NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Winning really wasn’t an option for most of the Class 2A girls Saturday at the cross country state meet at St. Olaf College. Not with Alexandria junior twins Megan and Bethany Hasz in the field.
“Those two are absolutely phenomenal,” Forest Lake junior Emma Benner said. “You just know that one of those two is going to win any race they are in. For everyone else, it really becomes a race for third place.”
The Hasz sisters did their thing, breaking away together like they were on a training run just before the one-mile mark. They were nearly shoulder to shoulder a mile later before Megan made a strong move en route to winning the 4,000-meter race in a state-record 13 minutes, 40.9 seconds. Bethany, the big-school champion last year, was four seconds behind.
Megan Hasz said she and her sister had not made any deal on how things would turn out.
“Definitely not,” she said. “We will always race each other to win. We are super-competitive with each other.
Megan Hasz, runner-up to her sister by 20 seconds last year, said it isn’t a difficult situation for the two to be ultra-competitors yet the other’s biggest fan.
“It’s not that tricky,” she said. “We always want to win, but if we don’t, we are always happy for the other.”
Said Bethany: “(When she made her move,) I tried to go with her, but I don’t have quite the same kick as she does.”
Meanwhile, in the back of the pack, Benner adjusted her strategy.
Benner, who finished 30th in last season’s state meet, was hoping for a top-10 finish, and at the mile mark she was in that top 10.
“At the first half-mile, there was a pack of us with the twins,” Benner said. “Then, they just really blasted away. There was a little bit of temptation to go with them, but I know my racing style is different compared to them. They go out from the start and lead. I like to build up to a strong finish. I don’t want to waste anything and then be in trouble on the course.”
Good move.
With a mile remaining, Benner made her move from 10th to third.
“You still run and push like you are trying to get first or second, but at some point, you know that it isn’t going to work out that way,” Benner said. “You still have to try for it.”
When Benner worked her way into third, she could see the twins, but they were a ways ahead.
“It would have wrecked me if I had tried to make a move to catch the twins,” she said. “I would have nothing at the finish.”
Benner appeared poised to hang on to that third position until she was caught at the finish line by Shakopee’s Tess Misgen, who finished in 14:13.5. Benner was fourth, a heartbeat behind in 14:13.6.
“I am a little upset about that, but finishing fourth is so much more than I imagined,” she said.
Wayzata won the girls title for a third consecutive season. The Trojans finished with 65 points, 29 fewer than runner-up Edina.
Saturday’s state meet likely was the final time the girls’ race will be 4,000 meters.
The cross country advisory committee has submitted a proposal to the Minnesota State High School League to join most other states in lengthening the girls’ race to 5,000 meters, matching the boys’ distance.
“I would love the change to 5,000 meters,” Benner said. “Most of the country runs that distance. When you go to national races, everyone else is used to 5K, and we are not. The change is no big deal. It will work out best for all of the runners.”
Wayzata’s Olson wins
Wayzata’s Connor Olson improved one spot from his runner-up finish last year, winning the big-school race in a time of 15:17.1. Chaska’s Joey Duerr put on a huge finishing kick in the chute to be second in 15:23.3. Joe Klecker of Hopkins, who dueled throughout the race with Olson, was third in 15:26.2. Woodbury’s Nick Wareham was fourth in 15:28.
It was Olson’s second victory over Klecker this season, his first coming in the Lake Conference meet. Klecker beat Olson for the section crown.
“He whupped me at sections; that speaks for itself,” said Olson, who has committed to run at Minnesota. “We kind of have a back-and-forth rivalry. We are good friends outside of cross country. It all works out perfectly.”
Wareham said he was with Olson and Klecker at the 1.5-mile mark.
“When they took off, I had to be careful,” Wareham said. “I didn’t want to make a pricey move into that headwind. It was a little early for me in the race to be doing that.”
Wayzata won the team title for a third consecutive year, compiling 47 points. Hopkins and Stillwater tied for second with 87 points each.
