The Dragon Cross Country team traveled up to Tracy, Minnesota. The heat index reached nearly 90, but that did not stop the Dragons from doing all they could to find success. The first race was the girl’s junior high 2,000 meter run. Hunter Penning was the lone racer for Adrian. Penning battled back and passed numerous runners to place 12th overall out of the 67 runners in a time of 9:12. Next on the course was the boy’s junior high race, competing the same 2,000 meter distance. Bruce Farinella finished first for Adrian, 9:01 and placing 37th overall. Newcomer Cam Hirsch had his first race in his career, running 10:55 and having a really good showing in his first run.
The next race was a pair of 4,000 meter junior varsity races. The first belonged to Taya Elias. Elias kept working and pushed through some pain to run 26:14. Sophomore Ky Ruppert ran the 4,000 meter distance in 23:11 and improved time from the previous year! The final set of races were the varsity 5,000 meter runs. The girl’s took off first. The heat was undoubtedly a factor, but Moriah Bullerman had another excellent performance as she raced her way into 6th overall with a time of 21:48. Hiltyn Heitkamp continued to impress this year by running the course in 24:56, a huge improvement from last year as well. Garcia Elias was the final piece of the trio, and survived the heat to run 27:58. Finally, Dylan Graff looked to compete in his second career 5,000 meter year. Graff got out quick than normal, and it paid off as he ran 21:16 and place 47th or 89 runners. The Dragons will continue their season at Worthington on Thursday for the Turkey Trot.
