Girls X-Country: The few, the proud...

Lauren Peterson Most Valuable Runner, state meet qualifier

Quality trumped quantity for the Tiger girls this fall.

The entire varsity roster consisted of just 13 runners but that proved to be a lucky number for coach Heidi Revels who saw her team improve its finish in five of eight meets this season. Farmington ranked fifth in both the Missota Conference and Section 1AA meets in 2013.

"We had a good balance of returning talent and newcomers," Revels said. "We are fortunate to have a team of hard workers who want to do well both as individuals and as a team.

"Four of our the varsity runners set personal records at the section meet which showed they were peaking at the right time. Training outside the season is definitely showing results."

The seven runners who routinely made up the varsity lineup earned letters for their efforts: senior Maricia Pacheco, junior Sofia Chadwick, sophomore Maricella Pacheco, ninth-grader Sami Hyytinen and seventh-graders Lauren Peterson, Anna Palodichuk and Emily Schaffer.

Peterson had a breakout first season, earning team Most Valuable Runner honors while garnering all-Missota Conference honorable mention recognition and qualifying for the Class AA state meet.
The speedy seventh-grader broke a school course record at the section championship race in Owatonna.

Maricia Pacheco All-Missota Conference

Maricia Pacheco (pictured above) landed a spot on the prestigious all-Missota Conference squad while junior varsity runner Hannah Morgan was tabbed as the team's most improved runner. Palodichuk took home the Rookie of the Year Award and Chadwick won the Coaches Award for attitude and work ethic.

Other team members who comprised a quality junior varsity team included sophomore Morgan; juniors Alexis Smith and Sarah Cummings; sophomore Mariana Montbriand; freshman Kara Revis and seventh-grader Abby Bollig.

Revels said the only disappointment from the season just completed was the small turnout.

"We are always looking for more depth," she said. "There were a few meets this year where we couldn't field a complete junior varsity team."

Next year should bring continued success with only Maricia Pacheco lost to graduation but it will also bring some new challenges.

"I believe that these girls will continue to improve individually and their hard work will mean more success for the team as well," Revels said. "We'll be moving to the South Suburban Conference next year where the competition level is definitely a bit higher but I think we're up for the challenge."

Sofia Chadwick Coaches Award winner

Girls X-Country: Peterson makes state debut

Lauren Peterson

Heading into the 2013 cross country season Lauren Peterson had never competed in a varsity race.

That wasn't her fault, however. As a seventh-grader this was the first year she was eligible to participate on the high school team.

Last Saturday Peterson capped a brilliant first season by finishing 131st in a 174-field of elite runners at the Class AA State Championships held at St. Olaf College in Northfield. She was just one of eight seventh-graders who qualified for the state finals.

Peterson finished the challenging 4000-meter course in 16:03.2, more than a minute slower than she ran at the Section 1AA Championships last week.

"Lauren did great considering it was her first time participating in such a big meet," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "She wasn't happy with her time, but we kept reminding her how amazing it is to make it to state and how she will know what to expect next year.

"I think it was intimidating to be one of the younger athletes and racing with such a large crowd watching.  But what a great experience to be racing with the top Minnesota runners. We are so proud of her."

Earlier in the season, Peterson won all-Missota Conference honorable mention honors. She qualified for state with a sixth place showing at the Section 1AA meet. 

Girls X-Country: Peterson on to State

Seventh-grader Lauren Peterson finished 6th overall and earned a trip the state meet

Lauren Peterson put an exclamation point on an outstanding first season with a sixth place finish in a 111-runner field at the Section 1AA Championships held Thursday at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna to earn a trip to next weekend's Class AA state meet.

The speedy seventh-grader toured the 4000-meter course in a season-best 14:52 to eclipse the FHS school record on the Brooktree course set by Tiger boys' cross country coach Lisa (Dingman) Lippold in 1998.

"Lauren went out strong early in the race and stayed with the top 10 pack throughout," coach Heidi Revels said.

Peterson wasn't the only Tiger to have a big day at the section meet. Senior Maricia Pacheco, a state meet qualifier last fall, missed a return trip to state by two places, lopping a half minute off last year's section time with a 15:23 clocking.

Lakeville South out-pointed cross town rival Lakeville North 85-44 to win the team title with both schools moving on to the state meet team competition.

Austin ranked third at 114, followed by Red Wing 145, Farmington 153,  Albert Lea 161, Northfield 166, Rochester Century 199, Owatonna 211, Rochester Mayo 212, Faribault 293,  Winona 316, Rochester John Marshall 331, Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon-Wanamingo 398, Hastings 412 and Kasson-Mantorville 516.

The Tigers' fifth-place ranking was one place higher than their standing at the 2012 section finals.

Maricia Pacheco (foreground) knocked 30 seconds off her 2102 section time

In addition to Peterson and Pacheco, five other Tigers, two on the varsity team and three more on the junior varsity squad, turned in personal record times in their final meet of the season.

"What an amazing day for Farmington girls' cross country," Revels said. "Our goal is always to reach our peak this time of year and the girls definitely stepped up and gave it all they had.

"It's very exciting to bring someone to the state meet but it's also a joy to look back at all the team has done this season and to see the runners confident and meeting their individual goals."

The two additional personal bests came from Anna Palodichuk and Sami Hyytinen, the third and fourth Tiger finishers. Palodichuk checked in at 35th place in 15:57 and Hyytinen was 39th in 16:01.

Sofia Chadwick placed 56th in 16:29; Maricella Pacheco 73rd in 16:59 and Emily Schaffer 78th in 17:07.

The junior varsity team placed ninth among 13 teams with Mariana Montbriand leading the way with a 35th place finish, two spots in front of Sara Cummings. Abby Bollig finished 55th, Alexis Johnson 73rd, Hannah Morgan 78th and Kara Revis 88th.

Peterson will spend the next week training for the state meet scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2, at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

Tiger Scoreboard: October 26, 2013

Girls Cross Country
Section 1AA Championships at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna
Lakeville South 44, Lakeville North 85, Austin 114, Red Wing 145, Farmington 153,  Albert Lea 161, Northfield 166, Rochester Century 199, Owatonna 211, Rochester Mayo 212, Faribault 293,  Winona 316, Rochester John Marshall 331, Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon-Wanamingo 398, Hastings 412, Kasson-Mantorville 516
Seventh-grader Lauren Peterson qualifies for the Class AA state meet.

Boys Cross Country
Section 1AA Championships at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna
Red Wing 90, Lakeville North 91, Rochester Century 104, Owatonna 135, Winona 158, Albert Lea 173, Farmington 184, Rochester Mayo 205, Lakeville South 205, Faribault 214, Austin 281, Northfield 313, Hastings 346, Rochester John Marshall 376, Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon-Wanamingo 393, Kasson-Mantorville 437.
Junior Justin Hyytinen qualifies for the Class AA state meet for the second consecutive season.

Girls X-Country: Tigers 5th at Missota Championships

Maricia Pacheco All-Missota Conference (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Senior Maricia Pacheco and seventh-grader Lauren Peterson paced the Tigers to a fifth place finish at the 2013 Missota Conference Championships run Tuesday at Cedar Lake Farm in New Prague.

Farmington took sixth at the 2012 league race held last October at the New Prague Golf Course.

"We moved up a spot from last year but I wouldn't say it was our best race," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "It was a tough, hilly course but I think there may have been some anxiety on running in the 'big race' for the younger girls."

A strong Chanhassen team placed three runners among the top 10 to win the meet with a low team total of 46 points. Chaska took the runner-up spot with 77, followed by Shakopee 88, Red Wing 91, Farmington 124, Northfield 125, New Prague 157 and Holy Angels 175.

Pacheco, an all-conference honorable mention performer the past two seasons, led the Tigers with an 11th place finish to earn a spot on the all-conference squad. Pacheco toured the 4000-meter course in 16:00.

Lauren Peterson all-conference honorable mention

Peterson hit the finish line in 16:11 to place 14th overall and earn all-league honorable mention. The speedy seventh-grader was the second middle schooler to finish the varsity race.

Another seventh-grader, Anna Palodichuk, was the third Farmington finisher, taking 27th place in 16:35. Junior Sofia Chadwick ranked 34th in 16:54; freshman Sami Hyytinen 39th in 17:09; sophomore Maricella Pacheco 41st in17:26 and seventh-grader Emily Schaffer 49th in 17:45.

The Tiger junior varsity finished fifth among seven teams with Sarah Cummings leading the way with a 21st place finish. Abby Bollig placed 24th; Mariana Montbriand 26th; Alex Johnson 41st; Hannah Morgan 45th and Kara Revis 48th.

Sarah Cummings led the JV runners

Next Thursday the Tigers head to Owatonna for the Section 1AA Championships to be held at Brooktree Golf Course.

Farmington finished sixth as a team there last fall and Pacheco ranked 12th overall to earn a spot in the 2012 Class AA state meet.

X-Country: Tigers do Duluth

Justin Hyytinen

The Tigers took their act up north Saturday with an appearance at the Swain Invitational at Enger Park in Duluth.

Farmington finished 12th among 25 teams in the girls race while the Tiger boys ranked 22nd in a 26-team field.

Forest Lake, Totino Grace and Visitation finished 1-2-3 in the girls competition; Totino Grace, Minneapolis Southwest and St. Michael-Albertville topped the boys standings.

A rugged, hilly course made even more challenging by rainy and windy conditions combined to keep individual times on the high side.

Justin Hyytinen provided the biggest Tiger highlight of the meet, finishing fourth among more than 170 runners in the boy's race with a 16:42 clocking over the tough 5000-meter course.

Five of the six other Tiger runners were relative newcomers as regulars Alex Hat, Devon Webb, Hunter Sevenich and Sean Dougherty took the day off after running three races in eight days.

Veteran Matt Anderson was the second Farmington finisher, placing 118th in 19:13. Other varsity places and times included Peyton Woller 140th, 19:52; Jackson Schneider 144th, 20:05; Derek Cole, 153rd, 20:05; Josh Grimm 154th, 20:40 and Zach Teiken 155th, 20:47.

"The weather conditions weren't ideal," coach Lisa Lippold said, "so we talked to the boys about approaching this meet as if it were the conference or section and we had to run in them. It was a good practice in mental toughness."

Sofia Chadwick

On the girls side of the ledger, Lauren Peterson and Maricia Pacheco continued to lead the Tigers. Peterson finished 13th overall in 16:09 and Pacheco checked in at 21st in 16:42 over the 4000-meter route. A total of 168 runners ran in the race.

Sofia Chadwick took the No. 3 spot on the Tiger stat sheet with a 94th place finish in 18:19. Sami Hyytinen ranked 95th in 18:19.2; Emma Schaffer 98th in 18:21; Anna Palodichuk 99th on 18:22 and Maricella Pacheco 102nd in 18:23.

"Given the windy and wet conditions, the hills and the muddy trail, our times were not the best," coach Heidi Revels said. "But what a great experience for the team.

"Heading into the conference and section in the next couple of weeks, the weather can be quite similar and now they know they can do it." 

Tuesday the Tiger boys run closer to home when they compete in the Shakopee Invitational. Next Tuesday the Missota Conference Championships for both teams will be held at Cedar Farms in New Prague.

Girls X-Country: Tigers move up 5 places

Maricella Pacheco ran personal best time at the Chaska Invitational

Last year the Tigers placed 13th in a quality field at the Chaska Invitational. Tuesday they moved up five spots in the rankings, finishing eighth among 21 teams at the race held at the Chaska Par 30 Golf Course.

"We had three runners PR and the spread among our top five runners of 1:16 is also looking good," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "We will continue to work on lowering that number to under 1:00.  I'm very proud of our small Tiger team."

Lakeville South ran away with the team title at Chaska with a meet low point total of 63. Chanhassen was a distant second at 103, followed by Prior Lake 122, Minnetonka 126, Eden Prairie 145, Chaska 155, Lakeville North 172, Farmington 246, Edina 265, Robbinsdale Armstong 273, Stillwater 284, Osseo 309, Waconia 339, Mankato West 343, New Prague 396, Bloomington Jefferson 424, Dassel-Cokato 444, St. Louis Park 455, Bloomington Kennedy 584, Shakopee 593 and Richfield 670.

Seventh-grader Lauren Peterson and senior Maricia Pacheco continued to lead the Tiger pack. Peterson was the first Farmington runner to reach the finish line, covering the 4000-meter course in 15:21 in 15th place. Pacheco was right on her heels in 19th place with a personal-best time of 15:24.

"That is exactly what we are looking for from them," Revels said. "Over the last couple of weeks they have started to click and figure out how to use each other on the course to push themselves and each other. This will definitely be to their (and the team's) advantage as we go into the conference and section meets."

Seventh-grader Anna Palodichuk also set a personal record with a 16:21 clocking, good enough for 64th place overall in the 146-runner field. Junior Sofia Chadwick was 68th in 16:27 and sophomore Maricella Pacheco took 80th in a personal best 16:37.

Freshman Sami Hyytinen ranked 88th in 16:51 and Emma Schaffer 101st in 17:12 to round out the Farmington scorecard.

This weekend the Tigers head north for their annual appearance at the Swain Invitational in Duluth. 

X-Country: Running with the big dogs

Justin Hyytinen finished 38th in a field of 490 at the Roy Griak Invitational

The Tigers have run in several large meets this season but those get-togethers looked like dual meets compared to Saturday's Roy Griak Invitational held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course at the University of Minnesota.

100-plus teams from across the country competed in two high school divisions with college and university level races also on the meet menu.

The Tigers ran in the Gold Division of the high school bracket where the girls ranked 33rd and the boys 41st in their respective 50-team races.

"The meet was definitely a learning experience us," Tiger boys coach Lisa Lippold said. "We haven't ever run in a meet of that size and that can be intimidating to run with that many people around you the entire race.

"It was a good for us to be exposed to a more difficult course than what we are used to. We didn't place as high as we wanted so we are looking ahead to the Chaska meet and setting our individual and team goals."

Justin Hyytinen proved he was up to the individual challenge, finishing 38th overall in a field of 494 runners. Hyytinen covered the challenging, 5000-meter course in 16:45.

Alex Hart was the next Tiger to hit the finish line, clocking 18:08 in 227th place. Devon Webb ranked 282nd in 18:35; Hunter Sevenich 290th in 18:42 and Sean Dougherty 310th in 19:03.

Lauren Peterson led the Tiger girls at the Roy Griak Invitational

Seventh grader Lauren Peterson and senior Maricia Pacheco were the top Tiger finishers in the girls race. The 5000-meter race was 1000 meters longer than the customary distance for girls' races in Minnesota.

Peterson ran 20:08 to place 62nd; Pacheco was 78th in 20:16. Anna Palodichuk finished 178th in 21:21, Emily Schaffer 257th in 22:08 and Sofia Chadwick 272nd in 22:38. 460 runners competed in the race.

"It was an adventure given the change in distance, the rainy weather and the hilly terrain," Tiger girls coach Heidi Revels said. "I think the girls did very well. It was fun to see Lauren and Maricia finish so close together."

Girls X-Country: A new-look lineup at NP

Sami Hyytinen won a medal for her 10th place finish

With Saturday's multi-state Roy Griak Invitational meet on the near horizon, Tiger coach Heidi Revels opted to rest her top five runners at Tuesday's New Prague Invitational held at Cedar Lake Farms.

That meant some changes in the lineup with several girls running their first varsity race, but the newcomers performed well, finishing sixth in an 11-team field.

Red Wing took team honors with a 42-point total. Host New Prague was a distant second at 74, followed by Norwood-Young America 113, Faribault 119, Cannon Falls 170, Farmington 172, St. Peter 184, Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 192, Jordan 194, Tri-City United 201 and LeSueur-Henderson 236.

"This was a new course this year, Revels said. "Much tougher than the old one at the golf course. There were some pretty nasty hills."

Sami Hyytinen, a varsity regular all season, led the Farmington effort with a 10th place finish in 16:57 (4000 meters) and earned a medal for her effort.

"Sami's goal was to break 17:00 and she did it," Revels said.

Maricella Pacheco, another varsity regular all year, finished 25th in 17:55. Alexis Johnson ranked 38th in 18:49; Abby Bollig 47th in 19:10; Sarah Cummings 52nd in 19:36 and Hannah Morgan 55th in 19:57.

The varsity runners not competing at New Prague made the trip anyway to get a look at the new course that will serve as the site of the 2013 Missota Conference Championships on October 15.

Saturday's Griak Invitational will be run at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course. Next Tuesday the Tigers compete in the Chaska Invitational at the Chaska Par 30 Golf Course.

Girls X-Country: Young Tigers fly with the Eagles

Ninth-grader Sami Hyytinen was the fifth Tiger finisher at Apple Valley

Even though the Tigers had three seventh-graders and a ninth-grader in their seven-runner lineup, they managed a solid 11th place finish in an 18-team field at the talent-rich Eagle Invitational held Saturday in Apple Valley.

As a matter of fact, two of the seventh graders, Lauren Peterson and Anna Palodichuk, were the first Farmington runners to hit the finish line.

Edina won the meet with a team total of 70 points. Eden Prairie took second with 79, followed by Chanhassen 83, Lakeville South 121, Lakeville North 171, St. Michael-Albertville 182, Shakopee 216, Waseca 218. Fargo North 244 Northfield 20, Farmington 263, Irondale 334, Bloomington Jefferson 374, Apple Valley 403, St. Louis Park 406, Belle Plaine 424, Jamestown 442 and Bloomington Kennedy 450.

Seventh-grader Peterson, who has been either first or second for the Tigers in every meet so far this season, earned a medal with a 13th place finish in a field of 119 runners. Peterson clocked 15:32 over the 4000-meter course. Palodichuk checked in at 15:54 and ranked 54th overall.

Junior Sofia Chadwick was five places back in 16:26. Emily Schaffer, the third seventh grader in the lineup, proved she belonged on the varsity squad with a 63rd place finish in 16:50.

Ninth grader Sami Hyytinen finished 74th in 17:00 and sophomore Maricella Pacheco placed 103rd in 18:02.

Senior captain Maricia Pacheco missed the meet due to a conflict with college entrance testing.

"This was great race for the three seventh graders," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "I couldn't be more excited about having such a talented mix of young and older athletes. It really is perfect... It was our first time at this meet and considering the competition, I think we had a great finish."

Tuesday the Tigers leave the metro when they head to New Prague for their annual appearance in the New Prague Invitational.

Girls X-Country: Peterson back in front of Tiger pack

Seventh-grader Anna Palodichuk was the fourth Farmington runner at  Lakeville

Seventh-grader Lauren Peterson and senior Maricia Pacheco continued their season-long battle for the team's lead runner position at Friday's Applejack Invitational at Lakeville's Aronson Park.

Peterson finished 20th overall in a field of 166 runners, finishing the 4000-meter course in 15:12.7 to lead the Farmington effort. Pacheco, who took team honors last week at Faribault, placed 60th in 16:01.3.

"Lauren had an amazing race with her best time of the year," coach Heidi Revels said. "We dropped our place from last year but we definitely missed Maricella Pacheco who has been one of our top five runners. Thankfully it is early in the season and we have time to get healthy and pull together as a team." 

East Ridge won the meet with 72 team points, 20 fewer than runner-up Egan whose Anna Van Wyk won the individual in 14:26.7.

Edina placed third in the team standings at 107, followed by Lakeville South 114, Monticello 160, Forest Lake 181, Prior Lake 217, Rosemount 236, Minnetonka 236, Lakeville South 240, Luverne 307, Shakopee 340, Farmington 359, Andover 365, Centennial 367, Woodbury 416, Math and Science Academy 503, Rogers 512 add Bloomington Kennedy 540.

Junior Sofia Chadwick was the third Farmington finisher, ranking 79th in 16:17.6. Seventh-grader Anna Palodichuk continued to improve, placing 87th in 16:32.5. Juniors Alexis Johnson and Sarah Cummings were 113th and 127th respectively in 17:16.9 and 18:06.2.

Seventh grader Emily Schaffer ran 16:58 in the junior varsity race and earned a spot in the varsity lineup for next Saturday's Apple Valley Invitational.

Girls X-Country: Tigers stock trending up

Maricia Pacheco (front) won a medal for her 13th place finish at Faribault

After two early season races the 2013 issue of Farmington stock is trending upward.

Friday afternoon the Tigers ranked fifth among 20 schools at the 20-team, talent-rich Faribault Invitational held at Alexander Park. Farmington finished fifth among 18 schools at the same race last fall.

Lakeville North and Burnsville tied for the low score in the meet with 76 points with North winning the title on a sixth-place runner tie-breaker.

White Bear Lake took third with 95 points, followed by Totino Grace 114, Farmington 176, Stillwater 240, Mankato West 248, Apple Valley 273, Faribault 285,, Edina 292, Owatonna 306, Rochester Mayo 332, Math and Science Academy 339, Rochester Lourdes 341, Rochester Century 351, Albert Lea 360, Winona 403, Mankato East 416, Brookings (SD) 509 and Kasson-Mantoville 590.

Maricia Pacheco ranked 13th in a 140-runner field and earned a medal for her 13th place finish in a time of 16:08 over the 4000-meter course.

The next four Tiger runners all cracked the top 50. Lauren Peterson placed 30th in 16:35.2; Sofia Chadwick 40th in 16:57; Anna Palodichuk 44th in 17:06.9 and Sami Hyytinen 49th in 17:19.4

Maricella Pacheco finished 62nd in 17:31.7 and Alexis Johnson placed 67th in 17:38.1.

Coach Heidi Revels was also pleased with the effort of her five-runner junior varsity team that placed ninth overall in a 19-team field. Members of that team include Sara Cummings, Hannah Morgan, Mariana Montbriand, Abby Bolling and Emily Schaeffer.

"It was an exciting start for our team," Revels said. "It's encouraging to see improvements so early in the season. The combination of experienced runners and newcomers can be a challenge, but so far they are meshing well in practice and already learning to work together in a racing situation.

Next Friday the Tigers make the short trip to Aronson Park in Lakeville for the Lakeville North Invitational.

Girls X-Country: Putting their best feet forward

The Tigers roar out of the gate at the Dakota Classic

After a long week of tropical temperatures and dew points the clouds mercifully rolled in Friday morning just in time for the Dakota County Classic two-mile race at Eagan High School.

The Tigers who ranked fifth in the event last fall were looking to move up and accomplished that goal with a fourth place finish in the eight-team field.

State powers Eagan, Lakeville South and Forest Lake finished 1-2-3 in the rankings with respective team totals of 36, 58 and 78 points. The Tigers were next at 103, followed by New Prague 129, Apple Valley 130, Hastings 201 and Simley 257.

"Our times were good and we ran well," coach Heidi Revels said. "For a first race I was very pleased.

"I was really proud of all of our runners but especially Lauren (Peterson) and Anna (Palodichuk) who were running their first varsity races."

Peterson went out with the led pack and placed ninth overall in a time of 12:18.9. Senior Maricia Pacheco took 15th in 12:46.4 and junior Sofia Chadwick clocked 13:11 to rank 23rd.

Sophomore Maricella Pacheco placed 27th in 13:3.8;  freshman Sami Hyytinen 29th in 13:38.4; Palodichuk 35th in 14:16 and junior Sarah Cummings 42nd in 14:43.7 to round out the Tiger scorecard.

The Tigers have a week off before returning to action next Friday at the Faribault Invitational.

Seventh grader Lauren Peterson placed ninth in her first varsity race

Girls X-Country: Still young but experienced

Senior Maricia Pacheco ran in the state meet in 2012 (photo by Jim Lindquist)

With only Maria Kiminski gone from last year's team that finished sixth in both the Missota Conference and Section 1AA Championships enthusiasm is running high in the Tiger camp.

"We saw significant improvement last year," coach Heidi Revels said, "and I believe the girls can finish even higher this year. That is one of our team goals."

Leading the Tiger pack is senior Maricia Pacheco who after earning all-Missota honorable mention honors during the regular season ranked 12th at the Section 1AA meet to earn a berth in the state meet..

The rest of the the 2013 squad will be comprised of underclassmen, six of whom saw action on the varsity team last fall: juniors Sofia Chadwick (all-conference in 2011), Sarah Cummings and Alexis Johnson; sophomore Maricella Pacheco; freshman Sammi Hyytinen and eighth-grader Alexis Laube.

Sophomore Mariana Montbriand and seventh-grader Lauren Peterson should also push the veterans for the seven spots in the varsity lineup.

The Tigers exit Rambling River Trail after an early season run

"Many of the girls ran together during the summer months so they have a strong base coming into the season," Revels said.

If there is a question mark, it comes in the area of depth as only 14 runners have been participating in early practice sessions.

Revels tabbed Shakopee, Chaska and Chanhassen as the teams to chase in the final year of Missota Conference competition. Perennial powers Lakeville North and Lakeville South figure the teams to beat in Section 1AA.

"We've been sixth in the conference two years in a row now," Revels said, "and I think we'll break that streak this year. With the experience and the summer training, I believe the girls can move up the ladder as far as they want. We are hopeful."

Allison Laube will serve as varsity assistant coach this season with Connie Berg and former Tiger boys' head coach Keith Revels working with the middle school runners.

The Tigers travel to Northfield next Friday for a scrimmage and then open the season the following Friday (Aug 30) with a trip to Eagan for the Dakota County Championships.

Looking to get out of the 6th place rut

Girls X-Country: Pack mentality pays off

Junior captain Maricia Pacheco: MVP, all-conference honorable mention, state meet qualifier

Absent a gold medal-type runner, Tiger coach Heidi Revels preached all season the importance of running in a pack and individuals pushing each other in every race.

The philosophy paid dividends in solid improvement, both in individual times and team standings. Farmington equaled or exceeded its 2011 finish in every meet it ran in this fall.

The Tigers' biggest improvement came in the final meet of the year where they placed sixth at the Section 1AA Championships in Owatonna. They placed 14th in the same meet a year ago.

"I couldn't have asked for a better season," Revels said. "I'm so proud of the girls for their improvement every meet and their sticking together during each meet to finish even closer together.

"The athletes worked hard on being positive and building a strong team bond while aiming high as individuals."

Senior captain Maria Kiminski was the only 12th grader on the roster and led a group of eight runners earning varsity letters. Other monogram winners included junior captain Maricia Pacheco; sophomores Sophia Chadwick, Sarah Cummings and Alexis Johnson; freshman Maricella Pacheco; eighth-grader Sami Hyytinen and seventh-grader Alexandra Laube.

Six other Tigers received certificates of participation at the team's post-season banquet: juniors Cora Cobb and Fernanda Atria; freshmen Breana Sutter, Hannah Morgan and Courtney Kimmel and eighth-grader Ashley Steffes.

Maricia Pacheco was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Pacheco earned all-Missota Conference honorable mention honors for the second straight year and her 12th place effort at the section meet earned her a berth in the state meet. The state meet appearance was the first for a Tiger female since boys coach Lisa (Dingman) Lippold made the cut in 1997.

Maricella Pacheco: Most Improved Runner

Maricella Pacheco took home the Most Improved Runner award and Hyytinen received Rookie of the Year honors.

With the big improvement in both individual and team performances, Revels said the only disappointment in the 2012 campaign was her team's second straight sixth place finish in the conference.

"That will continue to be a goal for our team," she said.

With only Kiminski gone from this year's squad, the Tiger coach said the outlook for next year and beyond is bright.

"Maria will be a loss," she said, "but we will add a handful of middle schoool runners that have shown strong potential.

"There is becoming a mindset that year-around training will result in a stronger season and with that commitment, our future is looking good."

Hyytinen, Pacheco fare well at state

Sophomore Justin Hyytinen finished 29th at the 2012 Class AA State Cross Country Championships

Justin Hyytinen and Maricia Pacheco, Farmington's two representatives at the Class AA state cross country meet held Saturday in Northfield, performed well in their respective races.

Sophomore Hyytinen, who finished third at the Missota Conference Championships in his first year out for the sport, ranked 29th overall in a 176-runner field, covering the challenging 5000-meter course at St. Olaf College in 16:11.4.

"Justin ran a personal record time which met his goal of running his fastest time at the last meet of the season," coach Lisa Lippold said.

"The race started fast but Justin did a good job of hanging on. He was running against the best in the state and learned a lot from the experience. I'm looking forward to seeing what the track season will bring for him."

Junior Maricia Pacheco was the first Tiger female to run at state since 1997

Pacheco, a junior who won all-Missota Conference honorable mention for the second consecutive time last month, finished the 4000-meter course in 15:51.4 and ranked 134th out of 174 finishers.

"The course was very hilly and added to the level of difficulty compared to most courses we ran this year," coach Heidi Revels said. "We had a chance to run the course together on Friday which really helped.

"Maricia felt good about her race and was happy with her finish. She said next year will be much easier now that she knows what to expect... I love her confidence. She deserved to be there and earned her spot with lots of hard work and dedication. I felt privileged to be there with her."

Tigers Girls' Cross Country 6th in Section 1AA Meet; Maricia Pacheco Earns State Berth

The weather was cold and blustery at the Brooktree Golf Club in Owatonna on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 25 but that didn't deter the FHS girls' cross-country team from a superlative team performance.  The Tigers claimed sixth-place in the 16-team Section 1AA meet that was highlighted by Maricia Pacheco's 12th-place finish (15:37.3). The junior captain's personal-best time earned her a berth in the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 3 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

Head coach Heidi Revels was ecstatic with her team's effort and results and remarked, "I am so happy for our team with the huge improvement from last year. To go from third to last to sixth-place this year is very exciting. I was hoping we could get 10th and the girls certainly exceeded my expectations. It is a testament to all their hard work."

FHS totaled 198 points with a team total time of 1:21.27.5 for an average individual time of 16:17.5 and an impressive five-runner spread of 1:05.7.  Maricia Pacheco certainly earned her state berth as she needed to pass two competitors in the final 50-100 yards to cop the eighth and final state berth.  A new rule instituted by the MSHSL for this fall allows for the fastest eight times from teams outside of the top two teams to make their way to state.

"It was so thrilling to see Maricia come from behind and earn that final spot," said Revels.  "She's a great kid, a very harder worker, a good student, and such a well-rounded person and she really deserved it." Pacheco becomes the first Farmington girl to race in the state meet since boys' head coach Lisa Lippold (then Dingman) ran in the 1997 and 1998 meets.

Sophomore Sofia Chadwick, who was Farmington's top finisher in last year's sectional with a 27th-place finish, was 20th in 15:46.2.  Eighth-grader Sami Hyytinen completed a sensational first year with a clocking of 16:40.6 and 54th overall.  Senior captain Maria Kiminski closed out her career a step behind Hyytinen in 16:40.7 for 55th place.  Maricella Pacheco, Maricia's ninth-grade sister, was the Tigers fifth scorer with a time of 16:42.9 for 57th.  Sophomore Alexis Johnson was 76th in 17:06.8 and seventh-grader Alexandra Laube showed promise for the future with a run of 17:24.4, good for 88th place among the 111 varsity participants. 

Lakeville North won the 1AA team title again with 41 points with Lakeville South second (79) for the second year in a row with Northfield (137) third. Albert Lea, the Big Nine champs, finished fourth (148) and Rochester Mayo (179) was fifth.  Lakeville North, ranked sixth in AA, placed girls 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 15th on the raw and dreary day. The Panthers had a sensational time spread of just 48.7 seconds for their five fastest racers with an average time of 15:19 per runner.

Taylor Perkins, a senior, was ranked ninth in the state and didn't disappoint for the Section 1AA runner-up squad. The Panther runner won the individual title in 14:30.6 to beat Lakeville South sophomore Kaytlyn Larson (14:50.7) by 20 seconds.  Larson's teammate, sophomore Annie Brekken was third in 15:10.2 and another Cougar runner, junior Erin Kilbride, was eighth in 15:21.6

Other state qualifiers include:

Kaia Bierman (11) - Northfield (fourth in 15:11.5)

Crissy Monson (12) - Albert Lea (fifth in 15:12.3)

Haley Splinter (12) - Austin (sixth in 15:16.8)

Madison Overby (9) - Austin (seventh in 15:18.1)

Caitlyn Domeyer (9) - Winona (ninth in 15:22)

Elise Topazin (12) - Rochester Century (10th in 15:27.5)

Sophie Butterfass (7) - Rochester Mayo (11th in 15:37.3)

Section 1AA Team Results

1)  Lakeville South     -     41

2)  Lakeville North     -     79

3)  Northfield -               137

4)  Albert Lea -               148

5)  Rochester Mayo -    179

6) Farmington -             186

7)  New Prague -            229

8)  Austin -                      233

9)  Rochester Century -235

10) Red Wing -               241

11) Owatonna -             258

12) Rochester J.M. -     262

13) Winona -                  277

14) Hastings -                 345

15) Faribault -                350

16) Kasson-Mantorville 481       

Girls X-Country: Tigers 6th in Missota

Maricia Pacheco All-Missota Conference honorable mention

Farmington finished its 2012 regular season with a sixth place finish at the Missota Conference Championships run Tuesday afternoon at the New Prague Golf Course.

Chanhassen had three runners in the top ten to take the team title with a meet-low 39 points. Shakopee was well back in second at 63, followed by Chaska 75, Northfield 110, Red Wing 150, Farmington 152, New Prague 157 and Holy Angels 224.

Shakopee's Maria Hauger repeated as individual champion with a 13:35 clocking over the 4000-meter course.

Maricia Pacheco led the Tigers with a 14th place finish in 15:31 to earn all-conference honorable mention for the second straight season.

Sofia Chadwick and Mari Kiminski came in 25th and 26th respectively in 15:55 and 16:00. Sami Hyytinen (43rd; 17:01) and Maricella Pacheco (44th; 17:02) were the other Farmington point scorers.

Alexis Johnson finsihed 45th in 17:05 and Sarah Cummings 49th in 17:38 to complete the varsity scorecard.

Farmington coach Heidi Revels was especially pleased with the efforts of her top three runners.

"Maricia had a personal record and Maria dropped 15 seconds from her last meet," Revels said. "Sofia got under 16:00 for the first time in several meets. They all met my expectations."

Revels added that the only disappointment of the day was finishing just two points behind Red Wing for the fifth spot in the final standings.

"But I have no complaints about how the girls ran today," she said. "I'm proud of all their hard work this season and I enjoyed seeing it all pay off."

The Tigers close out their season next Thursday with a trip to Brooktree Golf Club in Owatonna for the Section 1AA Championships.

Girls X-Country: Tigers 4th at Shakopee Invite

Maricia Pacheco (front) and Maria Kiminski finished 1-2 for Farmington

The first five Farmington runners crossed the finish line within a minute of each other as the Tigers placed fourth in the eight-team Shakopee Invitational run Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Park in Shakopee.

Host Shakopee, behind a medalist-winning effort by Maria Hauger, won the meet with 48 points. Missota Conference teams--Northfield, Chanhassen and Farmington--took second, third and fourth place with 63, 89 and 115 points respectively. St. Paul Central totaled 134, Robbinsdale Cooper 146, Providence Academy 151 and St. Francis 168.

Hauger won the race with dominant 13:44 finishing time.

"Shakopee is going to be pretty hard to beat at the conference," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said, "because of the times their top runners have. But there is a chance (to move up) for us if the girls have a strong race...I have high hopes and confidence in them."

Maricia Pacheco continued to lead the tight Farmington pack, covering the 4000-meter course in 15:53.2 to finish 10th overall. Maria Kiminski moved up to the second spot for the Tigers, taking 16th in 16:14.2.

Sofia Chadwick (24th; 16:29.4), Maricella Pacheco (28th; 16:40.7) and Sami Hyytinen (37th; 16:53.6) rounded out the Farmington top five. Sarah Cummings clocked 17:05.6 to finish 40th and Lexi Laube ranked 50th in a time of 17:30.2.

"Our girls finishing together like that really helps our team score," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said.

The meet served as a tune-up for the Missota Conference Championships scheduled for next Tuesday at the New Prague Golf Course.

Girls Cross Country: Hitting the hills of Duluth

Junior Maricia Pacheco

Maricia Pacheco (left) and Sofia Chadwick  (below) hit the finish line just .01 of a second apart. Pacheco placed 28th in 16:29.1 and Chadwick 29th in 16:29.2.

Sophomore Sofia Chadwick

The Tigers took their act north on Saturday to test their hill climbing abilities at the 61st  running of the Swain Invitational at Enger Park in Duluth.

The girls seemed to find the challenging up-and-down course to their liking, placing 10th overall in a talented 24-team field.

"I was very happy with the results," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "It's definitely a much hillier course than the team is used to, but the results proved that all the tough hill workouts at practice are paying off."

Maricia Pacheco squeezed by teammate Sofia Chadwick at the finish line as the Tiger duo placed 28th and 29th respectively in times of 16:29 and 16.29.2. Chadwick's time was nearly a minute faster than she clocked last year in the Port City meet.

The next Three Tigers in the chute finished in a tight 12-second span: Maricella Pacheco 62nd, 17:10.2; Sami Hyytinen, 70th, 17:21.6 and Maria Kiminski, 72nd, 17:22.9. Sarah Cummings ranked 133rd in 18:26.6 and Courtney Kimmel 155th in 18:42.7. 

"Our top five runners finished within one minute of each other," Revels said, "with Sami (Hyytinen) making a strong finish within that group for the second race in a row."

Tuesday the Tigers return to metro area competition with a trip to the Shakopee Invitational at Memorial Park in Shakopee.