Friesen finishes in the top half at state meet

News Release
LoW School

Minnesota State Cross
Country Meet
St. Olaf College Campus, Northfield, Minnesota
Saturday, November 5, 2005

Lake of the Woods - Rainy River had only one runner at the state cross country meet Nov. 5, but sophomore Andrew Friesen once again finished in the top half of the field. He placed 58th of 154 runners and improved on his 2004 state meet time by 13 seconds, finishing the 5000-meter course in 17:22.
Although one of Andrew’s goals was to place in the top 40 at the meet, he was happy with his time and place. He said the race was better than last year in that he knew what to expect, but it was still tough to maneuver around other runners. Every time he got going at a good clip, he had to slow down to sidestep someone or jump over people. He wasn’t used to running so close to so many people for the entire race. Plus, the crowds of spectators on straightaways and tough corners was something else, too.
Friesen closes out his second year with the LWRR cross country team as its top runner. His PR-to-date is 17:06, set at Thief River Falls earlier this season. The boys team will lose three of its top seven runners to graduation.
Warroad placed third in the Class A Boys team standings, its highest team finish in the nine years Coach Rick McBride’s runners have been going to the state meet. St. Cloud Cathedral was first with 75 points; Rochester Lourdes was second with 99; Warroad had 102 points; and Section 8A runner-up Perham was fourth, with 144 points.
Section 8 had top-25 individual finishes from Moses Heppner, Warroad, in 11th (who ran most of the race with only one shoe); Kevin Lachowitzer, Perham, 15th, Micah Heppner, Warroad, 25th, and McLean Severson, Crosby-Ironton, 25th.
Three of four course records were broken this year. Mike Torchia of Rochester Lourdes set a Class A Boys record of 15:28, breaking the previous record of 15:41 set by East Grand Forks’ Matt Damico in 2003. Holy Family Catholic senior Brian Wetschhe dropped the Class A Girls record from 14:27 to 13:54, while Lakeville North’s Elizabeth Yetzer finished in 13:59 to set the Class AA Girls record.