish strong and run confidently.” The results did not separate the girls JV runners by class and Brooklyn Erickson finished 75th.
“It was a beautiful night to run and an awesome event to run in,” said Hoaglund. “Okoboji and Spirit Lake put on a really well run meet.” He added, “There were a lot of teams and some really strong runners but we were able to keep our focus on our race and our pace. I’m really proud of the work our athletes continue to put in and the progress they continue to make.”
Girls Varsity Class B Team Results: Sioux Central 23, West Bend-Mallard 40, Emmetsburg 72, GTRA 104.
Class B HMS Varsity Individual Results: Kamryn Ebel, 12th, 24:39.17; Gracie Knobloch, 26th, 29:36.93.
Overall HMS JV Individual Results: Brooklyn Erickson, 75th, 30:50.55.
Boys Varsity Class B Team Results: Sioux Central 29, Sibley-Ocheyedan 48, HMS 84, MMCRU 102, Emmetsburg 118, South O’Brien 125.

Class B HMS Varsity Individual Results: Aiden Bush, 14th, 19:50.97; Damian Dodge, 17th, 20:16.51; Ryan Grotluschen, 19th, 20:28.37; Easton Teal, 22nd, 20:46.56; James Carlin, 23rd, 21:07.54; Blaine Finster, 27th, 21:35.70; Simone Dellavedova, 30th, 22:11.58.
Class B HMS JV Individual Results: Karter Zimmer, 6th, 24:25.15; Moises Gonzalez, 9th, 29:57.56.