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STEELE SPORTS

True teammates
By
Johnnie Phillips, Sports Editor
Johnnie Phillips, editor, sports, Steele County Times

My working theory as a journalist is that at every sporting event I cover, there is at least one singular moment that must be captured.

I refer to this phenomenon as the “critical moment.”

Last week’s Section 1AAA cross-country meet provided me the opportunity to capture a core memory in real-time when Owatonna boys runners Dawson Levy and Jack Sorenson came sprinting around the final bend neck-and-neck with the finish line in sight.

I could hardly believe my eyes as the two ran for what felt like a solid minute side-by-side with neither giving an inch.

While Levy ended up getting the better of Sorenson for second place despite turning the corner slightly behind, the immediate reaction from the two was not to celebrate individual accomplishments.

Instead, the two took a moment to themselves to recover from the taxing race before meeting up and embracing right by the finish line area.

A 16-minute feat of endurance with a trip to the state meet secured, and their first thought was to check in on one another – selfless.

Congratulations and plenty of water bottles were shared before both finally were able to speak about their big race.

When asked about the final sprint down the stretch, I was met with an answer I wasn’t expecting.

According to the two, racing down the final leg was not as much for bragging rights as it was ensuring that they both were able to achieve their goal together – and to do everything they could to maximize their potential.

“Really, I was just telling him, ‘We’ve gotta go.’ We were at the far end of the course and I felt like we were getting stuck. Even at two and three, you can still get stuck. We just had to keep on going and push up the hills,” said Levy.

Levy credited Sorenson with being an extremely hard worker in practice and somebody he has looked up to throughout his years as a cross-country runner for his ability to push himself to the limits.

Making Sorenson’s push and perseverance even more special was the fact he did it after missing five weeks of the season with a hamstring injury.

“Coming back in is never easy, especially with the fact that I couldn’t do much training outside of biking and maybe some light jogging. But coming back into it and having another season best and qualifying for state feels amazing,” said Sorenson.

The performance from both runners was something boys’ Head Coach Luke Holt said was special to see.

“It’s been awesome seeing those two fight through it together in the race. To have Levy come up and push Sorenson and for them to finish together, it’s awesome to have that one-two punch up top. It’s fun to see that it paid off with a state berth for both of them,” said Holt.

Levy and Sorenson will compete next at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

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