St. Croix Central runners show possibilities, host race this Thursday

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In the number crunching following its first meet of the 2012 season, the St. Croix Central cross country team found some promising results.

The Panthers will get to build upon that good news this Thursday, when they host their annual St. Croix Central Invitational.

Central’s runners began the 2012 season last Thursday at the Boyceville Cross Country Invite. The Panther boys placed third among the 12 teams in the meet while the Central girls recorded a seventh place finish.

Central’s boys graduated their lead runners each of the past two seasons. Each year new boys step up to take the leadership role and this year is no exception. Brett Briggs and the Bringgold brothers, Nathan and Jordan, all had top 20 finishes to lead the Panther boys on Thursday.

“Brett Briggs has done a wonderful job of stepping up,” said Central coach Bill Emery. Briggs was Central’s top finisher, placing 10th overall.

Sophomore Jordan Bringgold placed 12th and senior Nathan Bringgold finished 18th in the boys race. Emery said the boys team worked hard to improve themselves over the summer, with Nathan Bringgold leading the summer workouts.

Rounding out the top seven for the Panther boys were Max Kaul in 28th, Logan Nelson in 37th, Tyler Johnson in 51st and Nick Hammond in 57th place.

For Central’s girls, junior Courtney Kramer and sophomore Lauren Moll return as the Panthers’ top runners. Kramer has proven herself to be an all-conference caliber runner. She showed she’s back at that level this season, finishing 11th on Thursday.

Moll was Central’s second runner, placing 28th. Emery said Moll continues to be the team’s second runner and she’s becoming more of a factor in the team’s image.

“Lauren’s becoming more of a voice in the team. She’s fiercely competitive,” Emery said.

Ella Scott and Hope Hoolihan had promising starts on Thursday, placing 40th and 41st. Mackenzie Johnson was the fifth Panther finisher, placing 53rd. Erika Borgstrom placed 66th.

The Panthers are putting the final touches on this Thursday’s home meet, which will feature 14 teams. Thursday’s races begin with the varsity/JV boys race at 4 p.m. The varsity/JV girls race will follow at 4:30 p.m. The combined boys/girls middle school race will conclude the day’s events, starting at 5 p.m.

Tags: cross country, sports, panthers, prep