BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – The 2016 State Cross Country
Meet will be conducted on Saturday, November 5, at St. Olaf College in
Northfield. Here is a look at the meet:
FAST FACTS
The schedule: Class A boys – 10 a.m.; Class A girls – 11
a.m.; Class AA boys – 1 p.m.; Class AA girls – 2 p.m. All races are 5,000
meters and an awards ceremony will be conducted approximately 30 minutes after
each girls’ race.
Tickets: Free admission
Team and individual results: Posted on the League’s
website at
www.mshsl.org
Social media: Follow the meet on the League’s Facebook
page and on Twitter at @MSHSL and @MSHSLJohn.
TEAM PREVIEW
Boys
Class A – The Mora Mustangs return in search of their
third consecutive and overall team title. In addition to Mora, 10 other teams
from the 2015 field also return: Perham, runner-up; West Central Area of
Barrett, fourth; Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan, fifth; La Crescent,
sixth; Lake City, seventh; Pequot Lakes, eighth; Minnehaha Academy of Minneapolis,
which includes students from Hope Academy of Minneapolis, 10th; Lac qui Parle
Valley/Dawson-Boyd, 11th; Ely, 14th; and Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin, 15th.
Class AA –Stillwater Area is the highest returning
qualifier; the Ponies finished third in 2015. Five other teams from 2015 also
return: Bemidji, fourth; Mounds View, ninth; White Bear Lake Area, 11th;
Rosemount, 13th; and Chanhassen, 14th.
Girls
Class A – Eleven teams, including the defending champions
from Perham, return to this year’s team competition. The other returning teams
are: Annandale, runner-up; Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan, third;
Luverne, fourth; Fairmont, fifth; Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, sixth;
Lanesboro/Fillmore Central, ninth; Proctor, 11th; Ely, 12th; Lake City, 15th;
and Eden Valley-Watkins, 16th. If Perham wins, it would be the second title for
the Yellowjackets.
Class AA – The defending champions from Edina return in
search of more gold. If they win, it would be their second consecutive and
overall title. Eight additional teams return from the 2015 field: Marshall,
runner-up; Willmar, third; Forest Lake, fifth; Red Wing, sixth; Shakopee,
seventh; Roseville Area, 10th; White Bear Lake Area, 14th; and St.
Michael-Albertville, 15th.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW
Boys
Class A – Defending champion, senior Zach Emery of La
Crescent, leads a field of seven returning Top 10 finishers. The others are:
senior Michael Schwinghamer of Mora, runner-up; senior Carl Kozlowski of Lake
City, third; senior Michael Mitchel of The Blake School of Minneapolis, fifth;
senior Alec Sanbeck of Mora, seventh; senior Ryley Nelson of West Central Area
of Barrett, eighth; and junior Jake Paron of Cook County/Two Harbors, 10th.
Class AA – Patrick Roos, a senior from Edina, is the
highest returning qualifier. Roos placed fifth in 2015. Three other Top 10
finishers also return: senior Seth Eliason of Hopkins, sixth; senior Alex Miley
of Maple Grove, seventh; and senior Innocent Murwanashyaka of St. Paul Como
Park, eighth.
Girls
Class A – Senior Erika Fox of Carlton, who placed fourth
in 2015, is this year’s highest returning qualifier. She will be joined by four
additional Top 10 finishers from last year: senior Anna Donnay of Eden
Valley-Watkins/Kimball, seventh; sophomore Kayla Christopherson of Austin
Pacelli, eighth; senior Grace Ennis of Trinity School at River Ridge of Eagan,
ninth; and eighth-grader Tierney Wolfgram of Math & Science Academy of
Woodbury, 10th.
Class AA – Marshall senior Claire Boersma leads a field
of six returning Top 10 finishers. Boersma is looking to improve on last year’s
third-place finish. The other returning runners are: Farmington sophomore
Lauren Peterson, sixth; Minnetonka junior Sophie Whicher, seventh; Minneapolis
Washburn sophomore Emily Covert, eighth; Farmington eighth-grader Anna Fenske,
ninth; and Edina sophomore Maria Rickman, 10th.
2015 STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP
Boys
Class A – The Mora Mustangs claimed their second
consecutive team title with 43 points. Perham placed second with 94 points and
Annandale was third with 166 points. Zach Emery of La Crescent claimed top
individual honors with a time of 16:07.8. The victory was an improvement for
Emery, who placed seventh in 2014. Carl Kozlowski of Lake City and John Roth of
Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet, placed second and third, respectively.
Class AA – Jaret Carpenter of Wayzata, who placed seventh
in 2014, won the individual competition with a time of 15:26.5. Micah Mather of
St. Paul Highland Park placed second and Eli Krahn of Stillwater Area was
third. Hopkins earned its fifth team championship with 34 points. The Royals
won previously in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. Minneapolis Washburn finished in
second place with 67 points and Stillwater Area placed third with 87.
Girls
Class A - Perham earned its first team crown, finishing
with 74 points. Annandale was second with 98 points and Trinity School at River
Ridge of Eagan placed third with 118 points. Grace Potter from Cotter of Winona
became the first seventh-grader in state meet history – both boys’ and girls’ –
to win an individual title. Her winning time was 17:52.0. Morgan Richter of
Breck School of Golden Valley claimed runner-up honors and Hannah Truniger of
Watertown-Mayer placed third.
Class AA – Bethany Hasz of Alexandria Area earned her
second individual title in three years with a winning time of 17:32.2. Bethany
won her first championship in 2013 and her twin sister, Megan won in 2014.
Megan was the runner-up in both 2013 and 2015, and Bethany was runner-up in
2014. Marshall’s Claire Boersma earned third-place honors in 2015. In the team
competition, the Edina Hornets earned their first championship with 68 points.
Marshall was second with 76 and Willmar was third with 119.
