On Oct. 18 at Mahtomedi High School, 46 girls started the 5k run vying for the Metro East Conference title both as a team and individual, and Hastings’ Linnea Ronning brought home the title of Conference Champion with a time of 19:06.97, 25 seconds faster than Simley’s Megan Gullerud, her closest competitor.

How did it feel to win her first Conference Championship?

“Really good! It’s really exciting,” said Ronning after the race. “It was a personal best by 30 seconds, so, it was a big personal best over the season.”

Ronning, a freshman, was surrounded by her team during her first-ever interview. Of course, they were having fun with the rookie runner, simultaneously trying to make her laugh and trying to keep the interview professional. That last part did not work so well as everyone was simply too excited and having a great time as a team.

“It’s really nice,” laughed Ronning about being on this team. “They are all really supportive, and it is a fun team to be on.”

The chemistry of the runners is clear. They all care about each other like a family, and it is a fun group to be around, even on a chilly afternoon.

The conference championship race normally takes place at St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park, which also doubles as the Raiders’ home course. This year, due to construction at the park, multiple meets, including the Conference Championship, were moved to Mahtomedi High School.

As a team, the girls finished third with a score of 64, behind Two Rivers which scored 47 and Mahtomedi scored 50. Simley had the second-place runner and finished fourth with a 94. That tells you how the team scores, while helped by a top three finisher, rely heavily on multiple faster kids instead of a few of the fastest.

For the boys, there were 56 total runners and Tristan Herbst had the fastest Raider time at 17:58.08 finishing 17th overall. As a team, the boys placed fifth with a score of 137. Tartan was fourth with 113, Mahtomedi third with 67, Two Rivers finished second with 52 and St. Thomas Academy finished first with 38.

Up next is the Section Championship at Valleywood Golf Club in Apple Valley. The section meet is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start for the girls and 4:15 p.m. for the boys on Thursday, Oct. 27. This is the meet to go to for witnessing high school kids with perseverance and tenacity. These kids leave it all on the course and they benefit from every ounce of support they can get. Get there early and cheer loud.

Other Hastings girls’ results: Ivy Brandenburg, 12th overall, 19:96.97; Genevieve Lawson, 14th, 21:20.28; Elise Atkins, 18th, 22:26.54; Jordyn Doughty, 22nd, 23:10.98; Lindsay Mathison, 31st, 23:54.23; Molly Caturia, 32nd, 23:56.21.

Other Hastings boys’ results: Max Albertson, 25th, 18:20.63; Aaron Herber, 28th, 18:44.36; Josiah Trost, 33rd, 19:01.62; Noah Quigley, 34th, 19:06.35; Aiden Reuter, 40th, 19:55.29; Brock Bauer, 41st, 19:59.07.