Freed, Wellens Ready To Let Their Feet Do The Talking

Max Wellens is ending his high school cross country career. Margie Freed is just beginning hers.

Both will be running for Simley in the Minnesota state cross country championships on Saturday, Nov. 5 at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The 4,000-meter Class AA girls race will start at 10 a.m., followed by the 5,000-meter Class AA boys race at 11 a.m.

Wellens, a senior, is believed to be the first Simley High School boy to compete in the state cross country meet in three decades, said head coach Tim Kersey.

Freed is a 13-year-old eighth grader who isn’t yet a Simley High student. She was expected to come into her own this fall as a runner, and she certainly has.

“This is the year she emerged as an elite high school runner,” said Kersey.

She finished fifth in the Classic Suburban Conference championships in 15:43.8. Freed was seventh in 14:52 in the section 3AA cross country meet Oct. 26.

Her section time was a personal record by 28 seconds and qualified for state.

“To be at the state meet before high school is a real opportunity for Margie,” said Kersey. “That she’s able to get this early on is something.”

Freed’s expectations for state are modest.

“I know I’m not going to do that good,” she said. “But it will be a good experience to see it all. I want to start out and go a little fast and keep going.”

Freed isn’t a big talker. She prefers to let her training efforts and performances speak for her.

Simley doesn’t have another girl close to Freed’s cross country abilities, so she often trains with some of the boys. She also runs with her mother, who is also a runner.

“She enjoys the process of training, of getting out on the trails and having fun,” Kersey said.

Hard work pays off for Wellens

Wellens has been waiting and wanting to get to the state meet his entire Simley career. So to do it as a senior is sweet.

“Max has been talking about getting to state since seventh grade,” Kersey said. “When they’re that young they don’t understand how tough it is to get there.”

He does now.

“To get there, the skill level has gone way up,” said Wellens. “It’s taken a lot of hard work to make to now.”

Wellens routinely out in 70-mile training weeks during the summer to get ready for his senior season.

That has paid off. He goes into the state meet with his best cross country season under his feet. He finished first in the Classic Suburban Conference championships, winning in a time of 16:41.8, about 18 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Wellens qualified for the state meet with an eighth-place finish in the section 3AA cross country meet at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course Oct. 26 in a time of 16:07.

“He ran a very smart race in terms of knowing where he was,” Kersey said.

Wellens said his goals at state are to finish in the top 25 and run a sub-16 minute 5,000 meters. He plans to get off to a fast start, but not to fast, and hang with the top chase pack.

“I want to get out and get my spot,” he said. “I’m pretty comfortable taking it out quick.”