GRAND MARAIS – With North Woods runners in the front of the pack, the South Ridge Panthers boys and girls varsity cross country teams took first place last week in the Polar League Conference Championship on the Pincushion Mountain course at Grand Marais.
As he’s done all season long, Alex Burckhardt had the highest finish for the Panthers, claiming second with a time of 17:01.6 behind winner Jack Riley of Carlton. Teammate Sawyer FierkeLepp also continued his record of top finishes by placing fourth with a time of 17:43.4.
“Alex has continued to do what he has done for us for several years,” said Pathers Head Coach Jeremy Polson. “He is a consistent front runner and we look to him to lead the team. Sawyer qualified for state last year with Alex and has been our solid number-two runner.”
North Ridge seventh-grader Kahlil Spears turned in another good finish at the varsity level. Placing 13th with a time of 18:29.6. Teammate Lincoln Antikainen wasn’t far behind, clocking a time of 19:03.2, good enough for 20th.
The girls won despite the absence of last year’s league champion Evelyn Brodeen, who has been nursing an injury for several weeks. In her stead, eighth-grader Zoey Burckhardt came to the fore with a third-place finish in a time of 20:35.
“Zoey has stepped into the number one spot with the loss of Evelyn. Zoey has done an excellent job taking on that role,” Polson said.
Addison Burckhardt finished sixth with a time of 21:19.2. Tatum Barto slipped in at 12th with a time of 22:20.9 to round out the North Woods contribution to the Panthers’ victory.
“Both teams did exactly what they needed to do to win the conference titles,” Polson said. “It truly is a team effort when you have to rely on five of your seven runners to get the job done. The course we raced at is always a very challenging course and our kids handled it well in rainy muddy conditions.”