Stauffer tunes into victory

I tried just pushing through it. I always listen to music in my head when I’m running. I was listening to Whitney Houston, ‘I want to dance with somebody.’” It’s a good tempo, it works well.””

Park senior Gavin Stauffer

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The Wolfpack competes Thursday in the Dewey Minnaert Invitational at St. Croix Regional Park.

With a little help from Whitney Houston, Park senior Gavin Stauffer danced his way to a championship Thursday.

Stauffer clocked a 17:31 time en route to his first-place finish in the annual Grey Cloud Invitational Thursday at Cottage Grove Middle School.

“That was tough,” said Stauffer. “The heat got me. That first mile felt really good but I was telling myself I’m not going to go fast for this one (mile), I want to try and pace myself. And then as soon as we passed in that first mile I started moving. And then I kind of realized that was a mistake when I got to the two-mile mark and I was not feeling good.

“I tried just pushing through it,” Stauffer continued. “I always listen to music in my head when I’m running. I was listening to Whitney Houston, ‘I want to dance with somebody.’” It’s a good tempo, it works well.”

Stauffer ran a 17:38.89 time in the same race last fall, finishing fourth.

“Last week I ran a 17:54 so I’m very happy with how much time I cut,” Stauffer said. “My goal was just to get faster after last year. I’m very, very satisfied with what I got and how I did. That last mile was tough.”

It was a big day for the Park boys. Eli Firchau finished fourth in a time of 18:03, Henry Joa was sixth in 18:09, then the next seven Park runners came in 13th through 20th. Sam Craig was 13th in 20:15, Ben Paulsen 14th in 20:20, Will Mann 15th in 20:27; Liam Fleming 17th in 20:48, Miles Kaiser 18th in 20:59, Sam Paulsen was 19th in 21:18 and Jayden Rentz was 20th in 21:21.

Park and East Ridge tied for the boys' team title, each with 38 points. Hastings was third with 48 and Cretin-Derham Hall fourth with 116.

It was a dramatic improvement for the Park boys' team which finished third in this same race a year ago with 69 points.

“We’re proud of how the kids handled the heat and humidity,” said Park co-head coach brad Narveson. “It was uncomfortable to run in but as the kids know it was uncomfortable for everyone. We tell them that you can’t control the weather, but you can control how you prepare for it and you can control your attitude towards it.

“As a team I think they handled it very well,” Narveson added. “It was fun for our boys to win this one. We know East Ridge and Hastings are going to be tough teams to beat in our upcoming conference and section meets so we know we have to keep working hard and keep improving.”

The top 10 Park runners all finished in the top 20 overall, going 1-4-6-13-14-15-17-18-19 and 20th.

Hastings won the girls team race with 31 points, followed by East Ridge, 36; Park, 80; and Cretin-Derham Hall, 91.

Ali Devine led the Park girls with a 12th place finish in a time of 26:20.43.

Jana Hafiz was 14th in 26:22.45, Hollen Thompson 17th in 27:04.55, Alaina Murphy 18th in 27:20.84, Mya Albrecht 19th in 27:28.32, Aria Waletzko 21st in 27:50.71, Tenley Nelson 26th in 29:53.52 and Ramsey Nelson 27th in 29:55.29.

“Our girls continue to gain valuable experience and they keep working hard,” said Narveson. “Again, the weather conditions were hot and humid and that’s tough for young and inexperienced runners. But they gutted their way through it and finished strong. Alli Devine had a great last mile to pass several runners and be our number one. She’s just one example of what hard work and a positive attitude can do during a race. I know we’re going to see major improvements from our girls throughout the season because of their positive attitude and work ethic.”

Linda Ronning of Hastings won the girls race in a time of 20:54.93.

The Wolfpack competes Thursday in the Dewey Minnaert Invitational at St. Croix Regional Park. The varsity girls 5K starts at 4:35 with the boys' varsity race starting at 5:10 p.m.