"That was the second time that both of our teams won at the same meet," Pequot Lakes coach Jon Dale said of the event, which featured most of the Birch Tree Conference schools. "They were nice wins ... our kids really ran well."

The Patriot runners also competed at the Crosby-Ironton Invitational on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge near Deerwood. At that meet, Pequot Lakes finished second behind Brainerd in the boys' race and was third behind Brainerd and the Rangers in the girls' event.

The Patriots were scheduled to compete in the Mid-State Conference meet at Headwaters Golf Course in Park Rapids at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14. Pequot Lakes is then scheduled to compete at the Park Rapids Invitational on Monday, Oct. 19 and the Birch Tree Conference meet on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Pine River.

"Monday's meet will be interesting since it's like a pre-section (8A) meet with a lot of the section teams competing," Dale said. "Then we'll be able to see where we're at (going into the section meet)."

Last fall, the Patriots captured their second straight Section 7A title, but this season they will be competing in Section 8A. Following are last week's results:

Patriots sweep at Sebeka

On Oct. 6, Kylie Beltz finished first while teammate Jackie Brine-Doyle was second at the United North Central meet. Beltz won in 16 minutes, 59 seconds while Brine-Doyle, a seventh-grader, enjoyed her best varsity finish with a time of 17:14.

The Patriots had three other girls place in the top 10 - Jordan Roy, sixth in 17:40; Sydney Johnson, seventh in 17:41; and Savannah Stone, eighth in 17:42. Elise Runberg rounded out the top six Pequot Lakes runners by placing 17th in 19:04.

"Kylie had a nice race, and Jackie had her best finish," Dale said. "Jackie is young, natural athlete. She has been a pleasant surprise who will hopefully get better and better."

The Patriots won the girls' title with 24, followed by Pillager 48, Pine River-Backus 91, Northland-Deer River 92, United North Central 137, and Ottertail Central, incomplete.

In the boys' race, the Patriots won the title by grabbing seven spots in the top 14. The finishers were Silas Lydeen, second in 17:39; Jake Braam, fifth in 18:25; Adison Runberg, seventh in 18:37; Jacob Headlee, eighth in 18:39; Jordan Anderson, 12th in 19:52; Michael Goerges, 13th in 19:59; and Josh Olson, 14th in 20:11.

"The gaps between our runners are getting tighter, and that's a sign that a team is improving," Dale said. "We're starting to gel at the right time. We just need to stay healthy."

The Patriots had 34 points, followed by Ottertail Central 56, Pillager 98 and Pine River-Backus 115. Nevis, UNC and Northland-DR, incomplete.

PL boys 2nd at Ruttger's

On Oct. 8, the Brainerd Warriors won the boys' race with 30 points while Pequot Lakes was second with 38 at the C-I Invitational. Other teams were C-I 60, Pillager 143, Moose Lake-Willow River 171 and McGregor, incomplete.

Riley Nelson of Brainerd was the individual winner in 17:22 while Lydeen was second in 17:37 and Braam took third 17:58.

"Jake had one of his best races of his career," Dale said of the meet. "Jacob Headlee is also doing better. Adison was sick last week, so he didn't have his best times."

Other Pequot Lakes results were Jacob Headlee, seventh in 18:39; Adison Runberg, ninth in 18:55; Olson, 17th in 19:34; and Sam Headlee, 20th in 19:53.

In the girls' race, the Warriors were first with 16 as Rebecca Yeh was the individual champion. Other teams were C-I with 65, Pequot Lakes 102, Pillager 137, Mille Lacs 177, ML-WR 192 and McGregor, incomplete.

The Patriots were led by Brine-Doyle placing 12th in 17:53. Other Pequot Lakes results were Roy, 16th in 18:11; Johnson, 22nd in 18:30; Stone, 24th in 18:40; Michelle Hayes, 26th in 19:07; Runberg, 32nd in 19:51; and Ashley LaRock, 43rd in 21:17. Beltz was on a family trip and wasn't available to compete.