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With Abbey Nechanickys announcement that she will not be going to the World U20 XC Championships in Australia, the Minnesota cross-country season is officially over, and one of the most spectacular individual cross-country seasons in Minnesota state history has concluded.
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Here we look at a timeline of Nechanickys record-breaking 2022-23 cross country season:
St. Olaf High School Showcase (9/1/22):
It was the Nechanicky show at the St. Olaf High School Showcase. The senior earned a 152-speed rating for her 17:08.9 5K victory. She won this event by over a minute and ran the #2 time on for the meet all-time, just 1 second behind Emily Coverts record.
Eden Prairie Metro Invitational (9/17/22):
Wins her 2nd race of the season by almost a minute with a time of 17:17.10. Helps the Wayzata girls to their 2nd straight team victory of the season.
Roy Griak Invitational (9/23/22):
It was the Abbey Nechanicky show in the girl's gold race at the Roy Griak, with Nechanicky blowing away a field loaded with national talent en route to a 30-second victory with a time of 17:37.90. After the first mile it was Nechanicky all the way, opening up to a 12 second lead at 3000m and the 30-second victory.
Nechanicky is now undefeated on the season and with a major victory here looks to be a player for the big national meets at the end of the season. Only two girls have ever run faster than her at the Griak, Emily Covert in 2018 and Riley Stewart in 2019.
Nechanicky also led the Wayzata girls to an important team victory over Cherry Creek (CO), beating the then #4 ranked team in the MileSplit50 rankings 113 points to 114.
Commits to University of Colorado (10/2/22):
Nechanicky dominated one again this season at the STMA Invite where she ran a time of 16:47.40, becoming just the 4th girl to run under 17:00 after Analee Weaver, Tierney Wolfgram, and Emily Covert.
Nechanicky apart from becoming just the 4th girl to run sub 17 minutes is just the 2nd girl to do it in Minnesota behind Analee Weaver. Wolfgram and Covert both did it on a fast Heartland course in South Dakota.
Abbey Nechanicky, who debuted at #1 in the MileSplit50 rankings today ( ), won her third Lake Conference XC title (also won in 2019 and 2020) and made some history in the process. Nechanicky ran a time of 16:51.95 to break the Gale Woods Farm course record, broke the Lake Conference record, and became just the 2nd Minnesota girl ever to run sub 17 minutes twice.
Nechanicky broke the previous Gale Woods Farm record held by Emily Covert who ran a time of 16:56.40 back in 2018 and coincidentally became just the 2nd Minnesota girl just to run under 17:00 in the 5K twice, alongside Covert. Next fall, Nechanicky will join Covert at the University of Colorado.
MSHSL Section 6AAA XC Championships (10/26/22):
Wins her third Section 6AA/6AAA XC title with a time of 16:43.70, a new PR, and her third straight 5K under 17 minutes. Runs just 1.1 seconds off the state record held by Analee Weaver (16:42.60). It's her 6th straight win of the season.
MSHSL State Cross Country Championships (11/5/22):
It was Abbey Nechanicky from the beginning of the race until she crossed the finish line in a record-breaking performance for the standout runner from Wayzata. Nechanicky ran her fourth straight sub 17 minute 5K on the season finishing with a time of 16:47.61 to win her first state cross country championship.
Nechanicky broke the state meet record and course record held formerly by her future Colorado teammate Emily Covert. Covert ran a time of 17:03.40 in 2018 to set the previous state and course records at St. Olaf.
Team Heartland Regional Championships (11/13/22):
Nechanicky continued her torrid pace this season at the Heartland Regional where she won her 8th straight race of the season with a time of 16:44.70 to beat out Paityn Noe by 18 seconds.
Nechanicky broke the previous course record in the process. The old course record was 16:48.67 set by former Math and Science Academy standout Tierney Wolfgram.
Nechanicky led the Wayzata girls to the team title at the meet, where they scored 75 points to beat out the Olathe West girls who scored 140 points. They placed all five scoring runners in the top 23 scorers and had a scorers average of 17:53 and a varsity average of 18:09, both season bests.
Team Cross Country Nationals (12/3/22):
Finished 4th at Team Nationals with a time of 16:59.20 to finish only behind Irene Riggs, Rbooke Wilson, and Bethany Michalak. It's the highest finish at Nationals since Emily Covert finished 4th in 2018.
2023 USATF National Cross Country Championships (1/21/23):
Nechanicky nabbed one of those six automatic berths for the World U20 Championships in Australia by finishing 4th overall in a time of 20:07 for the 6K. (Nechanicky can not attend).
By finishing with a time of 20:07, Nechanciky set an "unofficial" state record in the 6K beating the previous record set by Grace Ping in 2019 with a time of 21:27, finishing 4th overall at the USATF U20 XC Championships. They are the only two girls in state history to run the 6K in a cross country race according to our database.
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Nechanicky finished the season with a final ranking of #6 nationally after finishing 4th overall at Team Nationals and leading the Wayzata girls to a 9th place finish.
She ran one of the best high school seasons ever seen in Minnesota, going undefeated from her first race at the St. Olaf High School Showcase all the way to the Team Heartland Regional. She then finished her season at Team Nationals with a 4th-place finish only behind Irene Riggs, Brooke Wilson, and Bethany Michalak; and at the USATF U20 Championships where she finished 4th at the 6K distance.
This season Nechanicky broke the Wayzata school record for the 5K, set the Gale Woods Farm record, broke the 17-minute mark in the 5K six times, broke the Heartland regional meet record, won the Class AAA state title, and ran the fastest high school girls 5K on Minnesota soil ever.
Nechanicky now owns the 2nd fastest 5K time by a Minnesota girl ever with a time of 16:43.70, only behind Analee Weaver's time of 16:42.60, and has the #2, #3, #4, #5, #7, and #10 5K times ever by a Minnesota high school girl.
She also led the Wayzata girls to an undefeated season that culminated in the Class AAA state title and then their first berth to Team Nationals since 2018 when they finished 3rd overall.
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