All six Laker boys finished in the top 20 and the junior trio of Aaron Johnson, Zach Buboltz and Connor Haugrud finished in a pack second through fourth place to lead the Detroit Lakes’ cross country team to a close victory over Perham at the DL Invitational Thursday. Perham junior Hunter Kjelhus finished in a time of 17:48.8 to lead the Yellowjackets and the field. Perham and DL runners made up eight of the top 10 finishers with only Sam Cruz of Pelican Rapids (fourth place 18:08.0) and Mason Lantz of Fargo Shanley (eighth place 18:26.6) breaking up the Jacket/Laker stranglehold. Perham was the preseason No. 2 ranked team in Class A, while the Lakers are striving to make a name for themselves a class up in 2A. Johnson, Buboltz and Haugrud finished within eight seconds of each other in a pack at the finish line in a battle for the team’s top spot and helping DL to first place with 31 points, three better than Perham’s 34. However, their effort must be matched by the rest of the team to win and sophomore Austin Gedrose finished strong making the top 10 in 10th place with a time of 18:35.4. “We ran really well,” head coach Bill Kvebak said. “Connor Haugrud has really stepped up all week in practice and has been working with those two guys putting practice into performance.” The Laker team finished strong to the finish line and sent a message defeating Perham in a big win for the program.
“For sure it is,” Kvebak said. “They have a program that is unmatched in Class A and one of the best in the state. To have a chance to be able to compete with them is really solid for us.” Senior Sam Priem placed 12th in 19:00.2 for the fifth scoring finish and freshman Tanner Olson (14th) 19:06.1 and sophomore Van Gallatin (19th) 19:29.4 displayed the depth that the Lakers have this season. “Sam Priem was huge,” Kvebak said. “He ran up quite a bit, clipping their number six runner by less than a second. That was a runner that really ran to help the team.” Priem crossed seven-tenths of a second in front of Perham’s Nick Listrom to gain a team point in a photo finish. Hopes are high for the Lakers despite a difficult section with Willmar and Bemidji, two teams that have also clipped Perham early in the season. Sartell surpassed both teams in a meet Tuesday and there is always competition from Moorhead in Section 8-2A. “They’re working really hard and we’ve got some talent on this team,” said Kvebak. “They are striving for greatness, our goals are not to limited to good runs during the season.” The Laker team was excited with the victory and was joined by team members battling for a varsity spot from the winning junior varsity team. “Our JV runners ran awesome, to beat Perham is one thing, but for the JV to win is big,” Kvebak said. The JV race was equally close with DL scoring 27 to Perham’s 29. Austin Askelson, Isaiah Stokes and Gabe Kitzman all finished the 5k in less than 20 minutes. The trio finished in second, third and fifth place behind the winner: Perham’s Adam Siira (19:15.0). Brady Labine, Tucker Strawsell and Mason Sampson all added top 10 marks in a finish that rivaled the varsity. The remainder of the season will be on the road for the Lakers, next up is at Little Falls Thursday, Sept. 17 at 3:45 p.m. Laker results DL Invitational, Lakeview Golf Course, Thursday, Sept. 10. 1 Hunter Kjelshus PER 17:48.8 2 Aaron Johnson DL 18:00.6 3 Zach Buboltz DL 18:01.9 4 Connor Haugrud DL 18:08.0 5 Sam Cruz PEL 18:10.8 6 Jacob Dickerson PER 18:24.5 7 Carson Speicher PER 18:25.6 8 Mason Lantz FS 18:26.6 9 Chase Lietz PER 18:31.9 10 Austin Gedrose DL 18:35.4 12 Sam Priem DL 19:00.2 13 Nick Listrom PER 19:00.9 14 Tanner Olson DL 19:06.1 19 Van Gallatin DL 19:29.4 Team results: 1. DL 31; 2. Perham 34; 3. Fargo Shanley 110; 4. Hawley 119; 5. Pelican Rapids 136; 6. Frazee-Vergas 150; 7. Fergus Falls 152. Frazee results: 23 Tanner Eischens 19:44.9 25 Tanner Schermerhorn 20:05.1 28 Nathaniel Lubitz 20:30.7 35 Michael Miller 21:05.9 39 Riley Kitchenmaster 21:35.5 44 Caleb Wutzke 21:47.2 46 Tanner Reetz 21:56.3 JV Results (Top 10): 1 Adam Siira PER 19:15.0 2 Austin Askelson DL 19:31.7 3 Nathan Coleman PER 19:38.8 4 Isaiah Stokes DL 19:50.1 5 Gabe Kitzman DL 19:50.4 6 Aaron Wegscheid PER 19:53.1 7 Brady Labine DL 20:02.9 8 Aaron Solberg PER 20:05.8 9 Tucker Strawsell DL 20:15.9 10 Mason Sampson DL 20:35.0All six Laker boys finished in the top 20 and the junior trio of Aaron Johnson, Zach Buboltz and Connor Haugrud finished in a pack second through fourth place to lead the Detroit Lakes’ cross country team to a close victory over Perham at the DL Invitational Thursday.Perham junior Hunter Kjelhus finished in a time of 17:48.8 to lead the Yellowjackets and the field.Perham and DL runners made up eight of the top 10 finishers with only Sam Cruz of Pelican Rapids (fourth place 18:08.0) and Mason Lantz of Fargo Shanley (eighth place 18:26.6) breaking up the Jacket/Laker stranglehold.Perham was the preseason No. 2 ranked team in Class A, while the Lakers are striving to make a name for themselves a class up in 2A.Johnson, Buboltz and Haugrud finished within eight seconds of each other in a pack at the finish line in a battle for the team’s top spot and helping DL to first place with 31 points, three better than Perham’s 34.However, their effort must be matched by the rest of the team to win and sophomore Austin Gedrose finished strong making the top 10 in 10th place with a time of 18:35.4.“We ran really well,” head coach Bill Kvebak said. “Connor Haugrud has really stepped up all week in practice and has been working with those two guys putting practice into performance.”The Laker team finished strong to the finish line and sent a message defeating Perham in a big win for the program.
“For sure it is,” Kvebak said. “They have a program that is unmatched in Class A and one of the best in the state. To have a chance to be able to compete with them is really solid for us.”Senior Sam Priem placed 12th in 19:00.2 for the fifth scoring finish and freshman Tanner Olson (14th) 19:06.1 and sophomore Van Gallatin (19th) 19:29.4 displayed the depth that the Lakers have this season.“Sam Priem was huge,” Kvebak said. “He ran up quite a bit, clipping their number six runner by less than a second. That was a runner that really ran to help the team.”Priem crossed seven-tenths of a second in front of Perham’s Nick Listrom to gain a team point in a photo finish.Hopes are high for the Lakers despite a difficult section with Willmar and Bemidji, two teams that have also clipped Perham early in the season. Sartell surpassed both teams in a meet Tuesday and there is always competition from Moorhead in Section 8-2A.“They’re working really hard and we’ve got some talent on this team,” said Kvebak. “They are striving for greatness, our goals are not to limited to good runs during the season.”The Laker team was excited with the victory and was joined by team members battling for a varsity spot from the winning junior varsity team.“Our JV runners ran awesome, to beat Perham is one thing, but for the JV to win is big,” Kvebak said.The JV race was equally close with DL scoring 27 to Perham’s 29.Austin Askelson, Isaiah Stokes and Gabe Kitzman all finished the 5k in less than 20 minutes. The trio finished in second, third and fifth place behind the winner: Perham’s Adam Siira (19:15.0).Brady Labine, Tucker Strawsell and Mason Sampson all added top 10 marks in a finish that rivaled the varsity.The remainder of the season will be on the road for the Lakers, next up is at Little Falls Thursday, Sept. 17 at 3:45 p.m.Laker resultsDL Invitational, Lakeview Golf Course, Thursday, Sept. 10.1 Hunter Kjelshus PER 17:48.82 Aaron Johnson DL 18:00.63 Zach Buboltz DL 18:01.94 Connor Haugrud DL 18:08.05 Sam Cruz PEL 18:10.86 Jacob Dickerson PER 18:24.57 Carson Speicher PER 18:25.68 Mason Lantz FS 18:26.69 Chase Lietz PER 18:31.910 Austin Gedrose DL 18:35.412 Sam Priem DL 19:00.213 Nick Listrom PER 19:00.914 Tanner Olson DL 19:06.119 Van Gallatin DL 19:29.4Team results:1. DL 31; 2. Perham 34; 3. Fargo Shanley 110; 4. Hawley 119; 5. Pelican Rapids 136; 6. Frazee-Vergas 150; 7. Fergus Falls 152.Frazee results:23 Tanner Eischens 19:44.925 Tanner Schermerhorn 20:05.128 Nathaniel Lubitz 20:30.735 Michael Miller 21:05.939 Riley Kitchenmaster 21:35.544 Caleb Wutzke 21:47.246 Tanner Reetz 21:56.3 JV Results (Top 10):1 Adam Siira PER 19:15.02 Austin Askelson DL 19:31.73 Nathan Coleman PER 19:38.84 Isaiah Stokes DL 19:50.15 Gabe Kitzman DL 19:50.46 Aaron Wegscheid PER 19:53.17 Brady Labine DL 20:02.98 Aaron Solberg PER 20:05.8 9 Tucker Strawsell DL 20:15.910 Mason Sampson DL 20:35.0
