Bloomington Kennedy's boys cross country team won the Tri-Metro Conference title again on Oct. 20 at Bassett Creek in Crystal. Kennedy scored 37 points, and the next team, St. Anthony Village, scored 69, so the title was never close. Holy Angels was 3rd with 77 points and Richfield was 4th with 93.
Kennedy won the meet through depth more than a single star. Neither of the top 2 finishers ran for Kennedy. Aidan Downing of St. Anthony won the race in 16:39, and Miles Wahlberg of DeLaSalle was 2nd in 16:46. Graham Wood led Kennedy in 3rd place at 17:15, and Julian Hayes came in 4 seconds behind him for 4th at 17:19. Sam Kaufman was 6th in 17:38.
Kennedy's next 3 runners were also close together. Noah Terpening placed 11th, Abdulfatah Hashi 13th and Gavin Romness 14th, and all 3 finished in 17:52. All of Kennedy's top 5 scorers had times in the top 13, and in cross country, where low scores win, that kind of tight pack usually takes the team title. Holy Angels' best finishers were Jordan Hackel, 7th in 17:45, and Will Knutson, 8th in 17:47.
Holy Angels won the girls race with 43 points. St. Anthony Village was close behind at 46 and Visitation had 50. DeLaSalle's Hannah Steines won the individual title in 19:55, and Mia Lund of Holy Angels was 2nd in 20:00. Kennedy's girls finished 6th with 174 points, led by senior Meredith Gray, who placed 28th in 23:44.
This fall has been good for Kennedy athletes. Junior Kaylee Von Ruden has already set 2 swim program records, including breaking a 13-year-old record in the 100 free. The boys runners have now added a second straight conference title.
