Stillwater Boys 10th At Nike Cross Nationals

The Stillwater High School boys' cross country team finished 10th at Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals, putting a national sheen on a sparkling harrier season.

The Ponies, who were MSHSL Class AA and NXN Heartland Regional champions this fall, scored 296 points in the meet held in Portland, Oregon.

Christian Brothers Academy of New Jersey, running as the Lincroft XC Club at the meet, won the NXN boys title with 91 points.

“Top 5 would have been nice, but 10th in the nation? Everybody is pretty happy about that," Stillwater senior Tom Linner told DtB correspondent Eric Jahn after the race. "This is the only championship event in high school sports, and it’s nice to be able to prove who’s the best.”

Linner was the Ponies' #2 runner, finishing 53rd overall in 16:04, just two places behind teammate Wayde Hall who was 51st in 16:02. Eric Colvin was 89th for the squad in 16:24; Taylor Aarness was 133rd in 16:45; and Sean Bjork was 158th in 16:56.

Bjork, who closed the door on the team's top-10 finish, spent the week prior to NXN with his foot in a medical boot due to a metatarsal stress fracture, Jahn reports. “I would rather break my foot than miss this race, Bjork said afterward.

Class A individual runner-up Brandon Clark of Blake was the top Minnesota individual in the race, finishing 42nd in 15:58. Class AA champ Josh Thorson of Wayzata was 73rd in 16:15.

“I went deep today, and was hanging on the last 2K,” Clark told Jahn. “This gets me ready for college races next year, when I probably won’t be near the front. Like today’s race, I’ll go out hard, keep moving up, but I won’t be going for the win as a freshman at 8K. NXN was a great experience for me.”

Futsum Zeinasellaissie of Indianapolis won the boys' individual title in 15:03.

In girls' competition, Monticello finished 20th in the team race. The Magic scored 480 points.

Erica Seidenkranz led her squad with a 98th place finish in 19:20. Mariah Betzler was 133rd in 19:50, Amber Seidenkranz finished 139th in 19:55, Amber Stoick was 145th 20:01, and Brooke Rasmussen rounded out the scoring in 179th at 20:54.

Three-time Class AA individual champ Maria Hauger (pictured, #1)was the state's top individual, finishing 24th overall in 18:28. Jenna Truedson of Bemidji was 35th in 18:35, while
Danielle Anderson was 94th in 19:16.

Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley, California won the girls' title in 17:38.

Find complete results of the meet HERE.

Photo by Kraig Lungstrom. See his photos galleries from NXN HERE.