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Gatorade recently announced their state-by-state winners of the 2023 Player of the Year awards for cross country with Minneapolis Southwest Senior Sam Scott and Forest Lake Junior Norah Hushagen collecting the honors for Minnesota.
Scott, a University of Minnesota commit, 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.
Sam Scott 2023 XC Results
| Date | Event | Time | Finish |
| 12/2 | Nike Cross Nationals | 15:29.00 | 12th |
| 11/25 | Foot Locker Midwest Regional | 15:20.30 | 15th |
| 11/12 | NXR Heartland Regional | 14:36.40 | 4th |
| 11/4 | MSHSL State XC Championships | 15:07.10 | 2nd |
| 10/25 | Section 6AAA Championships | 15:13.90 | 1st |
| 10/11 | Minneapolis City Conference | 15:08.40 | 1st |
| 9/22 | Roy Griak Invitational | 15:25.70 | 2nd |
| 9/7 | Hopkins Bauman/Rovn Invite | 15:03.09 | 1st |
| 8/31 | St. Olaf HS Showcase | 15:16.50 | 1st |
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Hushagen, a 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. She finished off her season at Nike Cross Nationals where she finished 22nd overall and the top individual Heartland region finisher. 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.
Norah Hushagen 2023 XC Results
| Date | Event | Time | Finish |
| 12/2 | Nike Cross Nationals | 18:03.70 | 22nd |
| 11/12 | NXR Heartland Regional | 17:07.30 | 1st |
| 11/4 | MSHSL State XC Championships | 17:27.60 | 1st |
| 10/26 | Section 7AAA Championships | 17:34.73 | 1st |
| 10/17 | Suburban East Conference | 17:25.44 | 1st |
| 10/10 | Princeton Tiger Invite | 17:31.70 | 1st |
| 9/30 | Duluth East Lester Park Invite | 18:39.20 | 1st |
| 9/22 | Roy Griak Invitational | 18:10.10 | 3rd |
| 9/14 | Saint Francis Invitational | 18:40.00 | 1st |
| 9/7 | Anoka Steve Hoag Invite | 17:31.10 | 1st |
Related:
- Hushagen and Anderson Voted MS MN XC Runners of the Year
- A Star is Born: Hushagen Narrowly Wins NXR Heartland Title
- Gophers Grab College Commitments from Top In-State Talent
- The Stakes Are Higher Now. Mechura Scores Heartland Win.
- Clay Shively Secures An Outrageous New Roy Griak Mark
- Repeat Champions and Big Wins Aplenty at State Championships
- Hagen Takes the Win and the Wayzata Girls Go Back-to-Back