Cross-Country: Ellsworth boys sneaks past Lake City

Hosting seven team for its home invitational, the Ellsworth boys cross-country team snuck by Lake City to take the team title at the Ellsworth Country Club. The Panthers finished with 51 points, besting the Tigers, who finished with 53.

Leading Ellsworth was the threesome of Lucas Green, Caleb Gustafson and Richie Powers, who all finished in the top 10. Green led the group with a fourth-place time of 18 minutes, 26 seconds. Gustafson went 8th at 18:52, and Powers took 10th at 19:15.

Winning the race was the Tigers’ Carston Dammann, who crossed the finish line with a time of 17:19. Carl Kozlowski followed up with a fifth-place time of 18:26, and Colin Fritz took ninth at 18:58.

Amery (76), Liberty Christian (88) and Osceola (96) rounded out the top five in the boys race.

Lake City’s Dammann, Alitz finish in top 10

In the girls race, Lake City’s Morgan Dammann and Hannah Alitz each finished in the top 10, pushing the Tigers to a fifth-place finish in the seven-team race.

With the Tigers finishing with 96 points, Dammann led the team with an eighth-place time of 20:58, while Alitz followed in 10th at 21:22. Lydia Taylor added to Lake City’s charge with a time of 21:58, good for 15th place.

Ellsworth finished in sixth place with a team score of 121 points. Kennedy Kowalchyk paced the Panthers with a time of 21:33, good for 11th place. Rebecca Matzek ran the course in 22:33, finishing in 21st place, and Kelsey Betthauser was 26th with a time of 23:00.

Amery clinched the team title with 58 points, besting Osceola, which took second with 69 points. Durand’s Savannah Fagerland was the race’s top runner with a first-place time of 19:56.

Tags: lake city, sports, prep, cross-country, ellsworth