The Firebirds had a successful turn at the EDC Cross Country Championship on Saturday.
Competing at Lincoln Drive Park in Grand Forks, Devils Lake came in sixth place with both the boys’ and girls’ squads. Eighth-grader Riley Schmiess set a Devils Lake girls record with a sub-20-minute time, coming in third overall out of 102 runners. On the boys’ side, Zane Bennett set his season record and the second-best time of his career, finishing in a hair over 17 minutes.
Schmiess posted a time of 19:27.5, finishing only behind two runners from West Fargo and West Fargo Sheyenne. It beat the previous school record of 19:28.4 set by Jess Mertens in 2017. Schmiess’s previous personal record had been 20:03.7.
Coming in next for the Devils Lake girls was fellow eighth-grader Tenley Triepke, who finished 26th overall. She posted a personal-best time of 20:43.7, which was also the sixth-best in the history of Devils Lake girls’ cross country.
Dottie Goss finished 38th, while Livia Nelson and Ealynn Yoder finished 50th and 51st, respectively. Aubrie Lebrun came in 63rd. Nelson and Yoder both set personal records, while Lebrun set her season record.
Elicia Nelson, Aubree Kavli, Elizabeth Orness and Rachel Vaagen were the additional finishers for the Devils Lake girls. Nelson, Kavli and Orness all set personal records.
The girls’ final team score was 168, placing them sixth out of 11 teams. The winner was West Fargo Sheyenne.
In the boys’ race, Bennett’s official time was 17:01.0, his best of the season. He came in 18th out of 92 runners. The only better time in his career came in last season’s EDC, when he posted a 16:38.9.
Adam Sobolik placed 29th with a 17:29.8. It was his personal record by nearly 10 seconds. Noah Azure came in 33rd, setting his season record with a 17:38.8. His personal record once again came in last year’s EDC, with a time of 17:31.9.
Basketball standout Joel Nelson competed in his second ever cross country meet after making his debut in the Rugby meet the week prior. He improved by more than a full minute, posting a time of 18:02.7 that put him 43rd overall.
Gerardo Sanchez and Isaac Kraft came in 49th and 51st, respectively. Sanchez set his season record, while Kraft set his personal record.
Aiden Ackerman placed 58th and set his personal record, while Grant Quam placed 65th and set his season record. Ben Larson and Taydon Triepke came in 68th and 84th, respectively.
The boys’ final team score was 172, placing them sixth out of 11 teams. Grand Forks Red River came in first.
The state cross country meet will be held from Oct. 25-26 at Parkhurst Recreation Area in Jamestown.