Cross country triumphs at Marauder Invitational

Austin+Aldrich+%28right%29+and+Nate+March+%28left%29+fight+to+the+finish+line.

Kevin Kuhn

Austin Aldrich (right) and Nate March (left) fight to the finish line.

Keegan Honig, Editor

St. Louis cross country dominated the Marauder Invite Wednesday, Sep. 4 in Ovid-Elsie. The Sharks pushed through the course and finished strong during the early-season competition.

Coach Jay Puffpaff said, “It was a great day taking a positive step in the right direction, and it was a bonus getting an opportunity to preview the regional course.”

The boys’ team took first out of 13 teams with a score of 39! Medalists for the guys included sophomore Aaron Bowerman (17:49.04) in fifth place, junior Joe Erickson (17:52.48) in sixth place, senior Austin Aldrich (18:11.31) in eighth place, sophomore Nate March (18:13.54) in ninth place, freshman Thomas Zacharko (18:27.27) in 11th place, freshman Dylan Marr (18:35.33) in 17th place, and sophomore Craig Bebow (19:13.25) in 29th place.

The girls’ team also performed extremely well as they took second place out of 12 teams with a score of 67. Lady Sharks that earned medals on the day were sophomore Libby Munderloh (19:54.43) in second place, junior Mikaila Borie (21:19.28) in 11th place, senior Zoe Dickman (21:34.93) in 12th place, freshman Payton Kuhn (22:46.53) in 20th place, freshman Jenna Abell (22:51.49) in 22nd place, freshman Laney Pestrue (22:56.40) in 26th place, and sophomore Brooke Erskin (23:18.69) in 30th place.

Libby Munderloh shared, “I think our team is in a very good position for early in the season. A lot of runners on the team have already made some amazing gains for the season and have put us in a really great place as a team. As long as we keep our mindsets in the right place, we should be set up for an awesome season.”