Something Old And Something New In Season Opener
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (8/30/13)—Concordia kicked off the 2013 season by finishing second at the Valley City Invitational on Friday. It was a case of something old and something new as the Cobbers placed three runners in the top six of the meet.
The "something old" came from the solid start of senior Ryan Sederquist who ran a 16:22 over the 5k course and placed second. Sederquist appears to be taking the torch as the team's No.1 runner for the season. He has turned in some high-mileage training weeks and is in the best form of his career. Sederquist finished third at the VCSU meet last year. His time on Friday was :04 seconds faster than his finishing time in 2012.
The "something new" was posted by freshmen Matthew Lillehaugen and Carl Wahlin who posted top 6 finishes in the first collegiate meet of their careers. Lillehaugen placed third in a time of 16:54 and Wahlin was sixth after crossing the line in 17:41. Fellow freshmen Ethan Spittle ran an 18:38 and placed 14th to give CC a trio of newcomers in the team's top 5 runners.
Concordia junior Henry Dobbs was the No.4 athlete for the squad. He came home in 12th place in a time 18:19.
The Cobbers had seven other athletes compete in the invite. Of the remaining seven, four were freshmen. Philip Manley came away with the best time of the other seven runners. He had a 19:05 in his first meet in maroon and gold and was 18th.
Concordia will have a two-week break before they compete in the MSU Moorhead Invite at Ponderosa GC in Glyndon on Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m.
Final Team Totals
1. Valley City State – 33
2. Concordia – 35
3. UM-Morris – 52