By Brayden Dirks
The MMCRU Royals Cross Country team traveled to Moville last Tuesday night for the Woodbury Central Invitational. MMCRU was one of the smaller teams on the list as all the Sioux City teams were there, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The Royals boys’ team fared well against the bigger competition, as they placed second, just in front of Sioux City North. Kaden Galles led the way once again with a second place finish in a time of 18:33. Owen Alesch had a ninth place finish in a time of 19:23. The third and final medalist was Brayden Dirks with a time of 19:36, and placed 15th overall. Brett Staab placed 24th with a time of 20:08 and Gunnar Grage placed 45th with a time of 21:35. Lucas Braun ran a 22:35 and Max Pepper rounded out the varsity team in 25:17. Mason Peters ran junior varsity on Tuesday night and finished in a time of 24:31.
The girls’ cross country team had three varsity runners on Tuesday night. Audrey Etter finished 48th with a 28:13, and Alyson Ball finished 50th in 28:19. Natalie Plagman rounded out the team with a time of 33:37.
Senior Brayden Dirks said, “I was very proud of how our team did in this race. Moville is always a tough meet because it’s really hilly and there’s a lot of big schools there. I believe we worked really well as a team towards the end of the race, mainly because Owen pushed me along. Overall, we put in a solid effort on Tuesday.” Coach Lisa Spieler also had very good things to say about the meet: “I am so excited about the results from our meet in Moville. The boys’ 2nd place team finish is the highest finish these boys have earned. We are getting closer to our goal! All the girls improved their times significantly, by as much as 4 minutes. These athletes are getting stronger every day and I’m expecting more improvements next week.” The Royals will look to continue their momentum on September 20th at Sanborn for the HMS Invitational. The team encourages you to come out and support!