Splinter fights off illness to take third at Packer Cross Country Invite
Published 9:21 pm Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Austin boys cross country team took second out of four teams and the girls placed third out of five teams at the Packer Invite at River Oaks Golf Course Tuesday.
Austin finished with a score of 70, while first place Winona tallied a score of 24. The Packers had three runners in the top 15 as Haley Splinter took third, Katelyn Harder took 11th, and Kaitlynn Carroll came in 13th place.
Splinter shook off a sickness to finish with time that tied her best mark (15:33.67).
“I’m probably at about 80 percent right now,” Splinter said. “ But it was fun running today.”
Splinter, a freshman, was able to shrug off her illness and run well by taking some simple advice from Austin head coach Tony Einertson.
“You’ve just got to tough it out, that’s what coach always says,” she said. “If you’re sore, tough it out. If you’re sick, tough it out. If you’re throwing up, go take a little break and then tough it out.”
The Packer boys were led by Tim Erickson, who took second, and Christian Folken, who took fifth.
Erickson took second when he edged out Winona’s Sam Miner by one second to get second.
Winona won the meet with a score of 28, while Austin had a 50.
Austin results
Boys: Tim Erickson (second, 17:09.81); Christian Folken (fifth, 17:27.54); Ben Bachmeier (10th, 18:03.54); Zach Rausch (15th, 18:32.30); Nathan Schwab (18th, 18:37.27); Joseph Gerber (19th, 18:37.27); Chris Eckhoff (26th, 19:49.21)
Girls: Splinter (third, 15:33.67); Katelyn Harder (11th, 17:06.76); Kaitlynn Carroll (13th, 17:12.68); Abby Snater (18th, 17:38.29); Lauren Thompson (26th, 18:08.35); Keely Zynda (36th, 18:54.09); Michelle Johannsen (40th, 20:21.43)