BROOTEN -- Linda Keller showed excellent early season form in winning the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Cross Country Invitational 4,000-meter race on Thursday at Prairie View Golf Course.
The Paynesville senior turned in a time of 14:16.51, a speedy time for so early even on a flat course. The 2007 Class A state champion finished more than a minute ahead of freshman Halle Christianson of Minnewaska. Her time was 15:23.34. She ran most of the race stride-for-stride with her former teammate, sophomore Maren Greenwaldt, who now runs for Sauk Centre after her family moved.
Greenwaldt was third in 15:30.83 followed by Katie Eggers of Montevideo in 15:39.33.
Andrea Schlangen was fifth, helping Paynesville win its second team trophy of the new season. The Bulldogs were also first at Morris in the fall opener.
Schlangen and Madi Sachs of Minnewaska finished two-tenths of a second apart.
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Albany's Landon Bauer won the boys race. Tanner Wendroth of Paynesville was third and Jesse Mijares of Montevideo fourth. Nate Thooft off Redwood Valley paced fourth, Ben Murphy of Benson seventhy and Mitch Kleinschmidt of Litchfield eighth. Mike Felt, who played football for Redwood Valley until this his senior year, took the 10th-place medal.
Albany won the team trophy followed by Sauk Centre. Redwood Valley was third, New London-Spicer was fourth and Montevideo was fifth.
Complete results will appear in Saturday's paper.
