Card boys' cross country: Bartolomeo, Sieling advance to state

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Alexandria junior Zac Bartolomeo and senior Will Sieling earned spots in the State Class A cross country meet next week as they finished seventh and 10th respectively, helping the Cardinals to a sixth place team finish at the Section 8AA championships in Cold Spring Thursday.

“The Alexandria boys had their best team performance of the 2011 season,” said head coach Mark Nelsen. “Six of their seven races were season best times.

“There are many great individuals and teams in Section 8AA,” he added. “This young team has improved all season and finished sixth as a team.”

Moorhead was the section champion, with Willmar earning the other team berth at state with its runner-up finish.

Individually, Bartolomeo ran a 16:27.6, just 30 seconds behind section champion Glen Ellingson of Moorhead, Class AA’s fifth ranked runner.

Sieling finished less than a second behind his teammate for 10th, and 19 seconds better than his previous season best.

Aaron Runge, who finished 45th for the Cards, improved by 32 seconds over his previous best season time, while Colton Sailor, finishing 61st, cut 22 seconds off his previous best.

Jimmy Lovrien was 23rd in the meet, Brandon Jerde 64th and Trent Piepenburg 71st.

SECTION 8AA CROSS COUNTRY

BOYS’ SCORES – 1. Moorhead 52, 2. Willmar 87, 3. Sartell 107, 4. Bemidji 114, 5. Monticello 136, 6. Alexandria 146, 7. Fergus Falls 202, 8. Detroit Lakes 206, 9. Thief River Falls 254, 10. St. Cloud Tech 265, 11. Little Falls 271, 12. Brainerd 271, 13. Rocori 293, 14. St. Cloud Apollo 416, 15. Sauk Rapids 462, 16. Becker 484.

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION – Glen Ellingson, Moorhead, 15:57.5.

ALEXANDRIA RESULTS – 7. Zac Bartolomeo 16:27.6, 10. Will Sieling 16:28.1, 23. Jimmy Lovrien 17:19.9, 45. Aaron Runge 17:50.7, 61. Colton Sailor 18:05.9, 64. Brandon Jerde 18:12.6, 64, 71. Trent Piepenburg 18:17.9.

Tags: alexandria sports, cross country, sports, cardinals, boys, state, section