UPDATED: Area girls cross-country: Redemption for Trost at conference meet

ZUMBROTA -- Emi Trost was the second runner to cross the finish line at the Hiawatha Valley League Conference Championships a year ago, but she was disqualified because she didn’t follow the course.

Trost, a Cannon Falls freshman, atoned for the unintentional slipup Wednesday by winning the conference meet going away. Trost finished in 15 minutes, 5.6 seconds at the Zumbrota Golf Club, beating second-place finisher Rosie Hermans by 34.3 seconds.

“Yeah,” Trost said when asked if she had thought about redemption. “I just didn’t want to get disqualified. I wanted to get all-conference.”

Trost has now won five consecutive races dating back to Sept. 28. The second win during the streak also came at the Zumbrota Golf Club. She won the Sept. 30 race in 15:01.

“I like this course,” Trost said. “I’ve gotten two of my best times here.”

Area athletes Jennifer Martin and Kaite Bohn also earned all-conference honors, which are awarded to the top 21 finishers. Martin, a Lake City senior, placed eighth in 16:05.3. Bohn, a freshman on the Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon-Wanamingo team, finished 21st (16:43.5).

“I think I definitely improved,” Martin said. “(Coach Howard) Cook knows how to prepare us. … I’ve been really able to just build my stamina and my cardio. I feel like I really did good and I dropped my time a lot. And I know I can even drop my time more for sections.”

All three area teams will compete at the Section 1A meet Oct. 28 at Northern Hill Golf Course in Rochester.

Lake City came in fourth at the conference meet with 128 points and Z-M/K-W finished one spot back (160 points). The Bombers placed seventh, registering 187 points.

La Crescent won with 30 points.

To read more about Trost and Martin, pick up Saturday’s paper.

Tags: lake city, cross country, cannon falls, sports, prep, cross, country, tigers, zumbrota, mazeppa, cougars, bombers