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| Success in track has led to more of the same in cross country (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
But even Lippold may be a little surprised how Hyytinen has taken to his first sesaon of cross country.
The talented sophomore had led his team in every meet and in all but one ranked among the top ten finishers. In that one, he placed 18th in a talented field of 125. He was meet medalist at the New Prague Invitational.
"Justin is an athlete who is willing to go out and compete for a top spot," Lippold said. "When he gets to the starting line he know what has to be done and he does it.
"When he started the season he had never run 5000-meters. To watch him learn how to pace himself and mature has been rewarding....He is also a good role model. He wants to do well but he wants his team to do well, too."
At Tuesday's Victoria Lions Club Invitational in Chaska, Hyytinen was up to his usual tricks, finishing ninth in an elite field of more than 150 runners. That helped the Tigers to a 17th place finish in the 24-team meet.
"Our two-through-five runners continued to drop their two-and three mile splits," Lippold said, "But they need to find the confidence to go out with the lead pack. The drop in times will come."
Freshman Alex Hart and senior Adam Wallenta were the nest two Farmington finishers, placing 89th and 93rd in respective times of 18:01.7 and 18:06.5. Seam Dougherty was 108th in 18:21; Tyler Lerbakken 109th in 18:22.3; Caleb Eiffert 123rd in 18:47.2 and Ryan Newton 133rd in 19:10.5.
Next week the Tigers will run in another big meet, Tuesday's Shakopee Invitational at Memorial Park.
