ST.

Friday, October 12, 2001

ST. PETER – With this being the last year in the South Central Conference for United South Central, cross country coach Kent Viesselman stressed the importance of a strong showing in the SCC meet.

For the boys, it couldn’t have been any better.

The USC boys won the conference title at St. Peter Country Club Thursday, defeating perennial power Fairmont for the first time in three meetings this fall.

&uot;It was a tremendous performance, nothing short of that,&uot; said Viesselman. &uot;It was fun to watch. It’s our last year in the South Central, and we talked about how important it is to go out on a good note.&uot;

Despite the fact the Rebels have been one of the best Class A teams in the state since 1991, SCC titles have been few and far between. This was their third, following last year’s and another in 1983. By contrast, Viesselman’s cross country teams have won 11 Section 2A titles.

The Rebels won with 44 points, followed by Fairmont with 52, Blue Earth Area 72, St. James 92, Waseca 122, New Ulm 136 and St. Peter 161.

Justin Youngblom continued to lead the Rebels, placing third in 17:33. He earned All-SCC honors, as did Eric Langsev (fourth, 17:51) and Casey Christenson (sixth, 17:59). Also placing: Trevor Rollenhagen, 10th, 18:06; Jake Stenzel, 27th, 19:01; Eric Youngblom, 40th, 20:16.

The Rebels’ progress this season, according to Viesselman, can be attributed to closing the gap among their top four runners. At the start of the season, about two minutes separated their No. 2 and 3 runners. Thursday, the top four ran within 33 seconds. The Rebels’ top five combined to pass 14 runners through the last 150 yards.

The USC girls also ran well, placing second. Fairmont won with 25 points, the Rebels had 55, followed by Blue Earth Area at 56, New Ulm 100, St. Peter 137 and St. James 145. Waseca didn’t have a full squad.

Places and times for the Rebels: Sara Bias, third, 17:12; Jamie Klein, fourth, 17:18; Michelle Sonnek, 11th, 18:24; Amelia Treptow, 18th, 19:03; Angie Stenzel, 24th, 19:24; Kirsten Langsev, 28th, 19:53.