KMS/Benson Wins Girls C-Squad Title as Tollefsrud Breaks Varsity School Record

KERKHOVEN, Minn. - KMS/Benson win the girls C-Squad title and place third in boys varsity Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Minnewaska Area Invitational at Minnewaska Golf Club, with Libby Henry winning the girls 2,500-meter race in 8:44.7. Kayla Tollefsrud broke the school girls 5,000-meter record with a sixth-place varsity finish in 19:39.0.

Tollefsrud, an eighth-grader, lowered the previous mark of 20:16 set by Amber Rosemeier in 2023 by 37 seconds. The record highlighted a meet in which KMS/Benson recorded 28 personal-best times and four season bests among its 34 competing runners. The top 10 finishers in each race received medals.

Henry led a 1-2 finish in the 30-runner girls C-Squad field, with Porsha Gravley taking second in 8:56.5. Alaina Lorenz added a fifth-place finish in 9:54.1, giving KMS/Benson three medalists on the way to 28 points. New London-Spicer finished second with 41 and Paynesville/Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was third with 54. Kenzlee Peters placed 14th in 10:55.2 and Meridith Huston finished 17th in 11:14.8 to complete the team's first five finishers.

A closely grouped leading trio powered the boys' varsity effort over 5,000 meters. Alex Zurn finished eighth in 17:16.4, Levi Pappadackis was 10th in 17:20.6 and Wyatt Hoff placed 14th in 17:38.5, putting the three within 22.1 seconds of one another. Cian Klucas followed in 30th at 18:31.7 and Gabe Lofgren was 41st in 18:54.3. KMS/Benson scored 96 points to finish third among nine scoring teams, behind Sauk Centre's 32 and West Central Area's 84. Sauk Centre's Logan Wiehoff won in 16:16.0.

Behind Tollefsrud in the girls varsity race, Ella Beyerl and Cadence Holmquist finished consecutively, taking 43rd in 22:54.0 and 44th in 23:00.7. Mamie Luft placed 54th in 23:54.1 and Sela Kolling finished 60th in 24:23.0 as KMS/Benson took ninth among 10 scoring teams with 207 points. St. Cloud Cathedral won with 50 points, while New London-Spicer's Kyla Vick claimed the individual title in 18:42.5.

Peyton O'Leary earned a medal by placing sixth among 42 runners in the boys 2,500-meter C-Squad race in 9:06.8. KMS/Benson also produced a tight cluster of four consecutive finishers: Atticus Goff was 23rd in 10:42.3, Shane Loen took 24th in 10:42.8, Cooper Hatfield placed 25th in 10:50.2 and Rogan Klucas finished 26th in 10:51.1. That group crossed within 8.8 seconds as KMS/Benson placed fourth with 92 points. Sauk Centre took first ahead of New London-Spicer, with both teams scoring 43.

In the 5,000-meter junior varsity races, Shane Froehlich led the boys with a 24th-place finish in 20:51.3, followed by Jameson Klucas in 48th at 24:54.7. Audrey Loen paced the girls in 21st at 26:38.0. Valentina Calderas finished 26th in 27:56.3 and Miley Falcon placed 31st in 32:44.7.