(Photo by Jeff Hasselmann) Spencer senior Ashley Loerts, a 3-time state qualifier, runs to victory in her season-opening race Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, leading the Tigers to a third-place team finish. [Order this photo]

Spencer found itself in an all-too-familiar position Tuesday on opening night of the cross country season, scoring 84 points to finish third behind a pair of Lakes Conference opponents.

Spirit Lake Park and Estherville Lincoln Central/Armstrong-Ringstead, both 2007 state qualifiers, filled out the top two spots of the team standings, but the Indians pulled away from the pack with a 40-point victory over the runner-up Midgets.

The Indians, who returned seven letter winners from the '07 fifth place state squad, put up a winning total of 29 points. Spirit Lake Park is rated No. 2 in Class 2A.

The Tigers scored 84 with four top 25 performance, finishing 22 points ahead of Sheldon, who was fourth. MOC-Floyd Valley rounded out the top five with 134 points.

"I was pleasantly surprised with tonight's results," said Spencer head coach Kurt Bauermeister. "The girls all competed hard and improved."

Ashley Loerts, who placed 35th as Spencer's lone state qualifier in '07, opened the season in impressive fashion, winning the meet with a time of 15-minutes, 51.29 seconds.

"Ashley picked up right where she left off last year. She got out tonight and pretty much led from start to finish," Bauermeister commented. "I like to see that aggressive-type running from her."

Hailie Iles made a leap into the top 10, placing sixth after spending much of the '07 season as Spencer's sixth or seventh runner. Iles clocked a time of 16:24.70.

"Missing our No. 2 runner from last year, we were looking for someone to step up and run big. Hailie Iles accepted the challenge and had a fantastic night," Bauermeister said. "She cut two minutes off of last season's time at this race. She ran with confidence, she got to the front at the start, held on and finished strong."

Becky Schulke placed 20th in 17:10.29 and Cassi Wilson gave the Tigers a fourth top 25 finish, placing 22nd in a time of 17:24.80.

Running in her first varsity meet, Nicole Kramer rounded out Spencer's scoring with a 37th-place finish in 18:36.27. Katelyn McDermott placed 41st and Leah Rekow was 43rd for the Tigers.

Jordan Staples gave Spencer's top performance at the junior varsity level, placing ninth and leading the Tigers to a third-place effort.

Spencer will compete at the Estherville-Lincoln Central Invitational on Tuesday.

Spirit Lake Invitational

Team Standings

1. Spirit Lake Park 29, 2. Estherville Lincoln Central 69, 3. Spencer 84, 4. Sheldon 106, 5. MOC-Floyd Valley 134, 6. Emmetsburg 164, 7. Western Christian, 8. Storm Lake 174.

Individual Results

1. Ashley Loerts 15:51.29, 6. Hailie Iles 16:24.70, 18. Becky Schulke 17:10.29, 22. Cassi Wilson 17:24.80, 37. Nicole Kramer 18:36.27, 41. Katelyn McDermott 18:54.85, 43. Leah Rekow 19:00.17.

Junior Varsity

Team Standings

1. Spirit Lake Park/Okoboji 16, 2. Western Christian 77, 3. Spencer 93, 4. Estherville Lincoln Central 107, 5. Laurens-Marathon 177, 6. Cherokee 191.

Individual Results

9. Jordan Staples 18:41.99, 17. Allison Dillard 19:39.66, 19. Dani Slattery 19:59.34, 22. Clare Goeken 20:08.96, 26. Steph Carlson 20:47.47, 27. Alyssa Speight 20:51.20, 28. Jill Wittrock 20:52.99, 35. Katelyn Todd 22:13.56.