NARROWING THE GAP — Fairmont’s Macy Hanson (left) reduces the gap between herself and St. Peter’s Keira Friedrich through the ladies’ 5K race at Thursday’s Section 2AA cross nation meet at Benson Park in North Mankato. Hanson went on to put fourth total en path to qualifying for the Class AA state meet. (Photo by Greg Abel)

MANKATO — Four in a row — with an asterisk.

Fairmont junior working sensation Macy Hanson remained excellent in her yearly quest to advance to the Minnesota State High School League’s state cross nation competitors.

Hanson accomplished the 5,000-meter course at Benson Park in a fourth-place total time of 19:05.3 throughout Thursday’s Section 2AA cross nation meet in North Mankato to advantage a spot within the Class AA state ladies’ discipline at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4.

Hanson, Section 2’s different 11 particular person qualifiers, ladies workforce champion Marshall, ladies workforce runner-up Hutchinson, boys workforce winner Mankato East and boys workforce second-place finisher Marshall will race on the MSHSL’s new stately venue — the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

“It definitely was a good day to wear spikes,” mentioned Hanson, who additionally certified for the Nike Invitational that crammed the state void created in Minnesota as a result of covid-19 virus outbreak through the fall of 2020. “The recent rain created some soft spots on the course and the footing was a bit tough on the hills, so you didn’t want to go out too fast.”

A more healthy Hanson continued her current climb again into the cross nation coaches affiliation’s particular person Class AA state rankings on the No. 10 spot earlier this week.

Hanson posted a season’s-best 5K time of 18:48.94 to seize third place within the big-school division and fourth place total on the Big South Conference Meet on Oct. 17 in Marshall.

“I’m finally starting to get my consistency back and that’s helped me regain my confidence every time I run,” mentioned Hanson, who captured fourth place on the 2022 Class AA state cross nation meet.

After holding fifth place on the halfway juncture of Thursday’s sectional competitors, Hanson ultimately overtook Marshall’s Katelyn Leibfried for the fourth total spot behind one acquainted rival and two fellow Big South runners.

Hutchinson senior Isabelle Schmitz actually ran away with the person gold medal by crossing the end line in a profitable time of 18:20.2. The No. 1-ranked and defending Class AA state cross nation champion simply outdistanced No. 4-ranked Allyson Sample of Marshall and unranked Keira Friedrich of St. Peter, respectively.

“It was interesting and a lot of fun being recruited, but I’m glad the whole process is over now,” mentioned Schmitz. “I’m going to run cross nation and observe & discipline on the University of Minnesota subsequent season.

“Now I can focus on the rest of this season, and then prepare for track & field in the spring.”

Schmitz’s first-place particular person efficiency additionally paced the Tigers’ runner-up workforce displaying to earn a spot within the Class AA state discipline on Nov. 4 in St. Paul. Hutch tallied 88 factors to complete behind No. 2-ranked Marshall’s low-scoring methods of 38 that captured the Section 2 ladies workforce crown.

Sample, who was coming off a big-school divisional gold-medal time of 18:12.07 on the Big South Conference Meet final week, engineered Marshall’s profitable sectional methods with a silver-medal time of 18:44.1.

Friedrich, the two-sport same-season phenom, earned the bronze medal with a third-place time of 18:58.4 to steer St. Peter to third-place sectional workforce honors at 104 — two factors in entrance of Belle Plaine and 5 higher than fifth-place Mankato West.

Friedrich, who primarily performed soccer this fall, additionally captured third place total with a time of 18:43.62 within the BSC Meet’s big-school ladies race final week. Ironically, Friedrich proved she had a real ending kick on Thursday by sprinting the ultimate 50 meters to interrupt the 19-minute barrier.

Hanson topped Fairmont’s ninth-place workforce whole of 240, with Carys Gudahl, Kendra Blomster, Brooklyn Stone and Gwyneth Schultz rounding out the Cardinals’ counting scores.

Gudahl netted fifty fifth total by crossing the end line in 23:18.1, Blomster claimed 58th total in 23:25.4, Stone generated a time of 24:26.2 for 61st place, whereas Schultz nailed downed 62nd place in 24:49.2. Rylee Maday ran a season’s-best of 26:35.5 to complete sixty fifth for Fairmont, whereas Paige DeBoer took seventieth in 27:17.7.

In the battle of the highest three-ranked Class AA boys groups and solely two state bids accessible, defending state champion Mankato East ran previous runner-up and No. 2-ranked Marshall, 28-61, to assert the Section 2AA workforce championship.

No. 8-ranked Isaiah Anderson paced East’s profitable workforce methods by producing the one sub 16-minute time (15:58.8) of the sectional meet to fend off No. 5-ranked Fanuel Wolday (16:05.9) of Worthington for Thursday’s gold medal.

“The course was soggy in places, so the times were a little slower than usual, but I’ll take a pair of wins every time,” mentioned Anderson, who has his sights set on competing in long-distance working for Gustavus Adolphus College subsequent season.

Anderson, who completed ninth within the 2022 Class AA state cross nation meet in 15:52.5, and Wolday, who netted sixteenth place, will sq. off yet one more time on Nov. 4 on the Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

Senior Gavin Artner closed out his stellar prep cross nation profession by inserting twenty fifth total with a time of 17:30.3 to information Fairmont to a sixth-place workforce whole of 178.

Brier Lenort captured twenty eighth place total in 17:33.0 to web second on Fairmont’s lineup behind Artner, whereas Cooper Gudahl pocketed thirty fourth total by crossing the end line in 17:53.7.

Braydon Lindsay and Andrew Haugen rounded out Fairmont’s counting scores by posting a Forty fourth-place time of 18:35.0 and a Forty seventh-place displaying of 19:04.4, respectively. Will Niestrath ran a time of 19:55.2 to put sixty fifth for the Cardinals, whereas teammate Jaydon Putney didn’t end the race as a consequence of a hamstring damage.

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SECTION 2AA CROSS

COUNTRY MEET (5K)

Girls Division

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Isabelle Schmitz (Hutchinson) 18:20.2; 2. Allyson Sample (Marshall) 18:44.1; 3. Keira Friedrich (St. Peter) 18:58.4; 4. Macy Hanson (Fairmont) 19:05.3; 5. Katelyn Leibfried (Marshall) 19:08.5; 6. Oakley Schneekloth (Marshall) 19:26.7; 7. Landree Quint (Mankato West) 19:32.1; 8. Lauren Henkels (Mankato East) 19:39.8; 9. Hathaway Reiter (Hutchinson) 19:42.3; 10. Lucia Penner (St. Peter) 19:44.1.

Other Fairmont Results: 55. Carys Gudahl 23:18.1; 58. Kendra Blomster 23:25.4; 61. Brooklyn Stone 24:26.2; 62. Gwyneth Schultz 24:49.3; 65. Rylee Maday 26:35.5; 70. Paige DeBoer 27:17.7.

Individual State Qualifiers: 3. Friedrich; 4. Hanson; 7. Quint; 8. Henkels; 10. L. Penner; 11. Adriane Nelson (Belle Plaine) 19:44.7.

Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Marshall 38; 2. Hutchinson 88; 3. St. Peter 104; 4. Belle Plaine 106; 5. Mankato West 109; 6. Mankato East 119; 7. Jordan 186; 8. Tri-City United 222; 9. Fairmont 240; 10. Glencoe-Silver Lake 298; 11. Worthington 305.

Boys Division

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Isaiah Anderson (Mankato East) 15:58.8; 2. Fanuel Wolday (Worthington) 16:05.9; 3. Luke Scholtes (Mankato East) 16:15.2; 4. Sam Deutz (Marshall) 16:23.0; 5. Ephraim Staley (Mankato West) 16:24.4; 6. Audi Thom (Mankato East) 16:30.2; 7. Kelton Koepp (Belle Plaine) 16:32.5; 8. Dayton Clobes (Mankato East) 16:35.7; 9. Alexander Bur (St. Peter) 16:36.6; 10. Evan Maclean (Mankato East) 16:37.4.

Fairmont Results: 25. Gavin Artner 17:30.3; 28. Brier Lenort 17:33.0; 34. Cooper Gudahl 17:53.7; 44. Braydon Lindsay 18:35.0; 47. Andrew Haugen 19:04.4; 65. Will Niestrath 19:55.2; Jaydon Putney — Did not end.

Individual State Qualifiers: 2. Wolday; 5. Staley; 7. Koepp; 9. Bur; 12. Jack Buerkle (Belle Plaine) 16:41.4; 14. Isaac Bemmels (Belle Plaine) 16:49.7.

Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Mankato East 28; 2. Marshall 61; 3. Belle Plaine 66; 4. Mankato West 115; 5. Worthington 155; 6. Fairmont 178; 7. Jordan 188; 8. St. Peter 207; 9. Hutch 273; 10. Glencoe-Silver Lake 294; 11. TCU 298.