Cross Country: Earning state trips highlighted season for Park Rapids

Having the boys team return to state and qualifying a girl for the Class A meet capped off a productive season for the Park Rapids cross country teams. Juniors Tyler Huot, Christian Thorson, Parker Larson and Leo Kueber along with sophomores Jack Mitteness, Cesar Quixan Gutierrez and Andrew Mercil led the Park Rapids boys to the state meet for the fifth year in a row with a runner-up finish at the Section 8A meet while freshman Greta Galzki earned her first trip to state by placing third individually among the girls at the section meet. Those efforts capped off another successful season for the Panthers. The Park Rapids boys entered the section meet looking to defeat Hawley for the title. That didn’t happen, but the Panthers fulfilled their main goal of once again qualifying for state. After placing 16th at last year’s state meet, Park Rapids entered this year’s state meet setting its sights on finishing ahead of Hawley and moving up in the team standings. Even though Hawley again had a lower score, the Panthers were able to meet their other goal by moving up to 15th place in the team standings. Hawley won the section title with 48 points as Park Rapids followed with 56 points. MItteness was the runner-up, Huot placed fifth and Thorson took 11th to lead the way. Gutierrez placed 16th and Larson was 22nd to round out the team score while Mercil and Kueber finished in the No. 26 and No. 27 spots. At the state meet, Mitteness led the Panthers by finishing 36th as Huot (95th), Thorson (107th), Gutierrez (133rd) and Larson (138th) followed. Kueber (143rd) and Mercil (147th) completed the team. Park Rapids scored 317 points as Lewiston-Altura won the state title with 67 points. Huot, Larson, Mitteness and Quixan Gutierrez ran on the state team that placed 16th with 338 points last season while Huot, Mitteness and Larson ran on the Panthers’ team that placed 10th in 2023 with 237 points. Mitteness placed 77th in 17: 33, Larson was 88th in 17: 42, Huot took 124th in 18: 13 and Gutierrez was 133rd in 18: 26 last season. In their state debuts in 2023, Huot placed 92nd in 17: 48, Mitteness was 110th in 18: 08 and Larson was 125th in 18: 23. In their other state appearances, the Panthers placed sixth in 1984, third in 1985, 12th in 1986, 16th in 1991, 16th in 1992, 11th in 1993, eighth in 1994, sixth in 1995, 14th in 1996, 13th in 1997, 15th in 2012, sixth in 2021 and fourth in 2022. In addition to those seven, seniors Wrigley Clark and Josh Conway; junior Jack Kovach; sophomore Levi Gack; and eighth grader Caleb Mack competed in varsity meets this season. The Panthers opened the season by winning the title at the Central Minnesota River in Staples with 37 points. Mitteness (third), Quixan Gutierrez (eighth) and Huot (ninth) had top 10 finishes as Larson (15th) and Thorson (18th) rounded out the team score in this 14-team meet. Mack was 35th and Mercil finished 39th. At the Wadena-Deer Creek Joanna Olson Invitational, Mitteness (fifth), Larson (10th), Quixan Gutierrez (11th), Thorson (19th) and Huot (23rd) led the Panthers to third place with 66 points. Sauk Centre topped the 14-team field with 29 points. Clark (25th) and Mack (28th) also competed. Eleven runners competed at the Dragon Twilight Invitational in Moorhead as the Panthers placed fourth out of 26 teams with 172 points. Running for Park Rapids were MItteness (10th), Quixan Gutierrez (35th), Larson (36th), Huot (39th), Mercil (94th), Clark (99th), Mack (108th), Conway (114th), Gack (115th) and Kovach (127th). Fargo Davies led the way with 43 points. At the Bagley/Fosston Invitational, the Panthers claimed runner-up honors with 59 points as Bemidji took first among the 20 teams with 46 points. Mitteness took third with Quixan Gutierrez (sixth), Thorson (15th), Huot (16th), Mack (29th), Clark (38th) and Kueber (41st) following. Park Rapids placed 18th at the 31-team Border Battle in Grand Forks with 533 points as Mitteness (21st), Quixan Gutierrez (103rd), Huot (119th), Thorson (131st), Clark (168th), Mercil (177th) and Larson (198th) ran. Sioux Falls Lincoln took first with 67 points. Moorhead scored 65 points to lead the way at the Dale Skallerud Memorial Invitational in Hawley as the Panthers placed fifth with 111 points. Mitteness was the runner-up with Quixan Gutierrez (12th), Huot (18th), Thorson (30th), Mack (56th), Mercil (64th) and Kueber (67th) competing in the 19-team meet. At the Perham Invitational, Mitteness (13th), Huot (34th), Quixan Gutierrez (47th), Thorson (49th), Larson (85th), Kueber (86th) and Mercil (89th) paced the Panthers to eighth place with 217 points. Perham led the 25 teams with 29 points. Mitteness earned all-conference honors by placing seventh at the Heart O’Lakes Conference meet in Breckenridge. Huot (12th), Thorson (16th), Quixan Gutierrez (19th), Larson (26th), Kueber (29th) and Mercil (32nd) ran for Park Rapids, which placed third out of 10 teams with 80 points. Perham was the conference champion with 19 points. Running at state capped off the season. Team awards went to Mitteness (MVP), Gack (Most Improved), Huot and Quixan Gutierrez (Most Dedicated), Thorson (Newcomer of the Year), and senior Preston Tackett (Spirit Award). Having the entire state team returning bodes well for another successful season for the Panthers next fall. “The boys ran great all season. We faced some setbacks with injury and illness, but they fought through it and still had an awesome season,” said Park Rapids head coach Jacob Hutchins. “It was very rewarding to be able to run at the state meet again. It is an awesome atmosphere and an outstanding meet, so the team really enjoys getting to qualify and go see it. I think we can still hit higher peaks as a team, and I am pumped to see what will happen next season. Next season, we hope to be extremely competitive at the state meet. If the boys keep progressing, we should be a real contender next season.” Galzki was the top runner for the Park Rapids girls all season, concluding the year by earning all-conference honors and qualifying for state for the first time. Joining Galzki on the varsity were seniors Grace Etter, Sarah Hartung, Breanna DeBlieck and Alessia Harmon; juniors Madeline Brandt and Noelle Bradt; freshmen Katelynn Henderson and Kaelyn Larson; and seventh grader Coraline Hoagland. At the Heart O’Lakes meet, Galzki placed 10th overall as the Panthers finished sixth as a team with 135 points. Perham won the conference title with 24 points in this 10-team meet. Following Galzki were Henderson (18th), Etter (35th), DeBlieck (50th), Bradt (53rd) and Harmon (58th). At the section meet, Galzki finished as the No. 1 individual qualifier as Park Rapids placed sixth out of 22 teams with 176 points. Barnesville (67) and United North Central (82) claimed the two state berths. Etter (32nd), Henderson (34th), Brandt (40th) and Hartung (73rd) rounded out the Panthers’ team score with Bradt (80th) and DeBlieck (94th) rounding out the varsity team. Galzki capped off the season by placing 51st in her state debut. The Panthers opened the season by placing fourth at the 13-team Staples meet with 93 points as Minnewaska Area took first with 65 points. Galzki was eighth with Brandt (12th), Henderson (15th), Etter (27th), Bradt (55th), Harmon (59th) and Larson (66th) following. Giving the Panthers 183 points for seventh place at the 14-team Wadena meet were Galzki (11th), Henderson (35th), Etter (37th), Bradt (58th) and DeBlieck (59th). Harmon (68th) and Larson (71st) also competed as UNC won the title with 58 points. Park Rapids placed 10th at the 24-team Moorhead meet with 254 points as Fargo Davies led the way with 36 points. Galzki (13th), Henderson (47th), Brandt (52nd), Etter (72nd), DeBlieck (117th), Bradt (124th) and Harmon (126th) ran for the Panthers. A solid fourth place effort followed as the Panthers scored 116 points at the 22-team Bagley meet. Galzki (14th) and Brandt (18th) finished in the top 20, followed by Henderson (22nd), Etter (38th), Hartung (47th), DeBlieck (73rd) and Bradt (82nd). Bemidji took first with 79 points. At Grand Forks, the Panthers placed 21st out of 30 teams with 549 points behind Galzki (63rd), Henderson (109th), Etter (117th), Brandt (122nd), Hartung (164th), DeBlieck (181st) and Bradt (182nd). Perham topped the field with 83 points. Galzki took third as Park Rapids finished seventh with 208 points at Hawley. Henderson (21st), Etter (29th), Hartung (73rd) and DeBlieck (94th) completed the team score with Bradt (95th) and Hoagland (96th) also competing. Barnesville won the title with 54 points as 19 teams competed. Park Rapids tuned up for the conference and section meets by placing 13th at Perham with 367 points as Galzki (32nd), Henderson (55th), Etter (66th), Hartung (109th), Hoagland (11th), DeBlieck (120th) and Bradt (125) led the way. Perham led the 25-team field with 33 points. Receiving team awards were Galzki (MVP and Most Dedicated), Hoagland (Most Improved), Henderson (Newcomer of the Year) and Etter (Spirit Award). Even though the Panthers will have four seniors to replace, Hutchins is counting on the returning runners to field another competitive team next fall. “The girls were awesome this season. We had one of the most competitive seasons in recent history, and all of the girls performed at a fantastic level,” said Hutchins. “The seniors are going to be a huge loss for us. We are losing captains Grace Etter and Alessia Harmon, who have provided outstanding leadership over the past two years. Sarah Hartung and Breanna DeBlieck were also strong varsity contributors for us this season. They were all huge pieces of our performance and culture, so it cannot be overstated how much we will miss them. The girls had some great young pieces this year, so I am positive that they will still be competitive to win the section and run at the state meet.”.
https://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/sports/prep/cross-country-earning-state-trips-highlighted-season-for-park-rapids