Tiger senior Elliot Fenske kicked off his senior season in fine fashion, finishing fourth overall in a quality, 53-runner field at the Dakota Classic held Friday, Sept. 3, at Eagan High School.
Fenske toured the 3200-meter course in 10:34.6, 5.4 seconds behind winner Sidney Speier of Eagan.
Eagan finished 1-2 in the individual race and won the team title 35-57 over runner-up Apple Valley. Lakeville South ranked third at 76, followed by Hill-Murray 108, Farmington 149, New Prague 151, Hastings 173 and Simley 207.
Nearly a minute separated Fenske from junior Lincoln Kirchoff, the second Farmington finisher, who clocked 11:33.7 for 29th place.
Senior Carl Elmer took 33rd in 11:37; junior Chad Retterath 39th in 11:53.5; sophomore Ben Olson 44th in 12:01.8; sophomore Adam Wallenta 46th in 12:24.7 and sophomore Alec Wilson 48th in 12:34.
"We're getting a good grouping of our second through fifth runners," Farmington coach Keith Revels said, "but we'll need to cut the time between that group and Elliot if we are going to progress. It's tough to tell in this race because it's only 3200 meters but it's a good start. We'll see what a difference the longer distance (5000 meters) makes at Montgomery."
The Tigers head to the Montgomery Golf Club this Thursday, Sept, 9, for their annual appearance in the Redbird Invitational.
