Though International Falls’ girls cross country team was right behind Esko when both teams finished in the top two at the Section 7A meet to qualify for state, the Eskomos once again finished on top Saturday to win the Class A championship at St. Olaf College with 14 other teams also finishing ahead of the Broncos.
Esko took home the state championship trophy with the top team score of 115, followed by Annandale in second with 150 and Minnehaha Academy collecting the third-place hardware at 151. The Falls had 302 points and finished 16th at state for the second year in a row.
At the 2011 meet, the Broncos finished last in the 16-team field when the race was held in unseasonably warm weather for early November in Minnesota. This year the conditions included temperatures in the 40s under cloudy skies with no wind.
“I thought the course was really fast (Saturday),” said Falls head coach Paul Hjelle. “We had some good times from our kids and we came out on the short end again, but we gave it our best shot and that’s all you can ask of them.”
The team’s goal this year had been to finish in the top 14 and place ahead of Warroad, the Section 8A runner-up that had finished both ahead and behind the Broncos at other meets this season. Ironically, the Warriors came in 14th, ahead of both Albany and the Falls.
The Broncos’ best individual finish came from eighth-grader Lexi Erickson, who completed the 4,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 39.8 seconds, to place 46th out of 175 finishers.
“It was a hard course, but I did as good as I could,” Erickson said. “I tried my hardest.”
Erickson’s time was 1:09.6 faster than a year earlier and 1:35.7 behind the Class A individual champion, junior Clare Flanagan of The Blake School, who finished first at state meet for the second year in a row and improved upon her winning time by more than 17 seconds.
The only other Falls runner to place in the top 100 individually was junior Sydney Raboin, who finished in 15:48.9 — more than 23 seconds faster than at the 2011 state meet — and placed 66th for the second year in a row.
“It was a fast start this year, and we were in the middle, so we had to go even faster so we wouldn’t get stuck in the middle,” Raboin said.
Falls senior Amber Harms, who ran in the final race of her high school cross country career, was the team’s third runner to reach the finish line after placing 123rd in 16:32.4.
“It felt really good to be doing better (at the state meet) than I have in this season,” Harms said. “It was my last race, so I just kind of kept telling myself that through the whole thing.”
Broncos junior Amy Auran, who competed at the state meet for the third year in a row — individually in 2010 and as part of Falls’ girls team the last two seasons, placed 152nd in 17:26.9.
“I like the colder weather, so it went better for me, but I didn’t have a very good race (Saturday),” Auran said.
Another Broncos senior, Rachel Foss, finished as the team’s fifth runner to count in the point standings after placing 166th in 18:09.2.
“This is the last time you’ll ever (run a cross country meet in high school) — you go hard,” Foss said. “Make the best out of it.”
With Foss and Harms graduating after this season, Hjelle said the Broncos face having to replace two of their top-five runners.
“They’re not only excellent runners, but they’re even better leaders, so that’s going to be difficult,” Hjelle said. “But, hopefully we’ll have some seventh-graders coming out next year that will be able to help us.”
Hjelle said qualifying for state as an entire team for two seasons in a row should help Falls’ cross country program in the future.
“It’s not an easy sport — that’s the hard thing,” he said. “Kids will tell you, even on the team, it’s not the running that they’re in the sport for. It’s for the camaraderie and just being together like that. They just love being a part of the team. That’s why they’re out here.”
Class A Girls State Meet
Team scores: Esko 115, Annandale 150, Minnehaha Academy 151, Waseca 157, Dover-Eyota 184, The Blake School 187, Perham 194, Adrian 204, Rochester Lourdes 206, Holdingford 212, Canby/Minneota/Lincoln 237, Martin County West 255, Spectrum 257, Warroad 267, Albany 282, International Falls 302.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Clare Flanagan, The Blake School, 14:04.1; 2. Emi Trost, Cannon Falls, 14:16.5; 3. McKenzie Holt, St. Cloud Christian, 14:29.8; 4. Emily Mantor, United South Central, 14:39.5; 5. Marisa Shady, Esko, 14:44.8; 6. Elizabeth Schlafke, Annandale, 14:46.3; 7. Savannah Ramirez, Litchfield, 14:47.3; 8. Hannah Truniger, Mayer Lutheran/LPWHT, 14:49.4; 9. Madison Schandelmeier, Luverne, 14:56.6; 10. Kayla Woltz, Chatfield, 14:59.8.
Falls runners: 46. Lexi Erickson, 15:39.8; 66. Sydney Raboin, 15:48.9; 123. Amber Harms, 16:32.4; 152. Amy Auran, 17:26.9; 166. Rachel Foss, 18:09.2; 171. Shelby Wolden, 18:47.8; 174. Lexi Edwards, 19:08.5.
