East Ridge cross country: Raptors girls win prestigious Milaca Mega Meet

After reaching the state meet as a team in just its second season, last year, the East Ridge girls cross country team proved last week that it’s a team to contend with in 2011.

With seven runners finishing in the top 32, the East Ridge girls won the prestigious 20-team Milaca Mega Meet on Sept. 24, at the Stones Throw Golf Course in Milaca. Additionally, the East Ridge boys took ninth place out of 17 teams in the boys race.

“We are very happy with the teams at this point of the season,” East Ridge head coach Chad Cronin said. “They have made considerable gains. The girls are in good position as we get towards the end of the regular season.”

The East Ridge girls scored a meet-best 80 points to beat second-place Andover (126 points) and third-place Prior Lake (150 points). Suburban East Conference and section rival Roseville took fifth place with 150 points.

East Ridge sophomore Bailey Ness led the way for the Raptors, taking fifth place overall with a time of 15:07.5 in the 4K race. Freshman Emily Betz was the next Raptors runner across the finish line, taking 11th place with a time of 15:21.8, followed by freshman Brenley Geortzen, who took 15th place with a time of 15:30.5. Juniors Liz Maata and Taylor Jackson finished 24th and 25th, respectively, and sophomore Abbey Beissler and seventh-grader Megan Schiferl rounded out the Raptors top seven in 27th and 32nd places, respectively. At an impressive 16:01.5, Schiferl was the only Raptor runner over 16 minutes. Andover junior Nicole Heitzman won the girls race in a time of 14:43.9.

In the boys 5K race, East Ridge junior Nate Roese took 10th place overall with a time of 16:37.7 to lead the Raptors, who scored 250 points as a team. SEC foe Stillwater beat Centennial for the meet championship title with 24 place points as Ponies runners took first, second and third in the meet. Wayde Hall won the race in 16:02.

For East Ridge, after Roese, sophomores Nathan Tigges, Roman Faller and Sam Scholz took 56th, 58th and 62nd, respectively, with times of 18:03.7, 18:05.4 and 18:16.3. Senior Thomas Ollmann took 64th with a time of 18:18.4 and sophomore David Scholz and junior Dylan Brooks earned 79th and 87th, respectively, to round out the Raptors’ top seven.

Next, East Ridge runs at Majestic Oaks Golf Course on Thursday, Oct. 6, in its final meet prior to the SEC and section championships.

Tags: cross country, east ridge, sports, prep, raptors, updates