SPORTS

Lincoln runners ready for national stage

Matt Zimmer
mzimmer@argusleader.com

The Lincoln boys cross country team entered the fall with sights set on a third consecutive state title, but with that goal achieved, the Patriots can admit they had a bigger prize in mind all along.

Earning one of 22 invitations to the Nike Cross Country Nationals served as an overarching target for the state's dominant program. It's a chance to excel beyond the region and challenge themselves against the nation's best.

The Patriots learned this week (after a fairly agonizing three-week wait) they'll be the first boys team from Sioux Falls ever to compete at the event when they take to the course Saturday in Portland.

"From the start of the season, it was a big focus," said senior Will Lauer, the state's individual champion and a Stanford recruit. "We knew we were in good position going into the state meet, but there was honestly a lot of pressure to get there all season. We were good enough to perform when it counted."

Barely.

The Patriots entered the Heartland Regional meet (held in Sioux Falls, and one of nine regional qualifiers) knowing that a first- or second-place finish would clinch a berth at Nike Nationals. They finished third. But the third- and fourth-place finishers from all nine regionals are thrown into an at-large field. Of those 18 teams, four earned at-large invitations. The Patriots were one of the four, gaining the first-ever at-large bid for a Heartland team. The regional meet was Nov. 9, and the Patriot runners didn't find out they qualified until Sunday.

"It was a long three weeks," Lincoln coach Eric Pooley said. "We had the kids still running just in case, and the weather didn't really cooperate, so it was kind of stressful."

But an at-large bid rather was the kind, as far the Patriots were concerned. Lincoln, which ranked 22nd in the country and was as high as 16th – had strong showings in Omaha, Iowa and at the Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis. Along with a third consecutive South Dakota team title, that helped them earn the bid.

"They based it off our resumé for the whole year, and we had a strong resumé," Pooley said. "To know that they chose us from our performance over the course of the season – and with some of the teams around the country who we were taken over – that makes it more rewarding ... than to get an automatic bid."

Lauer, who was second behind Olin Hacker of Wisconsin at the Heartland Regional, already had qualified, but now he'll be accompanied in Portland by teammates Nathan Schroeder, Gabe Peters, Dreux Selzler, Tyler Dobson, Dale Loudon and Anders Rasmussen.

The Patriots don't know much about their competition or the course, but they're not treating the trip like a vacation. They want to prove themselves and represent their state and region in style.

"We're all really excited and we all have different goals," said Lauer, whose coach is convinced he can finish in the top five. "We'd like to get our team into the top 15, try to finish higher than our ranking. We're looking forward to it, because it's the biggest meet any of us have ever run in."

National stage

WHAT: Nike Cross Country Nationals

TEAM: The Lincoln High School boys, ranked 22nd in the nation, earned an at-large bid to the prestigious event.

WHEN: Saturday in Portland, Ore.