NORTHFIELD -- The cross-country course below the athletic complex at St. Olaf College is laid out like a big shoestring with a bow at each end. The east loop circles a pond while the west loop through a tunnel of trees has a long uphill before dropping to the finish area.
There thousands gather to cheer the runners up a sudden, steep grade entering the final 100 meters.
"I love that (last) hill," said Nikki Swenson not long after claiming the girls Class A 4k individual title. "Once you hear all those people, you just float up it."
Swenson, the senior from Dawson running for Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, has been the first or second harrier into the chute each of the last four years.
She came in alone in a time of 14:23 Saturday morning. Last year she ran a 14:15 but was second to now graduated Bria Wetsch. Swenson was also second in 2004 in 14:33 and first in 2003 in a winning time of 14:27.
ADVERTISEMENT
Claire Richardson, a Blake senior, stayed on Swenson's heels for the first 2,000 meters.
"I just wanted to stay with her as long as I could," said Richardson, who finished her stellar career with five top-5 finishes at state. "But she's a great runner; just an awesome athlete."
Richardson ended up 28 seconds back at 14:51.
Paynesville's Linda Keller took third in 15:00. She won a sprint to the line against Naomi Landecker of Staples Motley. Keller moved up 14 places from her freshman year. She will be the highest finishing returning runner from the state meet next fall.
Nikki's sophomore sister, Kelly, took 37th overall as the LQPV/DB Eagles finished sixth, moving up two places from a year ago.
Kelly said her older sister didn't seem too nervous leading up to the meet.
"She said she was not going to put any pressure on herself," said Kelly. "She wanted to enjoy herself here. She really was more interested in taking care of us, being with the team. She's such a great leader. She's there for all of us."
That included little Tara Walker. Just a seventh grader, the only new member of the team ran third for the Eagles in 16:11.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nikki Swenson may make it look easy, but her legs were burning at the top of the long hill.
"You just have to keep going," she said. "It's All mental at this stage because everyone is in shape."
Before the race Eagles head Coach John Shrub told his star pupil that since this was her last of five state cross-country meets "She'd better make it memorable."
She did. It is the 18th first- or second-place medal won by a girl from the Tribune coverage area since 1978, the first year for girls cross-country.
Lippert finishes fast
Casey Lippert of Renville County West charged up last climb like a marine taking the beach. He passed five runners on the 30-yard ascent, including Jacob Henderson of Yellow Medicine East, a familiar adversary for three years.
The surge placed him in the Class A boys top 20 for a second straight year. He was 18th this year and 17th as a junior.
"That was his best race," said Jaguars' coach Al Handahl. "He's had to deal with a pulled muscle in his back since the Atwater meet. "That kids runs with his heart not with his legs."
ADVERTISEMENT
Redwood Valley's Justin Peters and Anthony Bogard both finished top 10 a second year in a row. Running together all the way, Peters took fifth in 16:19 and Bongard seventh in 16:21, each picking up one place from a year ago.
Ryan Swenson, the eighth grade brother of Nikki and Kelly, finished 34th in his first state trip, two seconds up on MACCRAY senior Austin Hinrichs competing in his third state meet.
Montevideo leaders Tony Klosterboer and J.J. Nieuwbeerta went out with the leaders; Klosterboer hung on to finish 41st overall but the Thunder Hawks ended up 16th.
Class AA
BOYS
Team scoring
(1) Willmar 41 (2) Rosemount 114 (3) Eden Prairie 119 (4) Brainerd 145 (5) Winona 162 (6) Lakeville South 165 (7) Mounds View 195 (8) Alexandria 219 (9) Stillwater 223 (10) Robbinsdale Armstrong 246 (11) Osseo 249 (12) Henry Sibley 260 (13) North Branch 312 (14) Buffalo 325 (15) Duluth East 346 (16) Eagan 434
individual
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP TEN -- (1) Hassan Mead, Minn. South, 15:10 (2) Johathan Stublaski, Henry Sibley, 15:11 (3) Elliot Heath, Win 15:15 (4) Rob Finnerty, Burnsville, 15:23 (5) Kaafi Adeys, Willmar, 15;30 (6) Ryan Little, Eden Prairie, 15;32 (7) Abdi Awale, Willmar 15:36 (8) Tom Burke, Edina, 15:36 (9) Jackson Willey, Eden Prairie, 15:45 (10) Matt Yak, Northfield, 15:45
AREA INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS -- (5) Adeys (7) Awale (14) Mahad Hassan 15:54 (16) Mohamed Bedel 15:57 (23) Mustafa Yusuf 16:09
WILLMAR -- (3) Adeys (4) Awale (9) Hassan (11) Bedel (13) Yusuf (30) Andrew Nicklawsky 16:42 (56) Scott Boros 17:13
GIRLS
Team scoring
(1) Woodbury 15:09 (2) Minnetonka 118 (3) Eden Prairie 15:20 (4) Marshall 144 (5) Prior Lake 146 (6) Lakeville North 163 (7) White Bear Lake 165 (8) Brainerd 203 (9) Roseville 204 (10) Moorhead 207 (11) Maple Grove 225 (12) Osseo 255 (13) Lakeville South 297 (14) Duluth East 323 (15) St. Michael-Albertville 348 (16) Eagan 351
Individual
TOP TEN -- (1) Alex Gits, Edina, 14:15 (2) Laura Hughes, Mankato West, 14:25 (3) McKenzie Melander, Eastview, 14:34 (4) Danielle Berndt, Bloomington Kennedy, 14:34 (5) Emily Schwitzer, Hopins, 14:35.0 (6) Michelle Volz, Lakeville North, 14:35.4 (7) Meghan Heuer, Prior Lake, 14:38 (8) Kayla Uphoff, Lakeville South, 14:42 (9) Katie Moraczewski, White Bear Lake, 14:43 (10) Kris Mork, Cambridge, 14:46
ADVERTISEMENT
Class A
BOYS
Team scoring
(1) Perham 71 (2) Minnehaha Academy 165 (3) Adrian 172 (4) Pine City 181 (5) Fairmont 194 (6) St. Cloud Cathedral 198 (7) Watertown-Mayer 199 (8) Mora 209 (9) Rochester Lourdes 220 (10) Redwood Valley 228 (11) Winona Cotter 237 (12) Warroad 248 (13) Saint James 266 (14) tie, Staples-Motley, Eveleth-Gibert 274 (16) Montevideo 277
Individual
TOP TEN -- (1) Kevin Lachowitzer, Perham, 15:54 (2) Don Wasinger, Winona Cotter, 16:06 (3) Will Haffield, Minnehaha Academy, 16:12 (4) Moses Happner, Warroard, 16:19 (5) Justin Peters, Redwood Valley, 16:19 (6) Erick Thies, Sibley East, 16:21 (7) Anthony Bongard, Redwood Valley, 16:21 (8) Ethan Wieneke, Adrian, 16:22 (9) Justin Tellinhuisen, Perham, 16:26 (10) Dusty Franta, La Crescent, 16:28
AREA INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS -- (6) Peters 16:19 (7) Bongard 16:21 (18) Casey Lippert, RCW, 16:44 (22) Jacob Henderson, YME, 16:48 (34) Ryan Swenson, LQPV/DB, 17:02 (35) Austin Hinrichs, MACCRAY, 17:04 (41) Tony Klosterboer, Montevideo, 17:07 (78) J.J. Nieuwbeerta, Montevideo, 17:31
Area team
ADVERTISEMENT
MONTEVIDEO -- (23) Tony Klosterboer 17:07 (42) J.J. Nieuwbeerta 17:31 (52) Darrin Reuss 17:50 (77) Owen Hein 18:25 (83) Darin Olson 18:31 (95) Jack Powers 18:52 (98) Shane Reuther 18:53
REDWOOD VALLEY -- (5) Justin Peters 16:19 (6) Anthony Bongard 16:21 (61) Nick Hodgson 18:07 (76) Nate Remmele 18:24 (80) Dusty Wellnitz 18:28 (88) Nick Hastreiter 18:34 (105) Dan Perry 19:28
GIRLS
Team scoring
(1) Adrian 60 (2) Blake 75 (3) Rochester Lourdres 140 (4) Perham 148 (5) Staples-Motley 151 (6) Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 161 (7) Fairmont 180 (8) Providence Academy 183 (9) Mtn. Lake/Butterfield-Odin 232 (10) East Grand Forkd 245 (11) Mora 256 (12) Esko 267 (13) La Crescent 283 (14) Ely 296 (15) Blue Earth Area 318 (16) Albany 388
Individual
TOP TEN -- (1) Nikki Swenson, LQPV/DB, 14:23 (2) Claire Richardson, Blake, 14:51 (3) Linda Keller, Paynesville, 15:00 (4) Naiomi Landecker, Staples-Motley, 15:00 (5) Lexi Jo Heitkamp, Luverne, 15:05 (6) Maddi McClellan, Perham, 15;09 (7) Morgan Lynn, Adrian, 15:10 (8) Kathy Chute, Blake, 15:11 (9) Marissa Janning, Watertown-Mayer, 15:15 (1) Laura Christensen, Murray County Central, 15:18
AREA INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS -- (1) N. Swenson 14:23 (3) Keller 15;00 (37) Kelly Swenson, LQPV/DB, 15:51 (40) Maren Greenwaldt 15:52 (43) Jessica Buchta 16:01 (54) 16:09 (54) Erin Durkin, Litchfield, 16:09 (55) Emily Davis 16:10
Area team
LAC QUI PARLE VALLEY/DAWSON-BOYD -- (1) Nikki Swenson 14:23 (27) Kelly Swenson 15:51 (39) Tera Walker 16:11 (46) Whitney Hermanson 16:21 (48) Shawna Robertson 16:23 (58) Kate Seivert 16:29 (110) Courtney Milbreck 18:33
