The CDH boys Cross Country team competed in the Section 4AA meet this past Wednesday.  The weather was cool and crisp, and the ground at the Les Bolstad Golf Course was a bit saturated from rain.  The competition was going to be strong with perennial favorites Stillwater, ranked #4 in the State, conference foe White Bear Lake, and a host of other competitive teams in the meet.  The race began honestly with Dillon Diekmann leading the charge for the Raiders, going through the 1k mark with the leaders at a 5-minute per mile clip.  He was followed by Jack Spencer, Matt Voigt and Eli Brotman.  Next, the pack of Seamus Foley, Sam Luhman, and John Modl rounded out the Raiders.

The runners wound along the outside of the hilly course before looping back through a few finger loops where fans were gathered.  Diekmann maintained his position well throughout the race, leading a chase pack in 4th place.  Spencer stayed strong and battled the entire race.  Voigt started to move up in the latter half of the race, while Brotman hung onto Voigt with all he had.  The final Raider pack worked together throughout the race with the guys trading off leads, which helped them push each other to better performances.

A cross country race can look and sound like a giant accordion at times, with runners spread out across the course, fans cheering, and cowbells ringing.  You can see runners pushing forward from a pack, causing others to follow, and runners moving backwards in the race, caused by a slip in pace or fatigue, and needing to be picked up again.  All in all, each runner carries the same goal of the finish line, where they can return to rest, exhausted, yet satisfied.  

For the majority of the race, the Raiders maintained their positions well and many moved up in the later stages.  At the end of the day, Diekmann finished 6th overall, securing an individual entry into next weekend’s State Meet.  Spencer finished in 28th place and a strong 17:17, a 1:12 improvement from last year’s section meet.  Voigt and Brotman finished in the low-18 minute range and the pack of Foley, Luhman, and Modl all finished within 10 seconds of each other, all breaking the 20-min barrier.  It was fantastic to see this team compete to their fullest on a challenging course.  It was evident that each member of the team braved their task with their best efforts and fought until the final step.  Thank you Raiders for a great season and congratulations! Best of luck to Dillon Diekmann as he competes next Saturday at 1pm at the Minnesota State Cross Country Meet in Northfield, MN!!