Ipswich's Heinz, EPJ's Paulsen Win At Beresford

“This was a great atmosphere, a mini state meet,” said Vermillion head coach Kelly Fischbach. “You’re not going to get a better field, even in the Augustana meet next week.”

Eleven of the top 17 runners in the girls’ race took home a top-10 finish in last year’s state cross country meet in either Class A or Class B. The top 17 also included the 11th place runner from Class A and a former state placewinner who missed last year’s meet due to injury.

Heinz won in 14:25.87, beating out defending Class B champion Laura Nelson of Gayville-Volin (14:48.65). Ipswich’s Tori Moore (15:20.90) was third, followed by defending Class A champion Madisen Lavin of Vermillion (15:27.27).

Ipswich was a surprise entry, not having attended the meet in the past.

“We started talking about it Thursday or Friday last week, then on Monday we decided to come down,” Heinz said. “We never get to see any of these teams until state. It was great to see how we matched up.”

Heinz, who finished third in the Class B state meet behind Nelson and 2012 champion Genevieve Clark, also of Gayville-Volin, in the 2013 meet, tried to run conservatively to start.

“I knew the race would go out hard. Everybody’s a little anxious at the first meet,” she said. “I started in the top 10 and worked my way up. Laura and I both pushed each other until the last mile, when I made my move.”

Nelson was happy to have the season underway and to have a measuring stick for hers and the team’s progress.

“It was great to have that first meet, to see where we are at,” she said.

Nelson also appreciated the chance to compete against Ipswich, the team her Raiders have finished second to at state in each of the past two seasons.

“It’s nice that they came so that we can remember our goal,” she said. “They are beatable, and we’re going to continue trying to have fun running with them.”

Gayville-Volin only ran its top three girls on varsity, enough to score at a Class B meet but not at Beresford’s Class A format (top four). But Gayville-Volin head coach Larry Buffington said that, between the girls that ran varsity and JV, he saw what he had hoped to see in this early-season meet.

“The girls finishes tell us that we’re where we want to be,” he said. “Some of the best runners in Class A and Class B were here.”

While Garretson coach Jason Bohl was happy for his team’s victory in the meet, he also kept things in perspective.

“It’s early. This is just another race, and that’s how we treated it,” he said. “We’re pretty excited about how we ran, but there’s a long way to go.”

Garretson was led by Haley Sage (15:27.99), who finished just behind Lavin in fifth place. Beresford was led by Cait Savey (15:36.81), who placed sixth.

In the boys’ race, Elk Point-Jefferson’s Hunter Paulsen finished in 17:09.61, easily outdistancing Garretson’s Evan Fick (17:47.59) for top honors.

“I hadn’t had a lot of competition during the summer, so I just wanted to go out and run my race,” Paulsen said. “It’s a good start to the season. Hopefully I can keep it up through the rest of it.”

Sioux Falls Christian won the team title, led by third place finisher Caleb DeWeerd (17:50.60) and fourth place finisher Lance Van Zee (17:53.63). The Chargers’ finish was an exciting start for a young squad, according to head coach Luke Vander Leest.

“We’re led by a sophomore, with four freshmen right behind him, so we’re pretty excited about the season and what lies ahead,” he said. “Our boys had a great summer of training, and they were eager to have an opportunity to let all those hard miles pay off in a meet.”

Lennox, led by fifth place finisher Nathan Timmerman (17:53.81), finished second to the Chargers, 37-41. Garretson was third with 59 points.

Twenty-three schools were represented in the meet, with over 500 runners between the varsity and sub-varsity races. With the regular course on The Bridges Golf Course unavailable due to recent rains, organizers set up an alternate course that began on Maple Street in front of Beresford High School and ended on the BHS track.

“It was one of the first, if not the first, meet of the year in the state. It almost had a ‘Midnight Madness’ feel to it,” Buffington said. “It was a great environment.”

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