Benson/KMS Gets 2,300-Meter Win From Porsha Gravley at Heat-Shortened Appleton Meet
| Place | Participant | Boys 5k | Girls 4k | Boys 2300m | Girls 2300m | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42nd, 21:05.31 | 24th, 21:03.81 | 12th, 8:22.54 | 1st, 7:51.40 | null |
APPLETON, Minn. - Benson/KMS produced an individual victory and several strong pack finishes Thursday at the LQP-DB Invite No. 1 at Appleton Golf Course, where no team scores were reported. Porsha Gravley led the Fighting Saints by winning the girls 2,300-meter race in 7 minutes, 51.40 seconds, while Alaina Lorenz and Kenzlee Peters joined the winner in the top 10. Porsha Gravely also delivered a highlight by easily winning the Jr. High/C-squad race in dramatic fashion.
Mainly clear skies and an 91-degree temperature at meet time, with the daily high reaching 95, forced adjustments to the usual race format. Distances were shortened to account for the heat, including the 4,000-meter varsity races and 2,300-meter Jr High/CSquad races. Benson/KMS also held out runners who had competed at the varsity level Monday, choosing to limit the workload during a demanding week. Jr. High/C-squad runners were allowed to compete again because their race was much shorter.
The girls 2,300-meter group provided Benson/KMS with its deepest performance. Behind Porsha Gravley's victory, Alaina Lorenz placed sixth in 8:52.48 and Kenzlee Peters finished 10th in 9:03.39. Their results gave the team three top-10 finishers among six entries. Angela Espinosa followed in 21st at 10:07.53, Kimberlynn Pownell placed 23rd in 10:20.46 and Adisyn Goff finished 27th in 11:16.12, giving the Fighting Saints multiple clusters throughout the field.
Peyton O'Leary paced the Benson/KMS boys in the 2,300-meter race, placing 12th in 8:22.54. Atticus Goff took 22nd in 9:00.96, Rogan Klucas was 31st in 9:44.30 and Shane Loen placed 33rd in 10:07.32. The four-runner group gained race experience while managing its effort in the heat.
With a smaller varsity crew available, Benson/KMS moved its JV runners into the varsity race so the team could leave before the separate JV competition concluded and get out of the heat. Halle Bolduc led the varsity girls in 24th place with a 4K time of 21:03.81. Cadence Holmquist stayed close in the team's leading pack, finishing 25th in 21:09.20, just 5.39 seconds behind Halle Bolduc. Sela Kolling placed 30th in 23:54.38, Audrey Loen finished 32nd in 25:18.18 and Miley Falcon was 34th in 26:23.39.
Jameson Klucas represented Benson/KMS in the varsity boys race, which was listed in the results as a 5K but was indeed a 4K, and finished 42nd in 21:05.31. The meet gave the Fighting Saints a chance to balance recovery and competition, with the front-running performance by Porsha Gravley, three top-10 girls finishes and tightly grouped varsity results standing out on a very warm afternoon. The KMS/Benson teams look forward to competing this upcoming Thursday September 10th in Benson for their home meet.
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