From left to right: Emmett Gerres, Marissa Long, Aidan Jones, and Norah Hushagen
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Conference Championships season is over in Minnesota and now we look forward to Sections next week. Before we look forward to Sections, we have to highlight some of the top conference peorformances form our Minnesota boys and girls runners.
Here we look at some of the notable accomplishments some of our runners had at their conference meet. With 40+ meets, it was difficult to pick just five boys and girls for the polls. Scroll down to vote!
Related:
2022 Minnesota Cross Country Conference Championship Hub
Minnesota Cross Country Meet Results
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Emmett Gerres ran a time of 15:07.30 at the Minnesota River Conference Championships to win his 8th straight race of the season and won by over a minute. His time of 15:07 is the 2nd fastest 5K in Minnesota this fall, the #1 time in Class AA by over 30 seconds, the 7th fastest 5K on Minnesota soil all-time, and the 15th fastest 5K by a Minnesota boy all-time.
Aidan Jones took the win in the Minneapolis City Conference Championships title in a thrilling race over the defending champion in Sam Scott. Jones ran a time of 15:16.26 to beat out Scott by just a second. This is a new PR for Jones by 7 seconds and his second meet victory in a row after winning the Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational last week.
Elliott McArthur came to win at the Suburban East Conference Championships where he finished 1st overall with a time of 15:21 which was a season-best time for McArthur by 28 seconds. This was surprisingly McArthur's first conference title for cross country. He led a loaded field that saw 13 runners run under 16 minutes and beat out Robert Mechura by just 4 seconds.
William Degonda led the Stillwater boys to their best race of the season at the Suburban East Conference Championships where they beat out Mounds View by 3 points. Degonda finished 4th overall with a time of 15:38 which was a 37-second PR. The Stillwater boys now rank 3rd in Class AAA with a 15:48.20 team average.
Isaiah Anderson led the Mankato East boys to their first-ever conference title at the Big 9 Conference Championships where he finished 1st overall with a time of 15:45.78 which was a 16-second PR for him. They won the conference title by 59 points over Winona and were the only team in the conference with a 5K average under 17:00 (16:23). With their 16:23 average at conference, the Mankato East boys shot up to #1 in the Class AA team rankings based on results in our database.
Honorable Mentions: Hamza Mohamed, Luke Williams, Robert Mechura, Bjorn Anderson, Sam Scott, Noah Breker, Dylan Riniker, Sean Fries, and Eli Hall.
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Who was the Best Minnesota Boys Conference Performer of 2022?
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Abbey Nechanicky stayed undefeated on the season with a dominant win at the Lake Conference Championships where she ran a time of 16:51.95 to run under 17 minutes for the second week in a row. She is now one of two girls in state history to run under 17 minutes for the 5K twice with Emily Covert.
Norah Hushagen PR'd for the first time since 2020 and did so by a large margin at the Suburban East Conference Championships where she finished first overall with a time of 17:36. This was a 16-second PR for Hushagen and her first time running below 18 minutes since last years Heartland race. She ranks 6th overall for the 5K in Minnesota this fall.
Luna Scorzelli kept the streak going for the Highland Park girls at the St. Paul City Conference Championships where the Highland Park girls have now won the past 7 individual girl's titles, including the last 6 before this year from Molly Moening, and 11 straight team titles. Scorzelli ran a time of 17:25 to break the conference record and the Highland Park school record previously held by Moening.
Linnea Ousdigean finished 2nd at the Suburban East Conference Championships as an 8th-grader where she ran a time of 18:07 to finish only behind Norah Hushagen. Her time of 18:07 is the top in her class in Minnesota and 3rd overall in her class nationally. She now ranks 10th all-time for Minnesota girls 8th-graders all-time in the 5K, just ahead of Nechanicky and just behind Drevlow.
Marissa Long broke the 18-minute barrier in the 5K for the first time at the Metro West Conference Championships where she finished 1st overall with a time of 17:37.90. Long won her second straight Metro West Conference title and beat out runner-up Megan Lee by 22 seconds.
Honorable Mentions: Evie Malec, Sydney Drevlow, Maya Mor, Macy Hanson, Amanda Overgaauw, Hannah Drietz, Isabelle Schmitz, and Taylor Isabel
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Who was the Best Minnesota Girls Conference Performer of 2022?