Zane Bennett (Photo by Noah Clooten)
DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds had another successful showing at the Grahams Island Invitational on Saturday.
It was a mildly chilly and windy day — perfect for the runners in the ninth annual version of this event. A stacked Devils Lake cross country team performed well in both the boys’ and girls’ 5k.
“It’s just a joy to see everybody at our home meet, and the support that we get out here, and all the teams that come out and compete with us,” Firebirds head coach Nick Kavli said. “It’s a good day. Weather was good; can’t complain. The athletes ran well.”
The Devils Lake boys came in first out of the four teams that placed. Their score was 32, beating second-place Rugby’s 66.
The top runner in the boys’ 5k was a Rugby athlete, Brayden Green. But the next three were all Firebirds: Zane Bennett, Isaac Kraft and Aiden Ackerman.
Bennett, a junior, is Devils Lake’s top returning runner from last year. Kraft, a freshman, has burst onto the scene this season. Ackerman (18:43.45) was one place behind Kraft (17:48.21), who finished 16 seconds behind Bennett (17:32.54).
“So we’ve got that competitive nature within the team, even though they’re pushing for each other,” Kavli said.
There were 35 total boys to finish the 5k. Among the top 18, eight were from Devils Lake.
New Rockford-Sheyenne’s Gabe Smith (18:44.19) finished fifth, behind the trio of Firebirds.
On the girls’ side, Devils Lake eighth-grader Brooklyn Johnson led the way. She posted a time of 19:53.15, about two seconds short of the personal best she set on Aug. 26.
It’s her first year doing cross country.
“You’ve got somebody that really enjoys running and is gifted in a way that is pretty special,” Kavli said. “She’s been able to help out our team competitively a lot, and we’re excited to see how far she can go with this program.”
The Devils Lake girls finished second overall with a score of 57. Rugby was the one team better, with a 37. Five teams had official places.
Senior Livia Nelson (21:49.38) was second among the Firebird girls, in 11th place overall. Freshman Tenley Triepke was shortly behind her in 13th place with a 22:17.35. In between them was NR-S’ Liza Steele (22:12.63).
There were 33 girls with official times. Eleven of the top 27 were Firebirds.
“We’ve got a lot of depth for those scoring points and top seven runners,” Kavli said. “They’re working hard. And we keep them healthy, keep them strong.”
The next meet for the Devils Lake cross country team is this Thursday, with the Andrew Nelson Metro Classic at Bluestem Amphitheater in Moorhead, Minn.
