WATERTOWN – She might just be a freshman, but a little rain and cold isn’t going stop Watertown-Mayer’s Anja Gilbert. The freshman turned in a strong race on her home course despite the cold and rain to lead the Royals to a fourth-place finish with a team score of 112 Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s definitely the coldest and the wettest race,” Gilbert said. “It was nice that it was home because we had the support from Watertown, but it was definitely one of the harder races just to prepare for mentally.”
Even with all the difficulties that presented a challenge, Gilbert found a way to overcome them all. She finished in 13th place overall with a time of 23 minutes and 7 seconds.
“I just try to think about all the positives of the race,” Gilbert said about her mindset. “That helps me get over the coldness. That’s sort of how it works for me.”
It was a good test for Gilbert and the Royals who will be back on the same course next week for the Wright County Conference meet. With a little experience under her belt, Gilbert is hoping for better weather and an even better time next week.
“I’m super excited,” Gilbert said. “It’s obviously a home course so you have that feeling of what to expect. It should be better weather, and I’m excited. I feel like our team should do well.”
WATERTOWN MAYER INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES: 1. Mound Westonka 23; 2. Glencoe-Silver Lake 54; 3. New London-Spicer 59; 4. Watertown-Mayer 112; 5. Litchfield 130.
WATERTOWN-MAYER FINISHES
13th – Anja Gilbert (23:07.87)
18th – Sophia Oscarson (24:02.84)
23rd – Alexis Progreba (24:39.34)
27th – Trista Knebel (25:02.49)
34th – Leah Vraspir (26:31.64)
35th – Shelby Mueller (26:32.04)
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