RUNNING BACK – Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther runner Josiah DeMaris (left) and Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin’s Ryan Pierson show off their Class 2A credentials after qualifying for the Class A meet on Thursday at Baylor Park at Norwood Young America. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Hartke)
NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA – No matter what program he competes against, senior Ryan Pierson continues to qualify for the Class A meet year after year.
Pierson, who is competing on the Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin Public team this fall, and Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther junior Josiah DeMaris made up the top two qualifiers in the state 5K at Thursday’s Section 2A Meet . at Norwood Young America.
Pierson, ranked No. 2 in the Class A state rankings, ran the Baylor Park course in 16:23.97 to take third place behind St. Louis regional gold medalist Levi Miest. James Area and the last Kody. Wassman of the Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey.
Miest, who took 18th place at the 2022 Class A meet with a time of 16:39.4, broke the tape with a 16:06.32 win Thursday to lead the Saints to a district team title win and a state team invitation. .
Wassman, who took 48th place at the 2022 state meet in 17:09.0, earned a Division 2 silver medal Thursday by running the 5K race in 16:09.16 to propel the Wolverines to the team championship with a 10th place finish. on Saints.
Pierson added to her bronze medal performance at Baylor Park Thursday on her high school resume that includes a 12th-place finish with a 16:31.9 for Butterfield-Odin at the 2022 Class A state meet, in addition to a 28th-best performance of 17:16.25 for St. . James Area for the 2021 state tournament.
Pierson led the 12th-ranked Mavericks to Thursday’s sectional final at Norwood Young America, while DeMaris posted a fourth-place effort at 16:31.59 to lead the Jayhawks to a fourth-place finish behind 10th-ranked Mankato Loyola. / Cleveland/St. Clair, 81-127.
DeMaris, like Pierson, earned his third straight medal since the covid-19 interruption of the 2020 season. DeMaris placed 67th at the 2022 state meet with a time of 17:18.8, after finishing 39th in 17:23.28 in 2021.
Kaydon Firchau posted a 20th overall time of 17:52.44 for the Jayhawks’ effort, Carson Meraz finished 22nd in 17:57.74, Caleb Decann took 39th in 18:33.0, while Dalton Tatro rounded out the rankings in 46th. at 18:49.2.
Grant Koehnen posted a 19th-place mark of 17:45.57 for Pierson’s performance at the Mavericks, Hayden O’Connor scored 91st in 21:39.55; while Kaleb Kennedy and Lincoln Kennedy placed 99th (22:28.93) and 101st (22:56.21), respectively.
Brady Lorenz ran the 5K course in 18:16.02 to lead Blue Earth Area to a 15th place team finish.
In the Section 2A girls race, Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin Public senior Katie Hartke posted a 13th-place time of 21:00.24 to just miss repeating as a state qualifier at the Section 2A State Four Meet at Baylor Park. Le Sueur-Henderson’s Norah Renstrom earned a sixth place non-team finish with a ninth place overall time of 20:37.2.
Hartke finished her big cross-country prep career by lifting the Mavericks team to seventh, while Evelynn Christenson posted a 31st-place performance of 22:18.89.
Maddison Lyon placed 39th overall in 22:36.45 for MCW/BOP, Katelynn Kennedy posted 23:20.85 to take 55th, while Hannah Cole took 72nd in 24:41.39 to round out the Mavericks.
Aubrey Woodwick and Sidney Eitzmann produced top-20 performances to help lead Blue Earth Area to an 11th place finish. Woodwick took 15th place in the event with a time of 21:07.28, while Eitzmann posted a mark of 21:46.88 to take 20th individually.
Valerie Quast claimed the gold medal with a 5K victory in 19:03.67 to power the Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/St. Expect to win the last round of 86 and promotion to the state team of Group A.
Meghan Johnson earned 10th place as she clocked 20:42.91 to lead Mountain Lake Area/Butterfield-Odin to the girls championship with 82.
The Class A Boys national meet will begin at noon on Saturday, Nov. 4, while the Class A girls tournament begins at 12:45 p.m. The meet will be held at Les Bolstad Golf Course of the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.
SECTION 2A LIST
WORLD LET’S MEET
(5K Distance)
Boys Division
Personal results (Top 10): 1. Levi Miest (St. James Area) 16:06.32; 2. Kody Wassman (Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey) 16:09.16; 3. Ryan Pierson (Martin County West / Butterfield-Odin) 16:23.97; 4. Josiah DeMaris (Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther) 16:31.59; 5. Soren Kelly (Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair) 16:34.82; 6. Sam Vetter (LCSC) 16:54.41; 7. Jacob Friesen (St. James Area) 17:01.1; 8. Mason Anderson (Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet) 17:01.48; 9. Zach Kallen (MLA/Comfrey) 17:05.37; 10. Tyrone Stout (MLA/Comfrey) 17:12.4.
Other MCW/BO Results: 19. Grant Koehnen 17:45.57; 91. Hayden O’Connor 21:39.55; 99. Caleb Kennedy 22:28.93; 101. Lincoln Kennedy 22:56.21; 104. David Taylor 23:16.58.
Other MTGHECML Results: 20. Kaydon Firchau 17:52.44; 22. Carson Merazi 17:57.74; 39. Caleb Dean 18:33.0; 46. Dalton Tatro 18:49.2; 73. Eddie Ramirez 20:02.58; 76. Adriel Martinez 20: 11.2.
Blue Earth Area results: 33. Brady Lorenz 18:16.02; 77. Devin Haase 20:19.84; 92. Marcus Eckles 21:45.33; 94. Seth Matthew 22:06.31; 97. Owen Jahnke 22:15.1; 100. Oliver Ankeny 22:39.41; 102. Jason Casey 22:56.92.
Individual Qualifiers: 3. Pierson; 4. DeMaris; 5. Kelly; 6. Vetter; 8. M. Anderson; 11. Kieran Allison (NYA) 17:14.83.
Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Mountain Lake Area / Comfrey 60; 2. Place of St. James 70; 3. Loyola/Cleveland/St. District 81; 4. MTGHECML 127; 5. LCWM/Nicollet 134; 6. Sibley East 178; 7. NYA 239; 8. Le Sueur-Henderson 259; 9. Lester Prairie 262; 10. Sleepy Eye United 270; 11. WEM/JWP 295; 12. MCW/BOP 296; 13. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 303; 14. Maple River 304; 15. Blue Earth 372 locations.
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Girls Division
Personal results (Top 10): 1. Valerie Quast (Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair) 19:03.67; 2. Addison Hoof (Lester Prairie) 19:14.34; 3. Charlotte Meyer (LCSC) 19:27.56; 4. Sophia Stencel (Maple River) 19:39.59; 5. Madyson Steele (Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop) 20:06.45; 6. Paige Gardiner (Sibley East) 20:13.22; 7. Katelyn Friesen (St. James Area) 20:22.39; 8. America Trejo Esqueda (St. James Area) 20:26.22; 9. Norah Renstrom (LSH) 20:37.2; 10. Meghan Johnson (Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey) 20:42.91.
Martin Co. West/Butterfield-Odin Team Results: 13. Katie Hartke 21:00.24; 31. Evelynn Christenson 22:18.89; 39. Madison Lyon 22:36.45; 55. Katelynn Kennedy 23:20.85; 72. Hannah Cole 24:41.39; 79. Paige Hartwig 24:50.22; 86. Eva Miranda 25:16.93.
Blue Earth Area results: 15. Aubrey Woodwick 21:07.28; 20. Sidney Eitzmann 21:46.88; 40. Natalie Griffey 22:39.0; 91. Leah Becker 26:22.64; 103. Makayla Ankeny 27:59.42; 109. Myla Eastman 31:59.8.
Individual Qualifiers: 2. Hoofs; 4. Stencel; 5. Metals; 6. Gardiner; 7. Friesen; 8. Trejo Esqueda.
Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Mountain Lake Area / Comfrey 82; 2. Loyola/Cleveland/St. District 86; 3. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 125; 4. Sibley East 140; 5. Maple River 192; 6. Place of St. James 194; 7. Martin Co. West/Butterfield-Odin Public 210; 8. WEM/JWP 224; 9. Lester Prairie 260; 10. NRHEG 261; 11. Blue Earth Location 269; 12. LSH 282; 13. LCWM/Nicollet 303; 14. United South Central/Alden-Conger 332; 15. Sleepy Eye United 338; 16. Norwood Young America 340; 17. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 436.