After longtime Lakeville South football coach Larry Thompson announced his retirement on Tuesday, Cougars athletic director Neil Strader immediately began the search for Thompson's successor.

Though no candidates or timetable to hire were made available, Strader said Lakeville South's next football coach must have the same passion for Cougars football as Thompson did and be a master of the craft. Thompson coached for 26 years at Lakeville High School, then moved to Lakeville South when the school opened in 2005.

"Coach Thompson will be missed and this is a huge role to fill," Strader said. "We are looking for someone who can dig deep into the Lakeville South Football Association so that they can create a sense of Cougar pride from the early years of flag football all the way up through high school."

Farmington runner fares well

Farmington girls' cross-country runner Lauren Peterson finished fourth at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship Midwest Regionals in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 26 with a time of 17 minutes, 38.1 seconds over the 5-kilometer course.

Peterson, a sophomore, was the runner-up at the Class 2A girls' state meet on Nov. 5. Her finish at the Foot Locker race earns her an automatic invitation to compete in the national finals on Dec. 10 at Balboa Park in San Diego. She will compete against top runners from the south, northwest and west regional meets.