Poll: Vote for the 2023 Minnesota Boys XC Runner of the Year

Ryan Kotajarvi


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The 2023 Minnesota cross country season has officially come to an end with the running of Nike Cross Nationals and the RunningLane Championships last weekend. It was a season to remember in Minnesota with breakout stars, dominant returning teams, future stars emerging, and records broken. 

Here we look at some of the star Minnesota boys runners for the 2023 season as they are nominees for the MileSplit Minnesota Boys XC Runner of the Year!

Voting opens on 12/8 at 7 AM and closes on 12/15 at 7 PM.

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Robert Mechura (Roseville)

Mechura rewrote the standard for Minnesota boys cross country this year becoming the Class AAA State Champion, winning the NXR Heartland Regional Championship with a new meet record, and demolishing the Minnesota state record for the 5K with a time of 14:32. Mechura finished his season at NXN where he finished 20th overall and ranked #2 overall nationally this season with his time of 14:32 in the 5K. 

Sam Scott (Minneapolis Southwest)

Scott saved his best for last this season as the Minneapolis Southwest senior won four races, finished 2nd at Roy Griak, was the Class AAA runner-up at state, and ran the #2 5K time in state history with a time of 14:36.40. For the whole season Scott averaged a whopping 5K average of 15:11.15. Scott finished his season off with a 12th-place finish at NXN. 

Erik Semling (Cotter)

This season Semling cemented his status as a future star in Minnesota by running the #1 8th-grade Minnesota boys time in state history with his time of 15:43.50. That put him in his own category as the only Minnesota middle-school boy all-time to run under 16 minutes for the 5K. Semling ran the #2 time for his class this season nationally. 

Eli Hall (Pequot Lakes)

Hall became a first-time state champion this year for Class AA when at the state meet he dominated in tune to a time of 15:13.30, winning by 11 seconds. Hall ran the #2 5K time for Class AA this season while winning six race titles this season and improving his PR by 28 seconds from 2022. 

Bjorn Anderson (Perham)

Anderson will return next season as one of Minnesota's top runners after an impressive 2023 season that saw him win eight races, run the #1 5K time in Class AA and set a new PR by 27 seconds from 2022. Anderson was probably the most consistent Class AA runner this season and had impressive finishes of 7th at Roy Griak and 17th at NXR Heartland. 

Will Weber (Wayzata)

Another returner for 2024 will be Wayzata's Will Weber who will look to again lead the Wayzata boys to the Class AAA state title and another berth to NXN. Weber was Wayzata's #1 runner this season leading them at all meets, winning two races along the way. He finished the season as the #4 runner by time in Minnesota with his 5K time of 15:05.60. 

Nolan Sutter (Chaska)

After a dominant 2022 season, Sutter took another step forward in 2023 to become one of the twelve boys in state history to run a 5K time under 15 minutes. Sutter ran a time of 14:53.80 at the NXR Heartland Regional to finish 7th overall. His time of 14:53.80 ranks #4 in state history. He also won five races overall and finished 4th at the state championships. 

Eddie Snider (Mounds Park Academy)

Snider will come back next year to defend his Class A title from this year in a race he won by just 1 second with a time of 15:40. This season he won five races in Minnesota and finished 2nd in the boys Maroon race at Roy Griak for his only loss in Minnesota this season. He then ran at the NXR Heartland Regional where he finished 59th overall. 

Lev Dougherty (Heritage Christian Academy)

A sophomore for Heritage Christian Academy, Dougherty has now been an integral member of a Heritage boys team that has now won the past two Class A state titles. Dougherty was the top runner this season for Heritage, winning four races individually, running a PR of 15:42.50, and finishing 5th for Class A at state. 

Isaiah Anderson (Mankato East)

Anderson led the Mankato East boys to their second straight Class AA state title this year in a race they won in a dominant effort scoring just 46 points. Anderson was Mankato East's lead runner all year long and individually he finished with five wins this season, a new 5K PR of 15:30.90 and a 5th place finish at the state meet. 

Vote Below!!

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