BEMIDJI 鈥� Caleb Knott has had an interesting junior season for the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 cross country team.
He ran in the Lumberjacks鈥� season-opening race, then didn鈥檛 compete until Monday in the Jacks鈥� final competition before the Section 8-3A meet next week.
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鈥淚鈥檝e run maybe 10 miles outside all year,鈥� Knott said.
Knott was sidelined with a hamstring strain, an injury he suffered playing tag with the middle school cross country runners.
鈥淚t was really fun telling my coach that,鈥� Knott quipped.
Knott鈥檚 return to the lineup was a welcomed sight for the BHS boys. His third-place finish individually at 17:20.5 paced Bemidji.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been training hard, as hard as he can,鈥� junior Tanner Johnson said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been doing great. And for it being his first race back, I鈥檓 glad he got the win (within the team).鈥�
Despite not being able to train in a team setting, Knott did his best to stay in running shape, so much so that Monday鈥檚 time surprised him.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be anywhere close to them,鈥� Knott said of Johnson and Blake Dewitt. 鈥淛ust seeing them at the end, I want to run with my guys. It gave me the boost to catch up to them and pass them.鈥�
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In the last 100 yards of the race, Knott passed Thief River Falls鈥� Curtis Griffin to finish third.
鈥淭his is the end of the race,鈥� Knott recalled of his thoughts as he ran down the home stretch. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to run anymore if I run through and pass him. Let鈥檚 give it all right here.鈥�
Dewitt wasn鈥檛 far behind Knott in 10th with a time of 17:30.6.
鈥淏lake is a crazy freshman,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 always been good and a hard worker. It鈥檚 great to run with him and have him or I get the No. 1 spot for our team.鈥�
Johnson was one spot behind Dewitt with a time of 17:44.9.
鈥淚 finally had a breakout race in the last meet,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚t gave me a lot of confidence. This one was more rough, I was struggling today. It goes up and down, we have our good races and our bad races.鈥�
Kyle Millar (17:59.4, 13th), William Ames (18:12.7, 16th), Daniel Scherling (18:12.7, 17th) and Deven Bentler (18:23.5, 18th) all recorded top-20 times for the Lumberjacks.
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BHS finished in second place as a team with a score of 53, trailing only Moorhead (23).
鈥淚 was impressed,鈥� head coach Ryan Aylesworth said. 鈥淭hey went after things, they raced hard today. It was nice to have one of our varsity guys back, he鈥檚 been out for a while. It was nice to see how the kids did with him back, and they went after things. I鈥檓 proud of their effort.鈥�
Bemidji鈥檚 best individual finish, however, was in the girls race. Chloe Derby took second place with a personal-best time of 19:38.8. It鈥檚 the first time in four years Mia Hoffmann hasn鈥檛 paced the BHS girls.
鈥淧erseverance is the main thing,鈥� Derby said. 鈥淢y team is a really good motivator to keep me working hard toward the goals I set for myself. 鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely different, and we miss all of our seniors from last year. It鈥檚 good to have some fresh people in and some new competition.鈥�
Derby鈥檚 time was enough for Bemidji to edge out Thief River Falls for third place with a score of 92. Moorhead took the top spot in both the boys and girls races, while the Riverside Christian girls finished in second as a team.
Bemidji鈥檚 Natalie Ostgarden took 16th with a time of 21:19.1. Adeline Runnigen (21:46.1, 20th), Clair Story (22:26.1, 26th) and Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm (23:13.7, 34th) rounded out the varsity scorers for BHS. Sydney Beise (23:15.0, 35th) and Anika Sneide (24:01.1, 41st) also competed for the Jacks.
鈥淚t was a great race for the girls,鈥� Aylesworth said. 鈥淚 was very, very happy to see those nice time drops. I think it鈥檚 going to really build our confidence going into the section meet next week.鈥�
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Bemidji will compete at the Section 8-3A competition at Forestview Middle 歪歪漫画 in Brainerd on Thursday, Oct. 24. Derby, a freshman, hopes it鈥檚 her coming out party in terms of putting her on the map in a competitive field.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to compete and place really well,鈥� Derby said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a time for us to show all of the work we put in this season. 鈥� My goal is to make it to state and place well (at sections) being an underdog. I鈥檇 be very happy getting there because of all the hard work it takes to get there.鈥�
Monday wasn鈥檛 just a chance for the Lumberjacks to compete in front of their supporters at home. It was also an opportunity to see how they stack up against Moorhead 鈥� one of the contenders to make it out of sections with a team state berth.
鈥淚 love running in our home meet,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great course with a good crowd, and I love that. There鈥檚 a lot of anticipation running in this race, and we get to race against one of our section schools. It鈥檚 good to see what they鈥檙e doing and how you can prepare to run against them (at sections).鈥�
Aylesworth鈥檚 honor
Since 2008, Aylesworth has coached hundreds of Bemidji High 歪歪漫画鈥檚 best distance runners. He works with them in the summer to prepare for a grueling cross country season. He then gets them in the spring as an assistant track and field head coach.
Last weekend, Aylesworth was honored as the Class 3A Assistant Track and Field Coach of the Year.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the best coach ever,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淗e pushes us to levels that you can鈥檛 really describe. He鈥檚 so good with the ins and outs of recovery and stages things around you to be your best at sections. He鈥檚 just a great coach.鈥�
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Aylesworth didn鈥檛 waste any time dishing the credit for his award to his support system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to all of the hard-working kids we have in our program,鈥� Aylesworth said. 鈥淭he other coaches, the families, the support we get 鈥� this is a nod to everybody in the program. To get Assistant Coach of the Year for Class 3A, it was a really neat honor, and I鈥檓 humbled to get that.鈥�
Area runners in action
Bagley/Fosston and TrekNorth were represented on Monday at the Bemidji invite鈥檚 varsity competition.
Bagley/Foston took sixth place in the boys race with a score of 174. Easton Gilbertson (19:22.7, 26th), Joseph Baumann (19:26.1, 27th), Drew Nelson (20:31.3, 38th), Colin Agnes (20:46.9, 45th) and Ayden Hagen (22:30.3, 45th) rounded out the top-five times for the Flyers. Heidi Steinbrenner (25:45.7, 50th) and Alivia Heller (28:12.1, 62nd) competed individually for Bagley/Fosston in the girls race.
TrekNorth鈥檚 Erica Dawes was the lone Sundogs runner in the girls race. She finished in 64th with a time of 29:51.2. Carl Taylor had the fastest time among the TrekNorth boys, finishing in 54th at 22:47.6. Carter Derby (2:56.0, 56th). Russell Kraeplin (23:10.1, 58th), Riley Fadness (24:14.8, 63rd) and Nate Castillo-Sweet (28:08.0, 68th) also finished, completing the team score of 278 (10th).
Girls Team Results
1-Moorhead 19; 2-Riverside Christian 90; 3-Bemidji 101; 4-Thief River Falls 101; 5-Fertile-Beltrami 128; 6-Clearbrook-Gonvick 140; 7-East Grand Forks 178; 8-Roseau 201; 9-Nevis 206.
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Boys Team Results
1-Moorhead 23; 2-Bemidji 53; 3-East Grand Forks 104; 4-Thief River Falls 116; 5-Roseau 117; 6-Bagley/Fosston 174; 7-Red Lake County 188; 8-Nevis 217; 9-Fertile-Beltrami 265; 10-TrekNorth 276.
