Cross Country: Hubka’s Title Highlights TRC Meet

All five “Journal 11” cross country programs plus Cotter, PEM, St. Charles, La Crescent/Hokah, W-K, and D-E descended upon Chatfield’s Chosen Valley Golf Course for the annual TRC meet. Two area teams were meet runners-up. The big area headline was Kingsland senior Garrison Hubka. After emerging as a sophomore in the COVID year, Hubka has been one of Minnesota’s top Class A runners. By taking the 2022 TRC Meet, he won maybe his biggest race. Hubka was behind W-K’s Cole Arens for part of the event, but well within striking distance. At the end, Hubka was by himself, outrunning (17:01.5) nearest foe Arens (17:13.4) for the TRC title. Hubka improved upon fourth place finishes the

past two years. A “Journal 11” runner has been boys TRC champion the last five years now. LARPH’s Tyler Rislov and Luke O’Hare won the last four. Fellow Knight Cole Kruegel (17:14.9) passed Cotter’s John Fritts (17:15.2) late to take third place. Kruegel took ninth last year. Kingsland thus had the top pair of runners in the field. They finished third as a team (116) behind TRC champion Cotter (52) and defending champion LARPH (71). GMLOS took fourth, Chatfield sixth, and LFC 11th (of 11). LARPH got four runners in the top 20. Junior Ryan Prinsen (17:40.10) led the charge again, taking sixth. Tyler Betthauser (18:02.5) finished eighth to make the top 10 too. Brennan Kunst (15th > 18:33.1) and Matthew Sprague (19th > 18:54.5) finished top 20. Joining the above in the top 10 was LFC’s top runner, Isaac Snyder (18:01.4), who took seventh. GMLOS runners Tate Georgen (12th > 18:22.8) and Carter Glynn (13th > 18:25.3) finished top 15. Chatfield had two in the top 25, Gabe Erding (18th > 18:43.20) and Treyten Lanning (21st > 19:03.5). All of the above runners earned All-TRC by finishing top 21. Kingsland’s Andrew Imm (22nd > 19:04.2) and LARPHs Sam Adamczyk (23rd > 19:07.5) just missed the cut. In the cold (40s) and wind, 182 runners competed. On the girls side, PEM (45) came away with the team title ahead of second place Chatfield (64) and third place Cotter (65). The Bulldogs had six in the top 15. The squads placed the same last year. LARPH took fourth, L/FC sixth, GMLOS eighth, and Kingsland 10th (of 11). The Ramblers had the TRC Champion Sonja Semling (19:41.2) and runner-up Hazel Freyre (20:28.3). GMLOS’ McKenna Hendrickson (20:36.1) checked in third followed by the Gopher duo of Aletta Strande (20:44.1) and Lexi Kivimagi (20:46.9) in fourth and fifth. Hendrickson was fourth, Kivimagi third, and Strande ninth last year. It was the senior Strande’s fifth TRC Meet top ten finish. Lauren Honken (11th > 21:35.8) and Ellie Ekern (18th > 21:59.6) paced LARPH. Ella Bakken (12th > 21:36.9) and Charlotte Oeltjen (19th > 20:00.2) gave Chatfield four in the top 19. Kylie Meyer (16th > 21:47.1) paced Kingsland. Lillyan Kiehne (17th > 21:50) paced LFC. All of the above runners made All-TRC. LFC’s Addie Miner (23rd > 22:49.4) and Klaudia Biel (25th > 22:59), Chatfield’s Anna Kivimagi (24th > 22.59), just missed the cut. One hundred one girls competed at the 5,000-meter race.