Running in the mud

Rockets Cross Country is back on the run.

On Friday, Sept. 8 they took their marks on a wet, miserable afternoon in Ellendale, N.D., and on Monday, Sept. 11, they were at Crystal Springs for their third meet of the season.

The meet in Ellendale was the Rockets' first since they opened the season in Jamestown in late August, as the scheduled Carrington meet was canceled due to poor weather.

Poor weather did nothing to deter event organizers in Ellendale, however, as runners found themselves in the rain and in the mud for much of their run.

But that didn't stop New Rockford's runners from earning some excellent results in their second-ever meet.

In Jamestown, the Rockets were up against steep competition, as runners from Class A schools like Fargo and Bismarck were all in attendance to run on the track that will eventually hold the state meet later this fall.

Consequently, the Rockets' placements weren't all that good. But head coach Joe Greiner said there were plenty of positives to build on and that their times weren't all that bad among similar competition.

Greiner was proved correct at the Ellendale meet, where Neecie Swart took an impressive 5th place with a time of 17 minutes and 18 seconds (17:18).

Swart was followed closely by Elise Guler, who took 6th place with a time of 17:48, and Makaya Heskin, who took 10th place with a time of 20:50.

For the boys, meanwhile, Gabe Smith took part in his first meet of the season and finished with the best time of any Rocket runner, taking 12th place with a time of 14:57.

Seth Greiner wasn't far behind, as he took 16th place with a time of 15:39. August Meyer took 21st place with a time of 16:28.

All in all it was another successful meet for the Rockets' growing cross country program.

"It was a very ugly meet weather-wise, but I'm very pleased with how everyone ran," said coach Greiner. "Excellent efforts all around!"

The cross country runners were back at it on Monday in Crystal Springs, not far from Medina, N.D.

Neecie Swart had another solid showing, finishing in 6th place with a time of 17:53, and Heskin took another 10th place finish with an improved time of 19:23.

Gabe Smith was again the fastest Rocket runner, taking 10th place among the male runners with an improved time of 14:47. Seth Greiner took 22nd place with a time of 16:35.

The Rockets were running again on Saturday, Sept. 16, and on Thursday, Sept. 21 they'll be at Cavalier.