Poll: Minnesota Girls Runner of the Week (October 15-21)

Oct 23, 2023

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We are now fully in the midst of the Minnesota cross country championship season with the conference championships finished and sections starting this week with berths to the state meet on the line!

Here we look at the Minnesota Girl's Runner of the Week Nominees for Week 8 of the cross country season.

Polling starts on Monday at 7 am and ends on Saturday at 7 pm.

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Girls Runner of the Week Nominees

Mia Hoffmann (Bemidji)

Hoffmann continued her winning ways at the Bemidji XC Invitational where she demolished the field with a time of 18:19, winning by almost two minutes. Hoffmann has now won six consecutive races on the season, almost matching her career total from 2020-2022.

Makayah Petricka (Northfield)

A talented 8th-grader for Northfield High School, Petricka led the Northfield girls at the Big 9 Conference Championships where she finished 5th overall with a time of 19:18.8, leading them to a dominant meet victory with 44 points. Her 5th place finish is the highest of her young career.

Jenna DeBates (Luverne)

DeBates won her second straight Big South Conference title where she ran a new PR of 18:07.25, PRing by 17 seconds and winning by just 5 seconds. She has now won seven races this fall and has only lost once, finishing second at the Willmar Glacial Lakes Invitational.

Marissa Long (Chanhassen)

The recent University of Iowa commit won her third straight Metro West Conference Championship title, winning with a time of 18:52.80. Long won by 23 seconds and was the only runner under 19-minutes. Long has now won five races this fall and has won more races than she did in 2022.

Rowan Bixler (Duluth East)

Bixler led the Duluth East girls to a dominant victory at the Proctor Lions XC Invitational where they finished with just 23 points, beating strong teams from Hibbing and Proctor. Bixler herself won her fifth race on the season, finishing with a time of 18:28.40, winning by 44 seconds.

Luna Scorzelli (St. Paul Highland Park)

In a season she's been injured for the majority of, Scorzelli seems to be heating up at the right time. Scorzelli won her first race of the season at the St. Paul City Conference Championships where she finished with a time of 18:10, leading the Highland Park girls to a perfect team score of 15 points.

Norah Hushagen (Forest Lake)

Hushagen ran a new state-best time at the Suburban East Conference Championships where she finished with a time of 17:25.44, which beat the previous #1 time of 17:27.10. This is her second straight conference title and her fifth win this season.

Olivia Pauly (St. Johns Prep)

Pauly ran at the Central Minnesota Conference Championships where she demolished the field en route to finishing with a time of 18:57.2, winning by a minute and 39 seconds. Pauly was the only runner under 20-minutes for the 5K and helped lead St. Johns Prep to a dominant meet victory with 34 points.