Llamas, alpacas, triumph, tragedy. The Overgaauw twins of Murray County run through it all

LAKE WILSON, MINN. – The schedules maintained by the Overgaauw twins with extracurriculars are such that fitting in half an hour early on a school morning to show off some unusual farm stock could not have been No. 1 on the want-to list.

Yet there they were at 7 a.m., less than 12 hours after getting home from a 5-kilometer race contested in 25 mph winds, showing off Junior, a favored and friendly llama, and Teddy Bear, an alpaca that clearly wanted to be back in a pen with his pals.

Amanda and Ashley Overgaauw, now 17-year-old seniors at Murray County Central High School in Slayton, show llamas and alpacas at the county fair and other 4-H events, although not at the Minnesota State Fair.

Stacey Overgaauw, their mother, said: "They can't do that one. There would be cross-country conflicts."

There are seven llamas and alpacas at the farm. Dad Jason signed the note for this place as a 19-year-old. Throw in the leased land and last week he was in the middle of harvesting 1,200 acres of mostly corn with one farming friend as a helper.

"Do you hear that humming?" Stacey said. "That's how llamas communicate. Alpacas, too. They are related."

We talked about these domesticated camelids (looked that up) for a few more minutes.

Then Jason headed for the truck to drive to the fields, and Stacey and the twins went into the main house, and I drove a few miles to Lake Wilson, on the outside chance Jack Van Eck, the hair-cutting legend at Jack's Barber Shop, would have an early customer, but he did not.

The Overgaauw twins are seniors, both 5-4 and 95 pounds, and they started running the gravel roads around their farm as sixth-graders.

The twins then joined Dominick Damm's cross-country squad as seventh-graders.

"They were itty-bitty in size, but you could see right away the determination and the ability to be good at this," Damm said. "They got to witness the rise of Morgan Gehl to winning a state championship.

"There are lot of similarities with Morgan, and Amanda and Ashley. Not outgoing, very quiet, but willing to put in constant work to reach a goal."

Murray County Central and Fulda have a cooperative in cross-country. Gehl comes from a farm near Fulda. She's now a sophomore running at the University of Sioux Falls.

Gehl was the state Class 1A individual champion as a junior in 2019. The Overgaauws were in that state meet as freshmen. Ashley finished 26th and Amanda 27th, 1½ seconds apart.

"When Morgan won, and all the celebration that caused for our team, I thought, 'Maybe I can do that someday,' " Amanda said. "When I did win last fall, it was a dream come true."

There was no state meet for Gehl as a senior or the Overgaauws as sophomores because of the pandemic restrictions in fall 2020. When they did run their 5Ks that year, Ashley and Amanda were neck-and-neck.

"They would finish like this, one a few yards ahead of the other," said mom Stacey, gesturing with her hands.

Then, as a track sophomore in spring 2021, Ashley — she arrived first by one minute when the twins were born at a Sioux Falls hospital on May 25, 2005 — started experiencing hip pain.

"My hip gets out of place, sometimes by a half-inch, sometimes by a couple of inches," Ashley said. "The therapists put it back in place, but it's not a permanent fix."

Last fall, Amanda was winning the 5Ks by big margins, and Ashley remained a game second in area races.

The state meet was in three classes for the first time last fall. Amanda won Class 1A with a time of 18:09.13, and Ashley was sixth at 19:16.22.

Adrian High School hosted its annual invitational last week at the golf course adjacent to the school. It was 80 degrees, and the wind was howling.

"The course was long," Amanda said. "It's supposed to be 3.10 miles. It was 3.19, according to the watch I wear."

Amanda bolted in front, kept expanding her lead and won by football fields. Ashley used a couple of top runners as wind-breakers, then turned it on to finish second.

How is it for these best of sisters, prize winners as duos in competitive dance, united in so much, to now be dealing with Amanda being distantly in front?

"We used to kick it at the end to see who would win," Amanda said. "We always support each other. We're supporting each other through Ashley's recovery. I think she's getting better every day."

Ashley said, "I'm always going to be proud of my sister. She is running so great. And I feel like I'm improving."

The senior season in cross-country has included immense sadness for the Overgaauws, their teammates and, really, all of Murray County.

Molly Clarke, 17, a junior at Fulda, a member of the cross-country team since seventh grade, died in an ATV accident near her family farm Sept. 25.

"Molly was the nicest person," Amanda said. And Ashley's voice broke as she talked of a longtime teammate.

This cooperative uses the nickname Warriors, and they hang Clarke's jersey at the team camp made at cross-country meets.

"The loss of Molly will sneak up on our team, girls and boys, and we talk about it," said Damm, the coach. "She's there with us every day."