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After winning state last year, the boys team started off a little slowly, taking third out of 14 teams. Winning the meet was Class AA Marshall at 82 with Canby-Lincoln-Minneota second at 95 and Paynesville third at 104.

Canby-Lincoln-Minneota - which finished 11th at state last fall -Êis rated fourth in the preseason rankings, one ahead of the Bulldogs.

"We had some solid performers, but we know we can run better," said coach Darrel Carstens.

Seniors Dan Pearson and Jesse Rien led the way for the Bulldogs, taking fifth and seventh at a meet against many tough runners, including the defending state individual champion, Greg Liebl of Montevideo, who won the meet.

Juniors Riley Flanders and Freddie Stock were the next runners for the Bulldogs, finishing 26th and 32nd respectively. Stock ran well in his first varsity race. He was followed closely by senior Jamie Wendlandt, who finished 34th to round off the scoring for the Dogs.

Running in his first ever cross country race, sophomore Chad Wyffels came in 40th. "It was fun but very tough at the same time," he said about his first race.

Senior Scott Thompson ran an all-guts race, coming in 46th. Thompson has an injured knee that could slow him down all year. As a senior captain, his fortunes will greatly impact the team.

Taking third in a tough meet should not be disappointing, but with the talent and training this team has they believe they should be able to do better. They believe they can put it together in the next couple months. "This will be a great team to watch as they make progress throughout the season," said Carstens.

The boys run at the BBE meet at the golf course in Brooten on Thursday starting at 5 p.m. They also run at LPGE on Monday, Sept. 10, at 4:15 p.m.

Team Scores
1. Marshall 82
2. Canby-Lincoln-Minneota 95
3. Paynesville 104
4. Montevideo 149
5. Sauk Centre 165
6. Perham 166
7. Morris 177
8. NL-S 197
9. Wadena Deer Creek 219
10. MacCray 434
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Individual Results
5. Dan Pearson 17:44
7. Jesse Rien 17:55
26. Riley Flanders 19:00
32. Freddie Stock 19:23
34. Jamie Wendlandt 19:29
40. Chad Wyffels 19:45
46. Scott Thompson 20:00