Hastings cross country runners faced two very different tests during the week, racing against Metro East Conference competition Tuesday before joining large fields at the Roy Griak Invitational Saturday.
The Raiders opened the week at the Metro East Conference Preview at St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park. Both Hastings teams finished sixth, with the boys placing sixth among eight teams with 157 points and the girls taking sixth among six teams with 137 points.
Senior David Tireman led the Hastings boys in the 5,000-meter race, placing 20th in 18 minutes, 31.5 seconds. Junior Benjamin Schwanke followed in 29th place at 19:06.6.
Hastings then had two runners finish together farther down the standings. Junior Landon Zajac placed 39th in 20:22.4, while junior James Jensen was 40th with the same recorded time of 20:22.4. Freshman Choice Ashcraft completed the Raiders' top five scoring finishers, placing 72nd in 22:04.7.
St. Thomas Academy won the boys team competition with 51 points, followed by Simley with 59 and Two Rivers with 61.
The Hastings girls had their first two runners separated by just two-tenths of a second. Sophomore Clara Hochmuth led the Raiders with a 17th-place finish in 23:22.2, while eighth-grader Elliana Lucking finished 18th in 23:22.4.
Freshman Annika Hauck was the next Hastings runner across the line, placing 41st in 25:40.0. Sophomore Paisley Grunzke finished 44th in 26:03.8 and freshman Taylor Johnson placed 48th in 26:40.9.
Mahtomedi won the girls team competition with 46 points, two points ahead of Hill-Murray. Two Rivers placed third with 58 points.
Four days later, Hastings stepped into much deeper fields at the Roy Griak Invitational at Fort Snelling Golf Course.
The Hastings boys placed 21st among 34 teams in the Lefty Wright Boys Maroon Competition, finishing with 548 points.
Tireman again led the Raiders and improved substantially on his Tuesday time, covering the 5,000-meter course in 16:59.9 to place 38th overall. Schwanke also moved below the 18-minute mark, finishing 72nd in 17:29.7.
Jensen placed 114th with a time of 18:00.8. Junior Brian Mann was 174th in 18:46.6, while sophomore Isaac Hamann finished 209th in 19:23.9.
Hastings also had freshman Owen Tireman finish 224th in 19:34.4 and Zajac place 226th in 19:34.9.
Menomonie won the boys Maroon team competition with 76 points. Owatonna was second with 122 and Nova Classical Academy finished third with 148.
The Hastings girls placed 25th among 33 teams in the Jack Johnson Girls Maroon Competition with 644 points.
Lucking led the Raiders, turning in a 20:21.8 to place 52nd overall. Hochmuth finished 113th in 21:33.3, while Hauck was 131st in 22:10.8.
Grunzke finished 208th with a time of 24:05.7, and Johnson followed in 211th at 24:14.6. Sophomore Emily Beaudet also competed for Hastings, finishing 239th in 25:32.5.
Menomonie won the girls competition with 53 points, followed by Hudson with 118 and Owatonna with 139.
Hastings next competes Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Under the Lights Metro Invitational at Flying Cloud Fields, with the meet scheduled for 5 p.m. The Raiders then travel to the Simley Invite at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, before returning to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park for the conference meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20.