The Minnesota contingent competing in Sioux Falls last weekend had significant success in each race, and will send on a number of athletes to the 7th Annual NXN Nationals at Portland Meadows in Portland, OR on December 4, 2010.
In the Boys Championship Race we saw 13 Minnesota athletes make the regional teams, (top 21 finishers). Wayzata took top honors, winning the meet with a total of 113 points - Edina finished second with 124 points. Both teams will make their way to Oregon to compete in nationals. The teams from Eden Prairie and Rosemount finished in 4th and 5th places respectively. Josh Thorson was the highest Wayzata finisher, coming in at #15 with a time of 15:47.28. He was followed in by Edina athlete Aldis Inde in 16th place with a time of 15:49.78. Other Wayzata finishers include Mark Harries (#29, 16:03.55), Steven Donahue (#40, 16:14.18), Adam Moline (#42, 16:15.25), Joe Meister (#65, 16:32.05), Nate Heintzeman (#97, 16:48.79) and Karl Kabarowski (#103, 16:53.41). Other Edina finishers include Will Burke (#35, 16:11.00), Sam Leese (#45, 16:18.28), Bjorn Thompson (#49, 16:21.78), Joey O'Connell (#63, 16:30.19), Hunter Follen (#71, 16:35.43) and Kyle Wagner (#100, 16:52.55). Class AA State Champion Adam Zutz (Saint Francis) came in 2nd overall with a time of 15:23.20 and will join the Wayzata and Edina athletes in Oregon along with top 5 finisher Shane McCallum (Rosemount, #5, 15:34.76). Other All-Region team members include: Cole O'Brien (Burnsville, #6, 15:36.58), Trent Lusignan (Shakopee, #7, 15:40.05), Class A State Champion Mason Ferlic (Mounds Park Academy, #9, 15:41.04) and Lukas Gemar (Moorhead, #10, 15:43.87), Brandon Clark (The Blake School, #12, 15:44.45), Steven Dado (Totino-Grace HS, #13, 15:44.61), Kyle Bratrud (Eden Prairie, #17, 15:51.95), Adam Braun (Totino-Grace HS, #19, 15:53.33), and Mohamed Mohamed (Eden Prairie, #20, 15:55.31).
On the girls side, Eden Prairie won the championship race with 57 points over 2009 champion Dowling Catholic. Monticello finished in 3rd place with 130 points and Lakeville in 4th place with 156 points. Laura Lawton was the highest Eden Prairie finisher, coming in at #18 with a time of 18:41.32, followed by Megan Platner at #19 with a time of 18:45.11. Other Eden Prairie finishers included Alexandra Rudin (#22, 18:46.11), Carlin Schulz (#25, 19:01.79), Hannah Jeter (#30, 19:04.97), Andria Tauer (#44, 19:21.10) and Brittany Platt (#47, 19:29.06). Also making it to the 2010 NXN Nationals - Jamie Piepenburg (Alexandria Jefferson HS, #3, 18:01.83) and Class AA State Champion Maria Hauger (Shakopee, #5, 18:06.52). Other All-Region team members include Lauren Friese (Fairmont, #12, 18:32.07), Erica Seidenkranz (Monticello, #14, 18:37.32), Amber Seidenkranz (Monticello, #16, 18:38.77), and Elena Danielson (St. Cloud Cathedral, #21, 18:45.41).