Senior Clayton Lang finished at the head of a large field of runners, placing fourth overall and clocking in at 17:14, which matches the winning time from last season.
Junior Dan Pearson nipped at the leader's heals the entire race, completing the course in under eighteen minutes and placing ninth overall.
Newcomer Jesse Rien, a welcome addition to the varsity lineup, had an impressive debut performance, yielding the team a 12th place finish. With a first race like that, Rien will no doubt be invaluable to the team as he continues to improve throughout the season.
Seniors Adam Utsch and Eric Korman filled in the team's key fourth and fifth positions, finishing three seconds apart. Their strong running put Paynesville's first five runner's in the top fifteen. The team score in cross country is the total of the placings of the team's first five finishers.
Paynesville had 58 beat Montevideo who had 70. Montevideo is a key sectional rival for the Bulldogs. Paynesville will most likely need to beat the Thunder Hawks if the Bulldogs are to advance to state this year.
The next runner for Paynesville was senior Travis Flanders, whose solid race netted him a 26th place finish.
Travis was followed by sophomore Riley Flanders in 34th and senior Ryan Flanders in 47th. Junior Andrew Jones was the final runner to cross the line on the varsity squad, finishing in 84th.
"We're going to have fun this season," concluded Lang.
The Bulldogs compete next at the BBE meet on Thursday, which is held at the golf course in Brooten. The team will also compete at LPGE on the Monday, Sept. 11. Come and watch the pack run!
Team standings
1. Paynesville - 58
2. Montevideo - 70
3. Marshall - 91
4. Pelican Rapids - 133
5. Perham - 144
6. Wadena-Deer Creek - 160
7. Canby-Minneota-Lincoln - 168
8. New London-Spicer - 200
9. Lac qui Parle Valley - 210
10. Sauk Centre - 270
11. Morris - 276
12. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton - 366
13. Minnewaska - Inc.
Individual results
4. Clayton Lang - 17:14
9. Dan Pearson - 17:55
12. Jesse Rien - 18:13
14. Adam Utsch - 18:24
15. Eric Korman - 18:27
26. Travis Flanders - 18:58
34. Riley Flanders - 19:17
47. Ryan Flanders - 19:27
84. Andrew Jones - 19:58