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by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Pirates Cross Country team ended their season at the Section 6A meet hosted by Staples-Motley and held at The Vintage Golf Course on Thursday, October 30th. Twenty teams competed to qualify for the state meet on November 7th. The top seven runners and the top two teams qualify to run at the state meet. Running for the Verndale girls team were Angelica Arroyo, Amiyah Herner, Haylee Horn, Sophie Hjelm, and Heta Tervola-Hultberg. These g

by Coach Kenny Miller A school record and several personal bests highlighted the day for the Bertha-Hewitt Bears as they traveled to Perham for the Harrier Invite on Tuesday, October 13. Temperatures in the upper 40s provided favorable racing conditions, although a challenging wind gave runners another obstacle to overcome on the flat course. Kendra Miller led the way with a record-setting performance in the girls varsity race, crossing the finish line in 18:37.4 to place f

by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Pirate cross country team participated in the Ashby Brandon-Evansville meet on Tuesday, October 13, held at the Pine Ridge Golf Course. This was the last meet that the Elementary running crew was able to participate in. We had six youth run this one-mile course. Finishing first for the Pirates was Ella Enberg, who completed the course in 7 min 16 seconds, followed by Lexi Mayer, who finished in a time of 7 min 28 seconds. Sterling Dun

by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Pirates participated in the cross-country meet hosted by Otter Tail Central, held at the Balmoral Golf Course on Thursday, October 8. It was a great day for a run. The course at Balmoral is flat at the front part of the course where the elementary 1-mile run is, then goes to a more sloping area in the back. It provides some easy running at the beginning and more challenges at the back. Running for the Pirate Crew girls at this event w

by Coach Heidi Brandsma On Thursday, September 24, the Verndale Pirate cross country team took on a soggy course while participating in the Pillager Cross Country meet held at Maddens Pine Beach West golf course. This is a challenging course on a clear day; the rain and soggy ground made it even more challenging. The Pirates took on teams from Pillager, Cass Lake-Bena, Pine River-Backus, New York Mills, and Pequot Lakes. The meet started with the elementary girls running

by Coach Kenny Miller A decision by the race director to postpone the meet by one day proved to be a stroke of brilliance for the Bertha-Hewitt Bears cross-country team. After waiting out frigid temperatures and torrential rain, the Bears arrived at the Long Prairie Country Club on Tuesday, September 15th, to ideal conditions: crisp, dry air and comfortable 70-degree weather. Despite a grueling course featuring over 230 feet of elevation gain, Bertha-Hewitt delivered a showc

by Coach Heidi Brandsma On Tuesday, September 15, the Verndale Pirates cross country team participated in the Long Prairie Invitational. The meet was originally scheduled for Monday, September 14, but was rescheduled due to the weather. The Long Prairie golf course has its own challenges with plenty of rolling hills and, with the recent rain, some ‘extra’ water features. The extra day of preparation paid off for the team, with several athletes setting new personal bests f

by Coach Kenny Miller The Bertha-Hewitt Bears cross country team brought the heat to Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday, turning in dominant performances at the Terry Harrington 5000-meter race despite warm weather conditions. Senior standout Kendra Miller set the pace for Bertha-Hewitt with an electric second-place finish in the girls’ 5K, crossing the line at 19:32.4. Miller’s time marks the second-fastest performance of her career—behind only her own school re

Matt Allen completed the varsity boys 3.1 mile race in 34 minutes, 5 seconds. by Coach Heidi Brandsma The Verndale Cross Country team participated in the Johanna Olson Invitational held at the Whitetail Run Golf course in Wadena on Tuesday September 8th. It was a challenging day for the team, with temperatures in the 80s and humidity that made running more difficult. The team rallied and finished strong. New for the team, we also had four elementary students who are pa

by Coach Kenny Miller The Bertha-Hewitt Bears cross country team opened a busy week of competition on Monday, August 31, traveling to Staples for the Central Minnesota River Run. Warm and humid conditions greeted the runners as they competed in their first meet of the season. Head coach Kenny Miller elected to use a split-squad approach for the week, with the majority of the Bears competing Monday in Staples and the remaining athletes scheduled to race Friday at Minnesota S