Spuds XC Newsletter #1

Moorhead Spuds

Cross Country

Issue #1 · Fall 2026

Spuds XC Newsletter - Fall 2026

The Season Is
Underway.

A summer of miles behind us, camp at Luther Crest, time trials in the books, and the first meet of the fall already run.

From the Coaching Staff

Coach's Comments

It was a blast watching the Spuds take on their first race of the season at Perham! A huge thank you to all the families and supporters who made the trip to the biggest season opening meet in the state. The energy reminded us of the challenge and excitement of cross country racing, and we have a fantastic opportunity to do it all over again, at home, during Friday's Dragon Twilight Meet.

Our early season focus has been building a foundation of caring, and this week we are exploring ways for our athletes to show they care by showing up for themselves and their teammates. We look forward to capping off the first week of school by continuing our tradition of success at the Twilight Meet!

- Coach Hanson

Aug 29 · Brave Like Gabe · Perham, Arvig Park

Brought to you by

Big Axx Sharpening & Maintenance

MS Girls

1st

MS Boys

1st

JV Girls

3rd

JV Boys

5th

Varsity Boys

6th

Varsity Girls

7th

The Spuds opened the 2026 cross country season on Saturday, August 29, at the Brave Like Gabe Invitational in Perham, Minnesota, competing against nearly 40 schools from across Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. Full meet results are available here.

The middle school teams set the pace for the day, with both squads claiming first place team trophies. The middle school girls were powered by a pair of top five finishes from Addyson Thiel in third (13:12.2) and Amelia Thiel in fourth (13:19.3), followed by Ever Osvold in 22nd (14:22.7), Asha Olson in 28th (14:25.1), and Leena Hartwig in 30th (14:34.3). On the boys' side, Jack Fay led the charge with a fifth place finish in 12:02.4, backed closely by Will Benson in seventh (12:15.3), Andrew Clark in 15th (12:42.8), Toren Rinehardt in 22nd (12:59.9), and Derek Sly in 34th (13:28.6).

In the high school division, the Spuds displayed impressive depth across both varsity and junior varsity levels. The junior varsity girls secured a podium finish, placing third overall behind a fifth place effort from Barrett Sokness (22:44.4). She was joined in the scoring positions by Brooklyn Sterud in 11th (23:04.7), Grace Polomny in 12th (23:05.0), Elsa Pennington in 21st (23:57.9), and Isabelle Thibert in 30th (24:40.7). The junior varsity boys packed together closely to take fifth in the team standings, led by Gannon Helmick in 12th (19:23.4), River Jacobson in 14th (19:26.2), Alexander Clark in 21st (19:41.4), Donald Copeland in 24th (19:42.6), and Parker Reburn in 36th (20:10.9).

The varsity squads delivered solid team performances against strong competition. The varsity boys took sixth place overall, paced by Kade Polomny's personal best effort of 17:04.7 for 19th place. Following Polomny was Conner Copeland in 35th (17:34.6), Dylan Riepe in 47th (18:06.2), Joshua Anderson in 53rd (18:26.3), Spencer Polomny in 65th (18:52.0), Evan Miller in 66th (18:52.6), and Olen Anderson in 78th (19:13.0). Meanwhile, the varsity girls claimed seventh place as a team, led by Sophia Johnson's 14th place effort in 20:06.6. She was supported by Audrey Humeniuk in 32nd (21:35.0), Isabelle Lockhart in 37th (21:45.9), Ellie Rossland in 41st (21:53.2), Ava Stout in 55th (22:31.8), Lauren Gess in 56th (22:32.2), and Riley Asleson in 60th (22:39.1).

The Spuds won't have to wait long for their next competition, returning to action this Friday at the Dragon Twilight Meet in Moorhead.

▶

Brave Like Gabe

Meet video

Where We Have Been

Summer Recap

The Spuds had a great summer! Many runners in grades 7-12 showed up all summer long to run, spend time with their teammates, and establish some great habits heading into the season.

June 14-16

Camp at Luther Crest

Aug 17

First Practice

Aug 20

Shocky Strand Time Trials

Camp. We kicked off our summer with our annual camping trip, this year heading to Alexandria, MN. The team spent June 14 through 16 at Luther Crest. The camp alternates between Alexandria and Bozeman, and the next Montana trip comes in 2027. Highlights are below!

Spud Games. Four squads, four themes. Open any poster to save it full size.

Super Running Bros, a Spud Games team poster

Movin' Moonwalkers, a Spud Games team poster

Time trials. Our season opened with our annual Shocky Strand Time Trials, and it was great to see kids, families, alumni, and more for a fun night of racing. Practice started August 17 and the time trials followed on August 20, an evening event with a parent meeting and a kids race alongside the racing.

▶

Shocky Strand

Time trials

Alumni back for the Shocky Strand Time Trials

New spaces. Team meetings have a home this fall. With the building construction project complete, we are grateful to have great spaces at MHS to use.

The Moorhead Spuds cross country team at a meeting in a new space at Moorhead High School

A team meeting in one of the new spaces at MHS

Coach Cory Asfeld at a meet, wearing a shirt reading I left the golf course for this

Cory's Corner

Cory was unavailable for sarcastic comment this week, so there is no Cory's Corner video. He was, in all likelihood, in his slides on the golf course.

The column returns next issue. Probably.

Core Values

Spud Shoutouts

Brought to you by

Clark's Excavating & Septic Pumping

Our theme to start the year

Forming a Foundation of Caring

Opportunity

Gabe Cragg

Freshman

Gabe earned a shout out this week aligned with our theme of forming a foundation of caring, by demonstrating excellence through his habits and caring for others.

Excellence

Izzy Lockhart

Junior

Izzy received a shout out this week for demonstrating excellence, embracing challenge, and earning her achievements.

Athlete photos: RWP

Excellence

Opportunity

Embracing Challenge

Class of 2026

Senior Features

In their own words. Right click or press and hold to save either card.

Senior feature: Izzi Kuchynski, seven years in the program, favorite course Perham at Arvig Park.

Once a Spud

Spuds Alumni

Spotted

Kailey Larson ’26

Mikela Warling ’26 At Perham

Several Moorhead High School cross country alumni are set to open their collegiate seasons this month. The competition kicks off on Friday, September 4, with six Spuds at three meets: Minnesota Duluth teammates Ella Cole (’23) and Eli Schlichting (’26) will compete at the River Town Invitational; Augustana’s Jacki Johnson (’25) and Minnesota State Mankato’s Danielle Malone (’23) will head to Sioux Falls for the Augustana Twilight; and Ava Dunnigan (’25) of MSU Moorhead alongside Concordia’s Henry Theye (’26) will stay close to home for the Dragon Twilight. Closing out the opening stretch on Saturday, September 12, Lauren Heneman (’25) will make her season debut for the University of St. Thomas at the Phoenix Open.

Coming Up

Week Ahead

Dragon Twilight at Nemzek Field, Friday September 4. Girls Middle School 3000m 4:00. Boys Middle School 3000m 4:30. Girls JV 4000m 5:00. Boys JV 4000m 5:35. Elementary Mile grades 4-6 6:15. Girls Terry Harrington 5000m 6:45. Boys Terry Harrington 5000m 7:25. Women's Randy Smith 5000m 8:10. Men's Fred Dahnke 6000m 8:40.

Nine races run at Nemzek on Friday, starting with the middle school 3000s at 4:00 and finishing under the lights. Stick around for the collegiate races at the end of the night: Coach Hanson is in the Fred Dahnke 6000m, and Spud alumni are racing too.

Thu, Sep 10

Metro Invite
Horizon 7-8, Horizon 5-6 Club

Moorhead Bluestem

Thu, Sep 17

Section 8AAA Preview
MHS Varsity/JV, Horizon 7-8, Horizon 5-6 Club

Moorhead Bluestem

Horizon 5-6 Club starts up after school this week. We are excited to have them get going.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Their support puts Spuds on the course.

Sponsor Spuds XC

Spuds Cross Country is looking for community business sponsorships.

Spud Sponsor

$500

Spud Partner

$250

Spud Supporter

$100

Every sponsor receives:

Your logo in every newsletter, going out to team families and alumni, linked to your website.
A picture of the team to display at your business.
A handwritten thank you from the XC captains.