It was gold and more gold for the Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair cross country runners at Norwood-Young America's Baylor Park on Thursday for the section meet as Charlotte Meyer won the girls race, Soren Kelly won the boys race, and the entire boys and girls teams took firsts for a trip to the state meet on Saturday, November 2.
Assistant coach Casey Olson, who was named the Section 2A Assistant Coach of the Year, said the triumphs came from sweat equity that went far beyond the effort at NYA.
“This season didn’t start on August 12th. Both the girls and boys teams worked extremely hard putting in miles and workouts over the summer and continued that through this fall with the goal of accomplishing exactly what they did.”
The meet was especially satisfying for the boys team as it avenged a sour third-place finish last year that kept them out of the state meet for the first time since 2015. The top two teams advance to state as well as qualifying individuals.
“Especially after last year’s disappointment, the boys were focused on coming back stronger and faster,” Olson said. “They worked hard to prepare themselves not only physically but mentally to avoid the same results. As a coach, it was incredible to see the athletes recognize that and really be the driving force themselves without needing too much coach accountability added in.”
Upping her position two places from a year ago, Meyer's 18:09.02 was 27.82 seconds ahead of the silver medalist. There were 100 competing.
Valerie Quast came in fifth with a 19:31.08. Gisele McCabe was 23rd with a 21:51.03. In a pack, Molly Koester was 26th with a 21:52.74, and Kate Daly was 27th with a 22:00.70.
Pushing the Crusader quintet were Izzy Endres with a 22:11.98 and Teya Waagner with a 23:42.79.
It was the second year in a row the Crusader girls qualified for the state meet. Last year they took second at the section meet. This year, with a 72, the Crusaders finished first among 15 teams. Mt. Lake Area-Comfrey will also head to state with a 102. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop was third with a 127.
“The girls really enjoyed their state experience last year and wanted to work for another opportunity there,” Olson said.
Kelly crossed the finish line in 16:27.51, and Sam Vetter was second with a 16:51.79for a one-two Crusader punch.
Kyle Zimmerman was 11th with a 17:30.04, Mitchell Buboltz was 18th with a 17:42.49, and TJ Waldron was 19th with a 17:46.07.
Poking at the top five, Chase Kijenski was 26th with an 18:05.13, and Rollie Matejcek was 42nd with an 18:50.80.
As a team, the Crusaders scored 48 points. Mt. Lake Area Mt. Lake Area-Comfrey was second with an 83 and Sibley East and Madelia were tied for third with 93s. There were 16 teams competing.
Meyer was 29th at state last year while Quast was 12th. The Crusader girls finished in 12th of 16 teams. Koester, Endres and Wagner were also on that team.
As individuals at state in 2023, Kelly was 25th while Vetter was 43rd.
The state meet will be held at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course in St Paul.
Above: The boys and girls teams. From L-R, assistant coach Casey Olson, Sam Vetter, TJ Waldron, Rollie Matejcek, Kyle Zimmerman, Soren Kelly, Mitchell Buboltz, Chase Kijenski, Charlotte Meyer, Teya Waagner, Izzy Endres, Kate Daly, Gisele McCabe, Molly Koester, Valerie Quast and head coach Landon Javens. (photo courtesy of Casey Olson)
