Natalie Bowers proved something to herself and her coach Thursday afternoon.

Friday, August 25, 2000

Natalie Bowers proved something to herself and her coach Thursday afternoon.

Competing against a strong field of runners from Owatonna, Albert Lea and Hayfield, the eighth-grader was Austin High School’s top finisher at the AHS Invitational cross country meet held at Riverland Community College.

Bowers finished in a time of 18 minutes, 14 seconds, good for ninth place overall. She said she was happy with her time for the first race of the season, but not satisfied.

"That’s a better time than I had in the first race of last season," Bowers said, "but I hope I can improve on it."

Austin coach Tony Einertson said his team performed better than he expected after just two weeks of practice.

"Natalie did a good job against a strong field (Thursday)," Einertson said. "She ran this course two minutes faster than she did a year ago. That just shows that her off-season work is paying off."

Katie Munk, also an eighth-grader, finished 15th for the Packers, and Jenna Cummings finished in a pack of runners with a time of 20:13.

Off-season training also paid off on the boys side for the Packers as they finished second to Owatonna in team points. Junior Justin Poirier was the Packers’ highest individual placer, finishing fourth. He ran the 3-mile course in a time of 17:47, just 13 seconds off of his personal best time. He was the only Austin runner to finish in the top 10.

"The work he did over the summer paid off in the first meet," Einertson said. "Jusin ran really well and will be solid for us this year."

Carl Bauer was the second Austin runner to cross the finish line, placing 13th in a time of 19:11. Spencer Wolner (15th, 19:21), Mark Forman (17th, 19:38), and Nate Moser (19th, 19:47) completed the Packers’ team scoring.

Owatonna made a clean sweep of first place awards. The boys won the team title with 23 points, while Austin finished in second with 68. Hayfield was third with 80 points and Albert Lea fourth with 89. Kyle Rasmussen of Owatonna won the boys individual event with a time of 16:39. Cody Buecklen was Hayfield’s top individual, placing seventh.

On the girls side, Owatonna won with 19 points, followed by Albert Lea with 66 and Hayfield with 117. With only three girls competing at the varsity level, Austin did not qualify for team points.

Nicole McCann of Owatonna finished first in the girls individual race with a time of 15:33. Hayfield’s Sarah Halvorson finished second, the lone Hayfield runner in the top 10.