Park’s Nicholas McDonald finished 34th in 17:01 and first-year teammate Eli Firchau was 59th in 17:51 – both personal record times — to lead the Wolfpack in the Suburban East Conference meet at Tanners Brook Golf Course in Forest Lake Tuesday.

“It was good,” said Mc-Donald. “Going into it I was a little bit nervous. I hadn’t been running this race since freshman year, so it was kind of nerve-wracking. My stomach was kind of feeling off, but I gave it my all I think in the end. I actually could not final sprint but I pushed myself to get exactly 17, 17:01 so 47-second PR.

“It was definitely a struggle, but I think the motivation with everyone around me – it really was great,” McDonald continued.

The next goal for Mc-Donald is obvious: “I’ve got to break 17,” said the Park senior. “Looking for maybe 16:50 in sections.”

Firchau also set a new personal best by 25 seconds.

“It was pretty good, I don’t remember much of it,” said Firchau. “I kind of zoned out after the first mile. There’s a lot of concrete so it was hard with the spikes. But overall, I think it was a pretty good course. It’s a little cold out but it’s definitely a good course to PR on.

“I think I’m just going to try to keep PRing,” Firchau added.

That accomplishment was shared across the Wolfpack team.

“The boys ran really well,” said Park co-head cross country coach Brad Narveson. “Every varsity runner had a personal best today. Nick competed hard from start to finish and ran over 45 seconds faster than he has ever run before. He should be very proud of himself. The rest of the team ran together … just like they’ve been training together, and they continued to move up throughout the race and that pack running helped us pass Irondale and almost catch Forest Lake in the team standings.”

After McDonald and Firchau, Park bunched everyone tightly, from 64th to 79th. Bronson Stachowski was 64th in 17:57, Brandon Carver was 67th in 18:04, Mason Allen finished 68th in 18:08, Henry Schluetter was 69th in 18:08, Jack Weir finished 70th in 18:11 and Tyler Krogman was 72nd in 18:12. Justin Kasa finished 77th in 18:18 and Jacob Markfort was 79th in 18:224.

“Eli ran under 18:00 for the first time ever, a great race for a ninth grader,” Narveson continued. “We have a lot of seniors on the varsity team and it was fun watching them improve all year and for them to have a great conference meet. Bronson, Mason, Henry, Justin, and Jacob all ran well today.”

Park remained without the services of top runner Gavin Stauffer, injured earlier in the season.

“If Gavin Stauffer had been healthy (he suffered a stress fracture a month ago) we believe he could’ve been All-Conference for the second straight year and that would have moved us ahead of Forest Lake,” Narveson said. “Hopefully, he heals up and will be healthy and have a strong track season this spring.”

Stillwater won the boys varsity team race with 43 points. Mounds View was second with 46, followed by: 3, Roseville, 95; 4, White Bear Lake, 99; 5, Woodbury, 132; 7, Forest Lake, 220; 8, Park, 235; and 9, Irondale, 238.

Lydia Best of Park was 64th in the girls’ varsity race in a time of 23:34.

Park’s runners next compete in the MSHSL Section 3AAA championship meet Thursday, Oct. 27, at Valleywood Golf Course in Apple Valley. The girls’ varsity race starts at 3:30 p.m., the boys’ race at 4:15 p.m.

Park senior Nicholas McDonald crosses the finish line in the Suburban East Conference meet Thursday at Tanners Brook Golf Course in Forest Lake. Photo by John Molene

Eli Firchau of the Wolfpack gasps for air as he finishes in the SEC cross country meet. Photo by John Molene

A trio of Park runners bunch together as they cross the finish line. Photo by John Molene