Poll:Vote for the 2023 Minnesota Girls 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 girls runners for the 2023 season as they are nominees for the MileSplit Minnesota Girls 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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Norah Hushagen (Forest Lake)

The junior for Forest Lake just finished a remarkable season that saw her win the Class AAA state title, the NXR Heartland Regional title and six other races alongside her two huge wins. Hushagen finished as the #1 5K runner in Minnesota this season with a time of 17:07.30 and ranked #45 nationally for the 5K this fall. 

Olivia Pauly (St. Johns Prep)

Pauly reigned this fall as the Class A champion this season in a dominant effort that saw her win the state title by 11.1 seconds. Pauly went from finishing 30th at the 2022 meet to becoming the 2023 champion in a season that saw her improve her PR by 61 seconds and win seven meets overall. 

Mia Hoffmann (Bemidji)

Hoffmann won just about everything in sight this season, winning seven races in a row before finishing second at the state meet. During that streak she won the Roy Griak Maroon race, the Perham Yellow Jacket Harrier Classic, and the Section 8AAA Championship title. Overall she ranked as the #2 runner in Minnesota by time with her 5K PR of 17:27.10. 

Isabelle Schmitz (Hutchinson)

Schmitz was nearly unstoppable in Minnesota during her senior season which saw her win her second straight Class AA state title, win nine races, and only lose once in Minnesota with her 4th place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational. She finished her season strong by running a new PR of 17:29 at the Heartland Regional. 

Jazleen Malherek-Osorio (Wayzata)

The surprise lead runner this season for Wayzata after an injury sidelined Maddie Gullickson, Malherek-Osorio was more than up to the task en route to leading the Wayzata girls to the Class AAA state title and to another berth to NXN after winning the Heartland Regional. Overall, Jazleen never won a meet this season, but finished 2nd four times and finished as the #2 sophomore girl in Minnesota with a time of 17:50. 

Evie Malec (Minnetonka)

Malec continued her momentum from last year's cross country season and turned in a historic freshman season for Minnetonka. Malec set a new PR of 17:38.20 this season which ranked as the #1 time in Minnesota, the #12 time for her class this fall, and the #4 time all-time for a Minnesota freshman girl. 

Jenna DeBates (Luverne)

The Luverne senior finished her high school cross country on a high note winning nine races, her second straight Big South Conference title, and breaking through to win her first Section 3A title. DeBates also 4th at the State Championships and 52nd at the Heartland Regional. She set a new 5K PR this season of 18:07.25. 

Ella Voit (St. Cloud Cathedral)

Voit led the St. Cloud Cathedral girls to the Class A state team title this season where she finished 3rd overall to lead the Cathedral girls to the title in a dominant effort scoring 68 points. Voit herself won three races this year, set a new 5K PR of 18:08.26, and finished in the top five at nine different races. 

Allyson Sample (Marshall)

Sample led the Marshall girls this year to the Class AA effort with the Marshall girls winning by 20 points over St. Paul Highland Park and Alexandria. Sample herself finished her senior season on a high note in Minnesota by finishing 1st at the Big South Conference Championships, 2nd at the 2AA Championships, and 3rd at the Class AA State Championships. She also set a new 5K PR of 18:12.07 this fall. 

Caitlyn Osanai (Robbinsdale Armstrong)

Osanai's times might not be near the top of the leaderboard this season, but when it mattered she won some of the biggest meets in Minnesota with titles at the St. Olaf HS Showcase, Osseo Invitational, Northwest Suburban Conference Championships, and the Section 6AAA Championships on her resume. She won four meets this season and saved her best for last with a 17:45 PR at the NXR Heartland Regionals. 

Vote Below!!

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