Lion harriers place 3rd at Dick Bell Invitational

Clear Lake harriers were at Eagle Grove Tuesday, Oct. 7, to compete at the Dick Bell Invitational.  The Lion boys captured third place among nine teams, while the girls did not field a full team.

Gilbert finished first in the boys team competition, followed by Algona, Clear Lake and Garner-Hayfield/Ventura.  Fifty-seven runners participated in the varsity race.

Leading the way for Clear Lake was Ryan Faught, finishing in 10th place in a time of 17:32.  Tanner Storbeck was close behind in 15th place in 17:48, and Sam Pedelty placed 23rd in 18:44.  Next was Spencer Orr, finishing 24th in 18:48; Kaleb Froiland, 33rd in 19:17; Sam Jones, 37th in 19:31; and Grant Dieken, 44th in 20:24.

“Ryan and Tanner continue to progress nicely toward their goal of running in the low 17’s,” said Coach Nick DiMarco.  “Sam Pedelty and Spencer are heading towards the low 18’s and Sam Jones and Kaleb Froiland are shooting for the upper 18’s.  I could not be happier with the effort and commitment from this team.  Watching how the runners continue to improve makes me very excited for conference and the state qualifying meet.”

The Lions were slated to compete at the North Central Conference meet in Humboldt last night (Tuesday, Oct. 14) and will take part in the State qualifying meet in New Hampton Thursday, Oct. 23.

Varsity girls

Clear Lake’s Gretchen Jones continues to impress.  The freshman finished ninth overall in a time of 16:39.  The field of 58 runners was filled with ranked runners, according to Coach DiMarco.

Tali Tesar recorded a personal record, placing 42nd in 19:19.  Molly Dugan was 50th in 20:05, and Krystal Lu crossed the finished line in 58th, clipping 20 seconds off her personal best with a time of 21:27.

“I could not be prouder of these freshman girls,” said Coach DiMarco.  “They continue to work extremely hard while competing against much more experienced runners. They have a very bright running future ahead.”

Junior varsity

Clear Lake junior varsity runners finished fifth out of nine teams at Eagle Grove.  One hundred twenty-one runners participated in the race.  

The top finisher for the Lions was Jakob Wessels.  He placed eighth in a time of 19:36.  Dylan Schuchard and Ike Branstad finished  27th and 28th respectively in  20:34 and 20:35.  Gage Bendickson was next, placing 56th in 21:37, followed by Shane Furman, 78th in  22:21.  Other Clear Lake placements included: Colby Klipping, 87th, 23:05; Nicholas Holtz, 89th, 23:13; Ben Hillyer, 104th, 24:32; Carson Meyer, 106th, 24:53; Zeke Branstad, 110th, 25:12; David Lincicum, 114th, 25:39; and Jonah Pedelty, 120th, 26:33.

Breauna Archer competed in the junior varsity girls race.  She placed 64th in a time of 23:51.