Mint Henk Finishes 26th In National Championship

Mint Henk Finishes 26th In National Championship

Braintree teenager Mint Henk, the first Vermont boy to run in the national championships since 1993, found Saturday that the top cross-country runners in the country are very good indeed.

Henk, who qualified two weeks ago as one of just 32 runners in the national races, finished 26th in the five-kilometer race. His time was 15 minutes 47 seconds, a second slower than his time in the Bronx, where he placed sixth in the Northeast Regional.

Henk told The Burlington Free Press he was disappointed but looks upon it as a learning experinece. And he showed the same determination he has evinced since junior high school:

"The competition here is at a different level. "I’m just going to have to train harder," Henk told the Free Press.

It’s the last race of the year for Henk, but he has another shot at the nationals. He’s only a junior—one of six at this year’s race.

After training by himself and entering cross country running as an individual for several years, Henk entered U-32 high school this year, a school with a great cross-country program run by Mark Chaplin. Henk won every major race in Vermont this year, including the state championship by an awesome 45 seconds.

The top runner in the nationals this year, however, Dathan Ritzenheim of Michigan, beat him by more than a minute.