Ex two-time API XC champ Strandemo falls shorts in ND finals
Published: October 24, 2011
Although Madeline Strandemo of Fargo South ran her best time ever (14 minutes, 46 seconds) in the 2.4-mile North Dakota state Class A cross-country meet, she finished a distant sixth place to now three-time state defending champ Tarin Lachowitzer of Fargo Davies.
Tarin’s time of 14:16.7 was, I think, 14 seconds faster than her career best time, and equal to the top times in Minnesota, which is really good in cross-country. Maddie, the No. 3-ranked runner in the state prior to the race and former two-time Asia-Pacific Invitational meet champion out of Hong Kong International, was disappointed with her finish, but not her time.
Perhaps Maddie is still learning how to run the four-kilometer, and I think she would have a better chance in the 5-K because of her strength (she’s a basketball player first – just ask her – hah). Well, she still has next year, and with Lachowitzer off to college on a cross-country scholarship, maybe a chance for a state title.
Maddie still has a big regional meet, the Nike Regional XC meet, in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Nov. 3. It brings together a lot of the top high school cross-country runners in the Midwest, so a good opportunity to showcase her talents, but basketball will be on her mind now.
The race developed a bit different than previous races for Maddie against Tarin and the rest, and young runners Jordan Jacob of Bismark Century and Alison Allmer of Jamestown bolted from the starting gates and made it a bit more of a sprint than a tactical race.
Maddie said she was winded after the first 200 meters, but couldn’t let up or she would have been toasted. Others, like No. 4-ranked runner Alex Backlund of Shanley-Oak Grove and No. 5 Brittany Brown Otter of Bismark, were toasted, and fell well back-in-the-pack, although still with decent times.
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