Friday, December 15, 2017

Ruby Stauber Transferring to the University of Oregon

Ruby Stauber
Photo by Gene Niemi
                                  Ruby Stauber is transferring to the University of Oregon.





Thursday, December 14, 2017

USATF MN November 2017 Athletes of the Month

November 2017 Athletes of the Month

   With a slew of championship races sprinkled throughout the month of November, high school, college, and post-college athletes saw lots of opportunities to show their fitness and end the year on a good note. Khalid Hussein and Tierney Wolfgram did just that in winning the Minnesota State High School League Cross Country Championships on November 4th, earning them each the title of USATF Minnesota’s November Athlete of the Month.

Khalid Hussein from Wayzata High School had showed he was one of the best, if not the best, high school cross country runners in the state of Minnesota all season long, consistently being ranked in the top five throughout the fall. At this year’s MSHSL State Cross Country Championships, Hussein proved just that by winning the state title in the Class AA race in a time of 15:22.6. This performance, along with his 3rd place finish at the Nike Heartland Regional Championship race on November 12th that qualified him for the Nike Nationals Championship race in Portland, Oregon, earns him the title of USATF Minnesota’s November Athlete of the Month.

Before his success this fall, Hussein was runner-up in last spring’s 1600m race at the MSHSL Track & Field Championships as well as runner-up at the 2016 MSHSL Cross Country Championships.

Tierney Wolfgram, Math & Science Academy freshman, continued her dominance in Class A competition by defending her title with a convincing win at the MSHSL State Cross Country Championships in a blazing fast time of 17:31.6. She again showed her strength at the Nike Heartland Regional Championship race on November 12th where she claimed victory and qualified for the Nike National Championship meet over the best high school runners from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin in an even faster time of 16:48.67. These performances have earned Wolfgram the honor of USATF Minnesota’s November Athlete of the Month.

Following her wins at the Minnesota State Championships and the Nike Heartland Regional Championships, Wolfgram went on to continue her hot streak with a 9th place finish in the Footlocker Cross Country Midwest Championship race, qualifying her for the prestigious Footlocker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego, California on December 9th.

Congratulations to both Khalid and Tierney on great cross-country seasons and good luck this Spring on the track!

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Sunday, December 10, 2017

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the 2018 Minnesota Track & Field Coaches Association Clinic!  

Join us to hear world class coaches including Olympic Coaches Harry Marra and Lucky Huber, Olympians Derek Miles, Carrie Tollefson, Mechelle Freeman, AG Kruger and Andrew Rock!  Plus an excellent lineup of some of the best college and high school coaches in the country!  

The Minnesota Track & Field Coaches Association Clinic will be held on January 25-27, 2018 at the Bloomington DoubleTree Hotel.  For the $100 registration fee, coaches will receive over 45 hours of world class coaching instruction from some of the top track & field coaches in the world!  In addition, coaches will receive over 900 pages of notes from a compilation of each presenters session, two free socials and admission to the Minnesota Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame Banquet.  Keynote speaker is Minnesota Olympian, Carrie Tollefson!  Over two dozen vendors will be on hand for coaches and many door prizes will be given.  Out of State and international coaches are WELCOME!

Here is the Registration Link:   https://mshsca17.cordonco.com

Book rooms by January 15th to receive Clinic Special rate!


Out of State coaches can register online at the website listed above.  Choose event registration and select Out of State on the pull down menu when they ask for your school.  Scroll down to the O’s and you will find it.  

International Coaches should contact me and I will email you a registration:   ncraignelson@hotmail.com

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or issues.

Minnesota Golden Gopher Women’s Track & Field 2018 Indoor Performance List

Minnesota Golden Gopher Women’s Track & Field 2018 Indoor Performance List HERE

Saturday, December 09, 2017

The Year of Maggie Ewen

                                                        The Year of Maggie Ewen HERE

Footlocker Nationals Results

 Footlocker Nationals Girl's Results HERE
Boy's results HERE

Updated:USATF Club Nationals XC Results

USATF Club Nationals XC Results Men's 10K Open Results HERE. Women 6K Open Results HERE
Biya Symbassa 5th in men's race.
Trent Lusignan 23rd
Kevin Lewis 35th
Ryan Rutherford 42nd
Danny Docherty 55th
Walter Bugler 72th
Calvin Lehn 113th
Paul Nordquist 134th

Breanna Sieracki 24th in Women's
Katy Moen 30th

Des Moines Register weekend Update

Sunday, December 03, 2017

US Marathon Championship Results

US Marathon Championships Results HERE

Men
Malcolm Richards 6th in 2:13.28
Eric Finan 15th in 2:16.42
Eric Loeffler 25th in 2:17.34
Jon Gray 45th 2:20.08
Ben Sathre 48th 2:21.00

Women
Meghan Peyton 14th in 2:37.33


Saturday, December 02, 2017

NXN Results

NXN Results HERE

Wayzata Girls 7th, Edina 11th at NXN

By Eric Jahn
Both Wayzata and Edina moved up the last mile to finish in the top half of final race of the 2017 cross country season.  Emma Atkinson lead Wayzata with 37th place, and Emily Kompelien was 39th for Edina.
Manlius was leaking points after halfway, and Naperville North closed to within 5 at the end.  Final score of 89 to 94 was among the closest in the history of the meet.
Katelyn Touhy, the sophomore out of New York, lead from wire to crush the field in 16:44.  Her 41 second margin of victory was unprecedented.

The top Minnesota individuals were Anna Fenske in 10th, and Lauren Ping 11th with the same time.
Wayzata girl's team

Wayzata Boys 11th, Hussein 10th at NXN

By Eric Jahn
There was no recall when multiple runners went down in the first few seconds of the boy’s race at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.  Four of the Wayzata athletes were taken out, and two of their scorers were dead last before they knew it in the field of 199.  The only one with an unencumbered start was Khalid Hussein, who used perfect positioning and steady progression to end up tenth in 15:28.
Aidan Troutner from the Southwest Region was the individual champion in 15:03, nipping Brody Hasty for the title.  Louden Valley (VA) easily won the team title with 89 points over Manlius (NY) with 159.
The first unattached individual from Minnesota was Acer Iverson of Roseville who ended up 61st in 16:16.

It’s starting to sprinkle again as the girl’s race is set to start in 20 minutes.  Many of the corners of the course are severely chewed up at this point, and will soon get worse.
Wayzata boy's team

Wayzata Boys Prepare in Secret

by Eric Jahn
It was dusk on the track at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton.  Wayzata XC Club coach Jon Lambert chased everyone from the site, including the press.  They wanted some privacy for their setup workout before NXN.

“Get lost!” he barked.  “If this works, other teams are going to try it.”

From a distance, it looks like they did a set of 300s at race pace, followed by a few faster reps.  

The course run-through the next day was uneventful.  Unlike other years there was little mud and no standing water.  The athletes were kept off the actual competition course, and only allowed on the cart path until race time.  But rain is forecast from nightfall on Friday through Saturday afternoon, and spikes up to 1” will be common during the race.


The elite athlete panel on Friday featured Jager, Quigley, Rupp, Hassay, and Mead.  The questions and answers ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.  The message from most included consistency of training over time, avoidance of injury, and cross training only when necessary.

Friday, December 01, 2017

Thursday, November 30, 2017

NSIC Pre-Season Indoor Track Coaches Poll Rankings

                                                            NSIC Women's Poll HERE
                                                                Men's poll HERE

NCAA DII National Pre-Season Indoor Track Team Rankings

NCAA DII National Pre-Season Indoor Track Team Rankings
HERE

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Get rid of all supposedly performance-enhancing devices

It's time to ban hi-tech shoes HERE
Get rid of all supposedly performance-enhancing devices


Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Monday, November 27, 2017

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Sunday, November 19, 2017

U-Mary Runner-up, UMD 15th in Women's Team Race at NCAA DII XC Championships

U-Mary women's team celebrate 2nd place finish
NCAA DII women's results HERE
U-Mary women's summaries HERE and  HERE
The runners' view of an NCAA trophy HERE

UMD Women 15th in the team race. Summary HEREMen's results HERE. UMD Men's summary HERE.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

NCAA DI XC Results

Gopher women's team
photo by Justin Casterline
NCAA DI XC Women's Results HERE. Photos HERE, Summary HERE
Emma Benner 120th in 20:52.4
Women's Team Results HERE(click on Team Scores).

Men's Results HERE: Matt Welch 46th  in 30:09.7;
Joe Klecker 67th in 30:24.4; Wayde Hall 93rd in 30:36.6
Men's Team Results HERE

Carleton 5th in NCAA DIII Women's Team Race; St. Olaf 21st, St. Thomas 22nd.

  Women's Results HERE. Carleton women's summary HERE; St. Olaf HERE; St. Thomas-no summary available
Men's Results HERE Carleton 10th, Summary HERE

Regeneration of muscle fibers: The breaking and making of healthy adult human skeletal muscle

Research on regeneration of muscle fibers: The breaking and making of healthy adult human skeletal muscle HERE

Monday, November 13, 2017

NCAA DI Women's National Coaches' Poll

                                                 NCAA DI Women's National Coaches' Poll
                                                                              HERE

NCAA DIII All Region XC Selections

NCAA DIII All Region XC Selections
HERE

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Wayzata Teams Sweep NXR Heartland Championship Regionals

NXR Heartland Regionals Results: Girl's and  Boy's Championship races HERE
Wayzata Boy's Team
Edina Girl's Photo by Lance Elliott


Hopkins

Another Wayzata Double

After winning the team title at the MSHSL Cross Country Championships, Wayzata's Boy's and Girl's teams added the NXR titles to their "resume." The triumphs mean that both teams will be competing again on December 2,  attempting to win  NXN titles.
Wayzata State Champs

"We've had that goal(to attempt to win another NXN title) all year," said coach Dave Emmans.  "It's become sort of built into our culture."  Having that goal is important, said Emmans, because it can be intimidating for most teams to think about what has become high school cross country's National Championships."

Not every team or every runner can cope with such a lofty goal.  It helps that the Wayzata girls team won that title in 2014, which demonstrated to members of the Wayzata teams that followed  that it was possible.  That win makes it a bit less intimidating and a goal that can be absorbed into the program, part of the culture.

To meet the challenge at NXN requires both physical and mental "toughness."  It makes for a long season and requires that the team is able to be able to peak at the right times.  Just winning a State championship is a major accomplishment for most teams, so extending the season and being able to perform at a high level in different settings are necessary.

"We don't race a lot," said Emmans.  The reason being that each race has its own goal, part of the building blocks of a successful championship season.  The Griak Invitational, for example, is on the team's schedule because it is a chance for the team to compete in a large field of talented athletes.  Late season races, such as the MSHSL Cross Country Championships is a similar challenge, as is the the NXN meet.

The larger field and high caliber athletes requires that the runners must follow a plan and have the ability to to "run their own race" instead of being distracted by others.  When asked about how things went after this year's Griak, Emmans replied that he was very proud of how the team responded to the challenge.  They maintained that high level throughout the season, said Emmans.

They were able to stay consistent, performing  well every meet instead of having a good race on one outing followed by a less satisfactory one.  At Griak, for example, instead of panicking in the big field, the girls were able to follow the race plan, to run their own race, not get caught up in what the other teams were doing.

That was important because they had a "young, but very smart(4.0 in the classroom as well as accomplished on the field of play.) athletes  The 2014 team had a leader, Anna French, who, Emmans said, led the team to the title.

This year's group has lot of   "really potentially good runners." coming into their own, said Emmans.  They've demonstrated that they are capable of doing great things.  Their confidence has grown with each performance.

Now there is but one more "mountain" to climb and opportunity to do something special.  NXN is the goal of just about any talented team in the US and a new experience than most teams never get.  The athletes are treated well, but  the  "hospitality"can be distracting.  The key being to enjoy the atmosphere, but also adhere to the reason for all the work done to get to this point.  To be a "Podium team," said Emmans, and if all goes well repeating being on the top of that podium.


THE BOY'S
"This was a special group of guys, says Wayzata boy's coach Mark Popp.  "Good guys coming into their own." It's a "scary" deep team with their tight pack being a "secret" to their success.  They've run more races than the girl's team and have had a similar consistency.  With the depth and talent they could "rest" and rotate the participants, but with that depth and consistency they had the luxury of having a high level of performance with whatever line-up was chosen.

The goal going into the season was to be a consistent "podium team", to be ready for Conference, Sectionals, and sharp for the MSHSL State Meet  Back off the training a bit after State, qualify for NXN.  They've followed that plan and had consistent performances all season no dips, just solid efforts in each outing.

As Section 6 AA is otherwise known as the" Section of death" because of the strength on the teams, you have to treat the meet as almost a mini State Meet because a dip in performance can result in the team becoming spectators for the MSHSL XC Championships.
Wayzata boy's 6AA Champions. Photo by Kraig A. Lungstrom

Another challenge was getting and keeping the team's number one runner Khalid Hussein healthy.  The runner-up at the 2016 State XC Meet.  Hussein ran a 2:12 1600 in track season, but had an injury afterwards and got a slow start to cross country training.  Popp does a pre-race routine of talking with his runners, providing them with a road map of sorts as to individual's strengths and weaknesses and how to plan and execute the best possible strategy on race day.

With his mile speed Popp said that Hussein should stay in contact with the lead runners and have faith in his finish as Hussein would be a better "closer" than the others.  Hussein followed the plan to perfection, waiting until the last portion of the race to open up and break away from Roseville Area's Acer Iverson, who had tried to make a break away move on the hill with about a mile and a half to go in the race.  Hussein stayed in Iverson's shadow and began his charge for the finish on the downhill coming out of the woods. In the last 800 Hussein quickly opened up a gap between he and Iverson so Hussein could coast  after climbing the little hill within sight of the finish.

At the NXR Heartland Regional Meet Hussein finished third, three seconds out of first.  The spread between Hussein and the team's fifth runner was wider than at the State Meet.  Hussein got a late start to his training for the cross country season because he was recovering from an injury.  He and maybe the others may have been more fatigued as the State meet and NXR was eight days ago.

So the gap between NXR and NXN should give Hussein and his teammates plenty of time to rest and sharpen for the challenge ahead.  Like the girls, the Wayzata boys will try for a podium finish, and if everybody is "firing on all cylinders" a unique accomplishment of finishing the season with another  double.


NCAA announces 2017 Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships qualifiers

NCAA announces 2017 Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships qualifiers

Saturday, November 11, 2017

USATF MN JO XC Championships Results

USATF MN JO XC Championships Results HERE

Gopher Men's Midwest Regional Photo Album

Obsa Ali(13th) 
Photos by Gene Niemi

Connor Olson(25th) 

Gopher pack:. Connor Olson, Charlie Lawrence(74th), Erin Ferlic(37th), Alec Basten(29th)


Obsa Ali on his way to a new school XC 10K record

USATF Minnesota Cross Country Open & Masters Championships Results

USATF Minnesota Cross Country Open & Masters Championships Results HERE

Gopher Women's Team Earn Spot at Nationals



        Gopher Women's Team Earn an "At-Large" Entry
                   to the NCAA XC Finals HERE

Megan Hasz(5th), Madeline Strandemo(6th), and Bethany Hasz(7th) on the award stand
                                                
Photos by Gene Niemi

.
Baily Ness(108) cresting the hill
Abby Kohut-Jackson(106) in the pack


Friday, November 10, 2017

Minnetonka High School is currently taking applications for the Head Boys’ Track and Field Coach position for the upcoming 2018 season.

Minnetonka High School is currently taking applications for the Head Boys’ Track and Field Coach position for the upcoming 2018 season.  If interested, contact Activities Director Ted Schultz at 952-401-5901 or Ted.Schultz@minnetonkaschools.org

NCAA DIII Regional Championships Preview

NCAA DIII Regional Championships Preview
HERE

ALI BREAKS SCHOOL 10K RECORD AT NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL


ALI BREAKS SCHOOL 10K RECORD AT NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
HERE

Gopher women 3rd in NCAA Regions

Gopher Women 3rd at Regions
HERE

Joe Klecker Wins NCAA Individual Mountain Region Title

Joe Klecker Wins NCAA Individual Mountain Region Title
HERE

Tuesday, November 07, 2017

USATF Minnesota Athletes of the Month for October 2017

October 2017 Athletes of the Month

11/7/2017
 
MENDOTA HEIGHTS— A pair of Team USA Minnesota athletes, Ryan Rutherford and Meghan Peyton, took home top Minnesotan honors at this year’s Medtronic TC 10 Mile on October 1, 2017. As this year’s race once again served as the USATF 10 Mile National Championship as well as the USATF Minnesota 10 Mile Championship, the race attracted a very deep field. Rutherford and Peyton were both able to finish in the top 20 and each capture USATF Minnesota 10 Mile titles, thereby earning them each the honor of USATF Minnesota’s October Athlete of the Month.

Ryan Rutherford, originally from Bloomington, Illinois and a 2016 graduate of Illinois State University, placed 18th in a time of 49:12, claiming the honor of USATF Minnesota’s 10 Mile Champion and October Athlete of the Month. Rutherford is a member of Team USA Minnesota, an elite distance training center based in Minneapolis, and has been a member of the team since January 2017.

Before moving to Minneapolis earlier this year, Rutherford was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Champion (once in the indoor 5000m and once in the outdoor 10,000m) in addition to qualifying for the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon in the 10,000m where he placed 22nd overall. He concluded his career with four Illinois State track & field and cross country records, and was a 10-time All-Conference performer.

Meghan Peyton, a long-time Minnesota resident and another Team USA Minnesota team member, also ran extremely well at this year’s Medtronic TC 10 Mile placing 12th in 57:45, also giving her the title of USATF Minnesota’s 10 Mile Champion and October Athlete of the Month along with her teammate Rutherford. This year’s USATF 10 Mile Championship was Peyton’s fifth time competing in the event, placing 8th in 2014, 9th in 2012, 6th in 2011, and 4th in 2010. Peyton has a long list of top finishes and major accomplishments on both the track and the roads, and her performance last month just adds to that list.

Since 2009, Peyton has finished in the top 10 at twenty-one different USATF National Championship races in distances ranging from the one mile to the marathon, making her one of the most accomplished and consistent athletes in Minnesota. Originally from Tualatin, Oregon, Peyton competed on the cross country and track & field teams at the University of Iowa, eventually becoming a four-time All American. Peyton was the 2008 Big Ten Champion in both the indoor 3,000m and the outdoor 10,000m, later going on to finish 6th in the 10,000m that same year at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Peyton has also been a part of three different international Team USA teams, including the 2013 U.S. team that competed at the Edinburgh International Cross Country Championships in Scotland. In addition to competing as a professional runner, Peyton is the Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track & Field Coach at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

Congratulations to Ryan and Meghan!

Honorable Mention Worthy Performances in October
·         Emma Bates, originally from Elk River, Minnesota and current Boston, Massachusetts resident, placed 6th at the USATF 10 Mile National Championships and TC 10 Mile in a time of 55:36.
·         Joe Klecker, a native of Hopkins, Minnesota and current redshirt sophomore for the University of Colorado at Boulder Buffaloes, placed 2nd at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships on October 27th.
·         Madeline Strandemo, originally from Fargo, North Dakota and current redshirt senior at the University of Minnesota, placed 2nd at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships on October 29th to claim the second All-Big Ten honor of her career in cross country.
·         Sisters Megan and Bethany Hasz, from Alexandria, Minnesota, also earned the second and first All-Big Ten honors of their careers by placing fifth and 10th respectively at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships.
·         Obsa Ali, from Richfield, Minnesota and current senior at the University of Minnesota, placed 8th at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships, earning the second All-Big Ten honor of his career in cross country.

We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Minnesota’s Athlete of the Month award, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to mskuzara@csbsju.edu with the subject line “Athlete of the Month Nomination”.

Fans can follow along with USATF Minnesota on FacebookTwitter, and online at www.minnesota.usatf.org.

Maxwell Kuzara
Athlete of the Month Committee Chair
USA Track & Field Minnesota
e-mail

Gopher Women's Updated XC Performance List

Gopher Women's Updated XC Performance List HERE

NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships qualifiers announced

NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships qualifiers announced  HERE

Gwen Jorgensen is switching from the triathlon to the marathon

Gwen Jorgensen is switching from the triathlon to the marathon HERE

Monday, November 06, 2017

USATF 5K roads championship results

USATF 5K roads championship results: Top 10 men and women HERE

Men: Biya Simbassa 5th; Will Lear 8th; Hassan Mead 9th;
Women: Maddie Van Beek 18th(16:33); Meghan Payton 22nd(16:55)

EQT Pittsburgh 10 Mile Results

EQT Pittsburgh 10 Mile Results HERE
Danny Docherty (22nd); Reed Fischer (19th);

Free App for Charting Routes for Runners, Walkers, Hikers, Tourists and Travelers based on landmarks or geographic features

A distance-based app that creates routes for runners, walkers, hikers, tourists and travelers based on landmarks or geographic features.  This unique feature, along with designating distances and route parameters, creates a highly customized experience.

The app is free at www.FASTZach.com and available on iOS and Android with the ability to create routes in over 50 countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  During its testing phase, which began last spring, the app attracted over 5,000 users.

The app supports routes up to 150 miles in distance.

At present, the app tracks time and mileage and you can even re-route mid-run to return directly to the starting point.  As we develop, we will continue to add features such as splits, elevation, audio tours and social media integration.
***************
Contact:  Pat Goodwin, pfgoodwin@sprynet.com, 952-454-8876

Running App that Creates Routes for Runners

Free app that creates routes for runners, walkers, hikers, tourists and travelers based on landmarks or geographic features.  


Minneapolis – Nov. 6, 2017 – FASTZach has developed a distance-based app that creates routes for runners, walkers, hikers, tourists and travelers based on landmarks or geographic features.  This unique feature, along with designating distances and route parameters, creates a highly customized experience.

The app is free at www.FASTZach.com and available on iOS and Android with the ability to create routes in over 50 countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  During its testing phase, which began last spring, the app attracted over 5,000 users.

“FASTZach enables you to explore routes like never before so you can #GETOUTANDROUTE with more confidence and discovery,” said Amanda Brooks, FASTZach founder.  “I developed it while I was marathon training and expecting my son Zach.  I was always looking for a great and safe place to run and this app turned out to be my solution.

“Whenever I run, I often want to see something fun and be surprised by a new route.  I think other active people want that same type of experience as well, plus it’s a great motivator to get you out the door whether you’re at home, in a new city or even a different country.”

After FASTZach users create a route to explore somewhere new or a familiar route in new ways, they can choose to save, rate and share their route.  Other features include turn-by-turn voice navigation, GPS tracking, start and end points based on user location, and user-selected criteria.  The app supports routes up to 150 miles in distance.

“At present, the app tracks time and mileage and you can even re-route mid-run to return directly to the starting point.  As we develop, we will continue to add features such as splits, elevation, audio tours and social media integration,” said Brooks.  “FASTZach generates routes in seconds and is a great way to let you ‘See More in Your Miles’.”

About FASTZach
FASTZach is a lifestyle product, promoting better health and wellness through movement and exploration.  Created and coded in Minneapolis/St. Paul, FASTZach is patent-protected and able to generate routes across the United States, Canada and abroad.  For more information, visit www.FASTZach.com.

***************

Contact:  Pat Goodwin, pfgoodwin@sprynet.com, 952-454-8876

NCAA DII All Region XC Team

NCAA DII All Region XC  Team
HERE

Saturday, November 04, 2017

Close Race for the Boy's Class A Title, Race Results

Declan Dahlberg(821) and Matt Steiger(753) were given the same time with Steiger
getting the win. Here the pair have broken away from the rest of the lead group as the
pair ran shoulder to shoulder through the finish.
Photo by Gene Niemi
While Tierney Wolfgram ran solo to win the Girl's Class A title, the boy's race was a battle won by inches. Answering questions from the press, Declan Dahlberg said that he would have liked to have have defended his title(he won by two tenths of a second over Steiger last year) he was satisfied with the fact that the pair had traded places this time.  Steiger joked with third place finisher Geno Uhrborn that the title was now his for next year as both Dahlberg and Steiger are seniors.  Uhrbom is a freshman.
About 1.5 Miles into the race, third place finisher Geno Uhrbom(881) leads
defending champ Declan Dahlberg(821) and 2015 Class A champion
Matt Steiger(Green singlet and shorts, orange shoes who is running
right behind Dahlberg.)
Photo by Gene Niemi
Race results are HERE



A Double Double Highlighted the Team competition at the 2017 MSHSL Cross Country Championships

On a cool, overcast day on the  St. Olaf cross country course Wayzata swept the girl's and boy's Class AA titles and Perham also did the double in Class A .For Perham it was the reverse of last year's State Meet  team battles that  they lost in tight competition. This year they edged Winona Cotter by one point to take home the girl's trophy.  The win in the boy's race was by 30 points over runner-up St. James Area high school.

Wayzata was more dominant, beating Edina by 21 points in the girl's AA race.  In the boy's it was anoter dominant performance with Wayzata's  scoring 37 points to runner-up Stillwater Area's 72 and Edina's 107. Wayzata senior Khalid Hussein won the AA 5k title, pulling away from Acer Iverson of Roseville.

"I ran a 4:12 mile in track," said Hussein, which boosted his confidence in the back and forth battle with Iverson, who tried to break Hussein by charging up the hill on the "forest" segment of the course in the second half of the race.  Iverson, a junior from Roseville, said he thought he could hold onto the lead and the gap he opened with his surge, but Hussein was too strong and quick over the last half mile of the race.

In the girl's AA race, Washburn's Emily Covert used the same strategy as Iverson.  However, she was able to hold the gap she got on last year's champion Anna Fenske of Farmington. The battle between the two resulted in a new All Time record for the 5K of 17:30.1 for Covert.  That record almost fell as Tierney Wolfgram successfully utilized a different strategy to run away from the Ping sisters, Lauren, who was second and Grace, who finished third in the Class A race.

Instead of waiting to make a move in the latter half of the race, the tactics  the other champions utilized, Wolfgram ran even splits, she said, going out hard and holding that pace the last half of the race. She gave credit to the Pings, who she got to know when she was invited to participate in the Project Gold running camp two years ago in Utah, and again in last summer's Project Gold camp at St. Mary's in Winona.

Tierney Wolfgram
Photo by Gene Niemi

She and the Pings got to be good friends along with  the rest of the girls in the camp, she said.   "I'm not the most confident person," Wolfgram said of her pre-race nervousness, but she learned how to transform that anxiety into energy.  Energy enough to set a new Class A record for 5K and only 1.5 seconds away from duplicating Covert's All Time mark.

It was the fast times run by Grace Ping  that had attracted Wolfgram into the sport.  When she saw Grace Ping, then a 7th grader, out run and dominate the race to win the 2015 Griak high school Maroon race title, Wolfgram said that then :"I didn't think a 7th grader could run that fast" A 7th grader herself then, Wolfgram's attitude and expectations were transformed.  Training with and getting to know Grace and the other "campers" helped her to set her goals higher.

On Saturday Grace had a strip of green  kinesio tape on her right quads.  She didn't want to talk about the leg or the fact that she hadn't trained during the past week.  She said that she was OK, and was hoping to run in the NXN qualifying meet later this month,  Saturday's race was more for the team than herself, as  Cotter  had a shot at the team title, which they lost to Perham by a point.
Grace Ping. Photo by Gene Niemi

Lauren Ping
Photo by Gene Niemi