Steele, a freshman, and her teammates weren’t content with that achievement, though.

At the Section 2A Cross-Country Championships in Norwood Young America last Thursday, Steele’s second-place finish in the girls’ 5,000-meter run helped GFW finish first as a team and send the Thunderbirds to the State Cross-Country Championships this coming Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield for the first time in program history. Steele finished the run in 19:44.96 and ended up being named the Tomahawk Conference Girls Runner of the Year, while freshman teammate Ashley Vos finished ninth with a time of 20:45.47. Rounding out the GFW girls’ team at the section meet was eighth-grader Kelby Bruns (22:30.34, 25th), sophomore Abigail Willegal (22:33.68, 26th), freshman Taylor Bauer (23:23.94, 39th) and senior Isabelle Vos (24:21.87, 59th).

Steele qualified for state last year as an individual, but this year’s trip will surely be even sweeter for her and head coach Tara Rettmann.

“This is the first time in the history of GFW we have had a girls’ team advance to state in cross-country,” Rettmann said. “It was also the first time for us to win the conference title. This accomplishment is huge for these girls and myself. They have worked so hard this season and had big goals of shining a light on a sport that is not quite in the spotlight.”

File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye/New Ulm Cathedral’s Noah Christensen runs to the finish line during the Tomahawk Conference Cross-Country Meet in Springfield on Oct. 18.

Steele finished 32nd with a time of 20:16.37 last year at state. Her season-best time this year was 19:35.

Ashley Vos has a season-best time of 20:38, while Bruns has a season-best time of 22:07 and Willegal has a top time of 22:17. Bauer and Isabelle Vos have season-best times of 23:23 and 23:50, respectively.

As a team this year, the girls have an average time between 19:30-24:00.

Rettmann said she’d like to see the team “run their hearts out and give it their all,” the same way they ran at both the conference and section meets. Rettmann would also like to see Steele finish in the top 30, and she hopes to see Ashley Voss finish near Steele also.

SM/SE/NUC’S

CHRISTENSEN MAKES 1ST STATE TRIP

Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye/New Ulm Cathedral sophomore Noah Christensen will be making his first trip to the state meet for the first time in his three years of running cross-country.

SM/SE/NUC head coach Lisa Hagen said she knew Christensen had talent even during his first year of running with the team and saw Christensen reaching this state milestone down the line.

“He is quite talented and his first year as an eighth-grader, I told him that he will be going to state in a few years,” Hagen said. “He came in with so much potential and his hard work, determination, along with God’s grace has gotten him very far.”

Christensen’s average time this season has been 17:30, while his PR is 17:02. On Oct. 18 in Springfield, Christensen won the boys race and became the conference champion as a result. He was also named the Tomahawk Conference Boys Runner of the Year following that race.

After qualifying for state with a fifth-place finish (17:02.77) at the Section 2A Cross-Country Championships in Norwood Young America last week, Christensen and coach Hagen have high hopes for the state meet at a challenging course.

“It’s Noah’s first year at state, I want him to establish a good position going out at the beginning of the race and push himself to work his way further up,” Hagen said. “It’s a difficult course to hit a new personal record on, but I’d like to see him do it and hit a sub-17 [minute] 5K.”

Hagen added that she’s been blessed to coach the athletes she has this season and she’s expecting a great race from Christensen on Saturday.

“Its a blessing to coach these enthusiastic, hardworking athletes on the SM/SE/NUC team,” Hagen said. “I’m proud of each one of them and their accomplishments. Noah isn’t just a good athlete, but also a team leader and he is very encouraging to other team members. It should be a great race for him on Saturday.”

SPRINGFIELD/CEDAR MOUNTAIN SENDS THRAM

Springfield/Cedar Mountain saw Katie Thram qualify for the state meet in Northfield this Saturday after her ninth-place finish (19:57.45) at the Section 3A Cross-Country Championships in Luverne last Thursday.

Thram, a freshman, missed out on a state appearance last season after she missed qualifying by one place. This year, Thram has made consistent improvements and even set a girls’ program record time of 19:53.

She took first at meets in Sleepy Eye and Madelia this season and also finished second in the conference behind Steele.

Springfield/CM coach Luke Amsden said Thram achieved her goal just by making it to state this year, but he’s hoping to see her continue pushing herself at state.

“Katie’s ultimate goal was to get to the state meet this season,” Amsden said. “She worked relentlessly to achieve that goal and now I hope she enjoys her trip to the state meet, but also brings that same desire she had at sections to compete at a high level. She has high expectations for herself, so I’m confident we will see her best in Northfield.”

DEMARIS RETURNS TO STATE FOR MADELIA

Madelia boys’ runner and sophomore Josiah DeMaris will return to state again this year for the second time after qualifying last year and taking 39th with a time of 17:23.28.

His best time this season came Sept. 27 at the St. James Meet when he finished in 16:11.63. His season-average time is 16:34. DeMaris qualified for state this year after a Section 2A championship finish (16:15.59) at Norwood Young America last Thursday.

He also was the Valley Conference boys’ champion this year, finishing with a time of 16:51.78. In addition to those impressive wins, DeMaris also won the Mountain Lake Tri-Conference Showdown, the Glencoe-Silver Lake Caty Delwiche Invitational and the Loyola/Cleveland Crusader Invitational this year for a total of five first-place finishes.

DeMaris has been ranked in the top 10 of the Minnesota State Cross Country Coaches’ Association Class A Rankings since Sept. 5 and will be looking for a top 10 finish at state also.