Cash Wise Foods Team of the Week: Medford Cross Country
Cash Wise Foods of Owatonna and Waseca is happy to announce that Medford cross country is being honored as a Team of the Week. Despite seeing their season come to an end Thursday at the section meet, the Tiger boys recently repeated as Gopher Conference champs. Cash Wise Foods of Owatonna will present a $50 gift card to a charity in the district of the winning team each week.
The Tiger boys earned their second straight conference title on October 15 running in Hayfield. Medford placed three runners in the top ten to win the title with a 12-point margin. The Tigers had a tight spread of 1:16 from their first to fifth place runners.
The final team standings for the boys 5000 meter race were Medford 45, Maple River 57, WEM/JWP 58, Blooming Prairie 93, NRHEG 102, Hayfield 158. In a tweet that day on @MedTigersCC, "Amazing work from the team! Thank you to all the fans who came out to support at today's conference meet! The trophy is going nowhere!"
Individuals runners for the Tiger boys were Tyler Stursa (3rd place, 18:21), Cohen Stursa (5th, 18:36), Garrett Fitzgerald (9th, 19:16), Casey Chambers (11th, 19:28), Austin Erickson (17th, 19:37), Brock Merritt (28th, 20:16), Cohen O'Connor (38th, 21:39), Luis Lopez (43rd, 21:49), and Carter Luebbe (47th, 22:34). The top five runners counted toward the team score.
The girls ran a limited lineup at the conference meet. Finishers were Alivia Kappes (17th, 24:42), Emily Cloutier (34th, 27:58), and Abby Fitzgerald (41st, 29:53). The other girls on the Tigers roster at the Minnesota State High School League website are Isabel Miller, Jalene Chavis, and Paige Davis.
At the section meet on Thursday, October 24 in Blue Earth, the Tiger boys finished 9th and the girls fielded a full team and finished 18th out of 21 teams. Medford does not graduate anyone from the boys or girls teams.
Medford opened the season on a historic note, hosting a meet for the first time in team history. That meet was run at River Bend Nature Center.
The Medford football team earned Cash Wise Foods Team of the Week honors earlier this fall.