Class A Boys: Perham Wins Team Title; Wasinger Defeats Lachowitzer

Perham entered the day ranked #1 in Class A Boys and lived up to the hype, winning the championship with 88 points, ahead of Adrian's 150 and Pequot Lakes' 161. Defending champion Kevin Lachowitzer and Justin Tellinghuisen went 1-5 in the team competition to lead the way. Their teammates were not far behind, finishing 23rd, 26th and 33rd. Their spread of 1:35 is deceptive due to Lachowitzer's sub-16 effort.

Like the girls, the boys' individual race took little time to develop. Winona Cotter's Donny Wasinger took the lead right from the gun. "I think the nerves of the race probably got to me a bit...I got worked up a little bit and I took it out, but then I knew I had to slow down because I was going to die if I kept doing that," he said. Wasinger told DtB he intentionally slowed his pace in order to allow Lachowitzer to catch him.

Wasinger started to move in the woods, but Lachowitzer closed the gap by the time the pair reached the most challenging hill on the course with just over 800 meters to go. "I started going down the hill and just thought that this is going to be the last time I ever get to run this course as a high schooler and if I don't leave it all out here I'm going to be kicking myself for the rest of my life." The Winona Cotter senior opened up a small lead as he hit the hill leading up to the finishing straightaway. "When I got to the top of the hill I looked over both shoulders and I thought I saw him back there a little ways but I wasn't sure how far so I put my head down and went." Wasinger finished in 15:52.9, with Lachowitzer just behind in 15:58.5. St. Anthony Village's Andrew Hoffman outkicked Ryan Tholen of Tracy/Milroy/Balaton for third in 16:20.4.

Full Results

Photo of Wasinger (l) and Lachowitzer by Gene Niemi.