Thompson, Miller lead Pines at Smiley Invite

A week after a massive night race in Neenah on Sept. 11, the Northland Pines cross country teams were led by freshman and senior runners Ryleigh Thompson and Ethan Miller at the always-large, competitive Smiley Invite hosted by Wausau East on Sept. 19.

With 28 teams in the combined D2/3 field, the Eagles finished 22nd as a team on the girls’ side and 18th in the boys’ field.

While Thompson and Miller led the Eagles in their respective fields, personal and season-best times were met by multiple Northland Pines runners.

On the boys’ team, Miller finished 27th among 209 competitors. The senior finished with another sub-18-minute time at 17:57.5 and was less than a second behind 26th.

Sophomore Jarrett Grassl finished inside the top 85 in 83rd. Grassl ran a season-best time of 19:12.8 to continue his second varsity season with the Eagles.

Logan Manriquez also landed a PR last week with his time of 20:23.4. He finished the meet in 116th out of 210.

The Eagles continued strong runs, with sophomore Colin Miller crossing the finish line at 21:02.5.

Griffin Beyer, a senior and leader on this year’s team, finished his day in 22:17.3.

Ryan McGrath and freshman Ryan Fuller submitted times of 22:38.3 and 24:04.

For the girls, Thompson continued her strong freshman year at the varsity level with another top finish in a strong field that was combined with 196 runners. Thompson was just one of two freshmen competitors to capture a top-15 position. The Pines freshman finished in 12th place overall and eighth amongst D2 competitors. She capped the performance with a personal best time of 20:35. Fellow freshman teammate Kelsey Huber clocked the best time of her career at 23:46.3, which was good for 114th out of 196. Senior Ava Gaetano put up a strong time of 26:07, which was a season best for the senior in her final high school season. Anna Chicka added to the team’s season-best times with her finish at 27:49.3. Freshman Courtney Archuleta finished her first Smiley Invite with a time of 29:20.7.

The Eagles will continue to bring their best times as the season progresses. Pines won’t have to travel far this week, as it competes at Big Stone Golf Course in Three Lakes this Thursday, Sept. 24, starting at 4 p.m. Pines will then be in Merrill this Saturday, Sept. 26, at 9:45 a.m.