Lumberjacks Section 7AA Boys Cross Country Champions

Photos by: Nicole Cooke

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

The Cloquet Lumberjacks have won the 2013 section 7AA boys cross country Championship  as the Cloquet Lumberjacks will be retuning the the state cross country tournament for the first time since 2002.  The Lumberjack trio of Dylan Marvel, Issac Boedigheimer, and Jace Anderson finished 2nd, 4th, and 6th respectively in the boys section 7AA race to help led the Lumberjacks to the section title Thursday.

Connor Denman finished 23rd on the day and John Waltjer was 26th for the Lumberjacks as the capture the team title with a total of 61, while Chisago Lakes finished second and they will also participate in the state cross country meet. Andy Magnuson from Chisago Lakes captured the section 7AA boys title just ahead of Marvel.

Forest Lake and Elk River were first and second in the girls section 7AA team standings and both will compete in the state tournament next weekend. Duluth East was fourth on the girls side while Cloquet finished 10th, Duluth Denfeld was 12th, and Hermantown came in 15th on the day.

Emma Brenner of Forest Lake captured the 7AA girls championship just a head of Rhianna Rinke of North Branch. The top local finisher on the girls side was Cloquet’s Anja Maijaila who finished in eighth place and Phoebe Koski of Duluth East was ninth on the day.

Duluth East was sixth in the boys meet while Hermantown placed tenth. Duluth Denfeld was 16th on the day.

The Lumberjacks will be making their 8th state tournament appearance and won two state titles when they were a cooperative program with Esko back in 1984 & 1985. The Lumberjacks also went to the state tournament with Esko in 1983 and in 1987.

Cloquet as a lone school participant when in 1975 when Lee Kantonen led Cloquet as he finished 2nd overall that year, and again the Lumberjacks qualified in 2001 and 2002.

Cloquet’s John Wodny won two state titles in 1983 and again in 1984, both as part of the cooperative program with Esko.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com