In the team’s last competition before War Eagle Conference meet, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn tackled the tough course at the George-Little Rock Invitational. Otter Valley Country Club near George hosts the annual event.
“I thought we ran decently and competed hard,” commented Hawk head coach Naet Hoaglund. “Otter Valley is a difficult course and times across the board reflect that. On the girls side, Kamryn Ebel placed 11th. I thought she had a nice first mile and got off to a really good start which set her up for success later in the race and she closed very strong. On the boys side, our top five finishers medaled which was fun and they all finished consecutively. There was some distance between them at the second mile marker so to see them close out that third mile fast and together was awesome. We were led by Ryan Grotluschen who I thought ran a really smooth race. He was consistent throughout the race and finished fast which is what we like to see.
“I thought our first mile times were really good and that we finished our races solid. We need to continue emphasizing a strong middle phase of our race and conquering that second mile. There’s a lot of excitement at the starts and finishes, but can we be mentally tough enough to endure that second mile? That will be our focus as we close out our season.”
Following Grotluschen across the finish line in 21st through 24th places were Easton Teal, Damian Dodge, James Carlin and Aiden Bush. Blaine Finster finished 33rd and Carter Dolphin was 36th.
HMS was fourth in the boys team standings behind strong teams from Okoboji, Sioux Center and Sibley-Ocheyedan. The Hawks scored 110 points. The total for the winning Pioneers was 31.
Brooklyn Erickson and Gracie Knobloch joined Ebel in the girls varsity field. Erickson placed 29th and Knobloch 30th. The girls team champ was Sioux Center with a score of 20.
Three Hawk boys ran at the JV level. Karter Zimmer finished 26th and Moises Gonzalez 33rd. Freshman Hayden Dolphin, running his first race of the season, placed 36th.
Boys Varsity Team Results: Okoboji 31, Sioux Center 32, Sibley-Ocheyedan 64, HMS 110, George-Little Rock/Central Lyon 121, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 158.
HMS Varsity Individual Results: Ryan Grotluschen, 20th, 20:54.40; Easton Teal, 21st, 21:01.06; Damian Dodge, 22nd, 20:33.72; James Carlin, 23rd, 21:08.27; Aiden Bush, 24th, 21:11.81; Blaine Finster, 33rd, 23:59.60; Carter Dolphin, 36th, 24:39.39.
HMS JV Individual Results: Karter Zimmer, 26th, 25:16.33; Moises Gonzalez, 33rd, 30:29.72; Hayden Dolphin, 36th, 41:26.62.
Girls Varsity Team Results: Sioux Center 20, George-Little Rock/Central Lyon 65, Okoboji 77, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 82.
HMS Varsity Individual Results: Kamryn Ebel, 11th, 25:00.53; Brooklyn Erickson, 29th, 30:25.16; Gracie Knobloch, 30th, 30:54.65.