The class AA state cross country championships were run in cool and breezy conditions, making record-setting difficult but not tempering the excitement of the races at all. On the girl's side, Alexandria's Jamie Piepenburg and Shakopee's Maria Hauger ran at the front for the duration of the race, with Hauger in the unusual position of being in 2nd place as they approached the final hill. Once they hit the flat and headed into the finish, Hauger was the one with just a little more left in her legs, passing Piepenburg in the last 30 - 40 meters to win her 3rd state title. Hauger finished the 4k course with a time of 14:04.1, followed by Piepenburg with a time of 14:04.8. Monticello cemented their season-long #1 ranking with a team title, scoring 93 points; Lakeville South is the runner up with 118 points, led by 9th graders Kaytlyn Larson and Annie Brekken.
On the boy's side, Josh Thorson (Wayzata) proved his #1 ranking with a decisive victory on the 5k course in 15:29.9, topping the nearest competitor by nearly 10 seconds. The race for second came down to just over 1/2 a second with Riley Macon (Rochester Mayo) earning runner-up honors in 15:39.5. Unranked Troy Koivisto (Dassel-Cokato) finished in 3rd place with a time of 15:40.1. While Burnsville had 4 of their 5 scoring runners in before Stillwater's 4th runner, the #1 ranked Ponies stood behind their ranking with their 5th runner finishing more than 30 places ahead of Burnsville's 5th runner. Please check back for full results, photos and video footage of today's championship meet.