Buffaloes’ XC season comes to a close

by Emily Johnson, student writer

Last Saturday, Oct. 24, the Mondovi XC team ended its season at Sectionals in Arcadia at the Schultz Farm. It was a classic October day; the air was crisp and the wind was cold. The runners all geared up for the race knowing that for some of them it would be their last. 

    Senior Maddie Gilbertson flirted with the chance of making it to State this year, but came up just a little short. She left her heart on the course and ran an amazing last race, taking 18th place with a time of 22:27.

“I’ve been running since I was in sixth grade and have had Emily Erickson and Aaron Hass as my coaches since freshman year,” Gilbertson said. “I’m going to miss them and this sport a lot.”

Senior Amanda Rud turned in a time of 25:08 in her final cross country meet, taking 53rd place.

She will always remember how hard she worked to achieve the ultimate goal of going to state in her sophomore year.

“I will definitely miss the team atmosphere involved in this sport,” said Rud. “The connection between teammates is unlike any other sport.”

Senior Emily Johnson was a newcomer to cross country this year. She came into the season fighting injuries and finished it the same way, bowing out of Sectionals due to a nagging shin injury.

Despite those obstacles, Johnson accomplished many personal goals throughout this journey. 

“This has definitely been one of the greatest experiences of my life and I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with my teammates and coaches along the way,” Johnson says.

    Seniors Jason Fath and Ty Parker have always been side by side throughout their prep careers.

Fath led the Mondovi boys with a time of 19:53 for 39th place while Parker was 89th with a time of 22:34.

Fath and Parker say they both value camaraderie and friendship most in a sport.  

“There’s an unbreakable bond between two friends that have been in the sport since the start,” Fath explained. “We may have not had many huge individual achievements, but we’ve become the best of bros and that’s the biggest achievement of them all!”

“From the start to the finish we’ve been best friends, but now that it’s all over I’ve realized we’re more like brothers to each other,” Parker agreed. “I wouldn’t want to have had anyone else by my side throughout this adventure.”

As for the underclassmen, they still have more races left in their high school careers.

This year’s group is made up of some of the most dedicated, enthusiastic individuals: Zach Kluge, Onno Kluge, Daniel Gruber, Emily Flaskrud, and Grace Weinzierl.

Flaskrud and Weinzierl wrapped up their seasons at Sectionals in 55th and 94th place, respectively, clocking times of 25:36 and 32:05.

On the boys’ side, Gruber was 48th with a time of 20:12, Zach Kluge was 92nd in 23:06 and Onno Kluge came in 100th place with a time of 25:01.

Each and every one of them improved immensely during the season and will continue to do so next year!

The 2015 seniors expressed their appreciation for the support of their parents, coaches, teammates, bus drivers and the newspaper. They wish the underclassmen luck in their future XC seasons. 

Leaving behind one key piece of advice, the seniors agreed it is important to “be thankful for every practice, spaghetti dinner, team bonding outing and meet you have left because one day you’ll be a senior looking back at not just the accomplishments you’ve made on the course, but all the memories you’ve made off of it.”