Future looks bright for CL X-C girls

Gretchen Jones qualifies for State

The Lady Lions had their best meet of the year in a district that had six of the 15 ranked teams participating.  The team finished eighth with one State qualifier. Gretchen Jones ran a great race to finish 10th in a time of 20:25.

“It was easily the most difficult district, but the girls fought hard and had performed very well,” said Coach Nick DiMarco.  “Running the times that they did, had they been in any other district, they would have finished in the top four.  Gretchen’s strategy was to settle into the top 10 early, set a good pace, and to leave no doubt early in the race that she would qualify for State the second year in a row.”

  Erin O’Tool finished 35th in a time of 21:46.

“This is a personal record for Erin, who is a great competitor and her senior leadership will be missed next year,” said DiMarco.  Rissa Barragy finished 39th in a time of 22:09.  “Rissa has been fighting injuries all season long and dug deep to finish as well as she did.”

Freshman Katelyn Moore was next for the Lions in 42nd place with a time of 22:22.  Alena Gabrielson was 46th in a personal record time of 22:41. Bailey Larsen finished 47th in 22:53.  Tali Tesar finished 69th in a time of 24:43.

“Katelyn’s freshman season shows great promise for next year and Alena steadily improved all year long, moving from junior varsity to our fifth scorer as the year progressed,” said DiMarco.  “Bailey is a hard nosed runner and is one to keep your eye on in the upcoming years.  Tali has emerged as one of the leaders on the team and is someone who the girls look to for leadership.”

The coach noted the Lions ran three freshman, three sophomores and one senior in the race, pointing to a  very promising future for the girls program.

“Clear Lake showed great support at the meet.  The Lions had the most parent support and the most student support of any of the other teams,” added DiMarco.  “We hope to see the same thing at the State Meet on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The Lions will be running in Fort Dodge at 1 and 1:30 p.m.