FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn (KNSP) – A great afternoon of State Cross Country wrapped up at the Les Bolstad Golf Course with the Class A races. Staples-Motley is getting ready to ‘Change The Number’ on Highway 10 after junior Audrey Brownell claimed the Class A Girls Individual State Cross Country Championship on Saturday afternoon, finishing first with a time of 18:17. Her victory marks the 71st individual state title for Staples-Motley High School across all sports.
United North Central led area teams, finishing fourth overall with 157 points, paced by senior Anjalie Aho’s 8th place, 19:15 finish. Junior Macie Josephson placed 32nd, recording a time of 19:58, while sophomore Anaya Aho came in 43rd at 20:12. The team rounded out its scoring with junior Elsa Komppa in 98th (21:19) and 7th-grader Eva Lehto in 106th (21:36). Other runners included Miley Westberg (21:57) and Joanna Lehto (22:47), capping a solid outing for UNC.
Hawley came in fifth with 164 points, with eighth-grader Jovie Marshall leading the Nuggets at 19:58 and a 31st-place finish. Senior Lily Olson followed closely, securing 38th with a time of 20:03, while another eighth-grader, Kinzey Ellingson, took 48th at 20:17. Rounding out the team’s top five were Madi Hoff (21:06) in 92nd and sophomore Dezi Aldinger (21:23) in 100th. Eighth-graders Rory Guderjahn and Eagan Hastings also contributed with times of 22:17 and 22:28, respectively.
Staples-Motley placed seventh with 225 points. Following Brownell’s first-place finish was eighth-grader Aleea Holst crossed in 65th at 20:40. Senior Naila Mikhaeil followed in 99th with a time of 21:19. Sophomore Bella Hines and Suhaila Mikhaeil finished in 116th and 121st, with times of 22:03 and 22:10, respectively. Seventh-grader Elise Trif (22:23) and freshman Leah Greenwaldt (23:42) completed the team’s lineup.
Minnewaska Area finished 13th with 249.
Winona Cotter claimed the Class A team title with 116 points.
Additional area performances included Julie Schmidt from Border West in 30th (19:56), Norah Froslee from Parkers Prairie in 40th (20:06), Amber Collins from Wadena-Deer Creek in 47th (20:17), and Jada Goeson from New York Mills Homeschool in 70th (20:44).
Kahlen Suelflow (20:11) and Victoria Linscheid (20:26) of Sauk Centre finished 42nd and 56th respectively.
BOYS RESULTS
In the boys race, Sauk Center led area teams with an 8th place finish with 231 points. Hawley finished 10th with 242, Bertha-Hewitt was 14th, and Park Rapids Area was 16th.
Charlie Larson of Pelican Rapids (16:05) and Owen Winter of DGF (16:11) both finished on the podium with eighth and ninth place finishes, respectively. Zackery Bruder of Osakis (16:27) finished 12th, Carter Kjesbo of West Central Area (16:36) was 14th, Brady Rach of Bertha-Hewitt (16:37 placed 15th, and Jacob Drevlow of Sauk Centre (16:39) placed 18th to round of the Top 20 for area runners.
OTC’s Peter Newark (16:52) was 25th, WDC’s Grant Nelson (16:53) was 26th, UNC’s Drew Aho (17:06) was 48th, LPA’s Thor Erickson (17:13) was 52nd, and Zach Palmer of Minnewaska Area (17:23) was 66th.
Sophomore Logan Wiehoff was the second runner in for Sauk Center, following Drevlow in 39th place at 17:02, while senior Neal Stadsvold finished 64th with a time of 17:21. Juniors Zaron Olmschenk and Noah Borgerding crossed in 120th and 126th, respectively, with times of 18:10 and 18:14. Rounding out the team, Ben Friedrichs and Logan Frank finished in 146th and 148th.
Senior Bridger Larson delivered a solid performance for Hawley, securing 58th place with a time of 17:18, closely followed by fellow senior Brayden Aldinger in 59th at 17:19. Junior Coleman Hoff placed 84th with 17:40, and senior Drake Dagenais came in 93rd at 17:43. Junior Braeden Lessard (102nd) and sophomore Landon Nathe (109th) also contributed with times of 17:51 and 17:58. Junior Landon Noonan finished in 150th with 19:25.
For Bertha-Hewitt, Rach led the way improving on last year’s 30th place finish to cross in 15th place this season. Junior Henry Lockwood placed 74th, completing the course in 17:32, followed by junior Gunnar Barthel in 95th with a time of 17:44. Seventh-grader Nolan Rach came in at 139th with 18:38, and sophomore Jalen Hinzmann finished close behind at 140th in 18:45. Rounding out the team were Vance Lockwood (19:18) in 149th and senior Gavin Brown (19:36) in 153rd.
Redwood Valley won the state championship with 86 points, followed by Luvurne and Winona Cotter. Freshman Erik Semling of Cotter won the state title with a time of 15:23.