Photo by Jake McNeill/Marshall Independent New Ulm’s Sawyer Luker (694), Nicholes Turbes (695) and Ezra Friese (693) take off from the starting line during the Section 2AA Cross-Country Championships on Thursday at Benson Park in North Mankato.

PREP CROSS-COUNTRY

Section 2AA Championships

LUVERNE — The New Ulm Eagles finished their cross-country season on Thursday at the Section 2AA Cross-Country Championships in Luverne.

For the New Ulm boys, Nicholes Turbes took 69th with a time of 20:36.9, while Sawyer Luker took 74th (21:20) and Ezra Friese finished 80th (23:12.2).

For the New Ulm girls, Megan Gauert finished 53rd overall with a time of 22:36.8, while Hadley Batt ran a 23:14.5 to take 64th.

Section 2A Championships

NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA — Sibley East runner Paige Gardiner finished third overall in the girls race of the Section 2A Cross-Country Championships at Baylor Park on Thursday to qualify for the state meet.

Gardiner finished with a time of 19:10.21. The top two teams in the race and next bext six individuals not on those teams qualified for the state meet.

Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair won the girls team portion with 76 points to qualify for state, while Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey took second with 102 points to qualify for state.

Also from the area in the girls race, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet’s Evie Jones took 10th (20:33.39), while St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye/New Ulm Cathedral’s Emma Hagen took 16th (21:23.1). Sibley East’s Ruby Ballalatak took 18th (21:34.95), while Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Lucy Dvorak and Madyson Steele took 21st (21:48.07) and 22nd (21:49.84), respectively. GFW also had Kelly Willegal finish 28th (22:00.93), Abigail Willegal take 30th (22:17.59) and Kelby Bruns take 37th (22:40.40). SM/SE/NUC’s Mille Lax took 34th with a time of 22:35.35, while Sibley East’s Claire Bauer took 41st (23:08.51). Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s top runner Faith Peters rounded out the top 50 girls runners out of 103 by taking 43rd (23:17.96).

For the boys side of the meet, Juilio Alejandro and Gavin Pomplun of Sibley East, Noah Christensen of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye/New Ulm Cathedral and Charlie Gengler of Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet qualified for the Class A State Cross-Country Meet.

Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair won the meet, advancing to state as a team, along with Mountain Lake Area/Confrey, who finished second. Christensen placed fourth with a time of 16:57.32, and Alejandro placed fifth with a time of 16:58.35. Gengler took eighth with a time of 17:12.08. Pomplun (17:01.63) placed sixth, and LCWM/N Charie Gengler placed eighth (17:12.08) to qualify for the state meet.

Also from the area, Madelia’s Carson Meraz (17.39.03) placed 14th, and teammates Josiah DeMaris (17:40.76) and Kaydon Firschau (17:41.13) took 15th and 16th, respectively. Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Titus Kohls (17.51.27) placed 21st, and SM/SE/NUC’s Levi Hagen (17:51.31) placed 22nd. Sibley East’s Gage Horstman (17.52.81) and Mausten Krueger (18:00.09) took 24th and 25th, respectively.

The state meet begins at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, at a Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

Section 3A Championships

LUVERNE — Wabasso’s Elsie Leopold qualfied for the state cross-country meet this year after taking third in the girls race at the Section 3A Cross-Country Championships.

Leopold ran a 19:31.43 to finish third.

Also from the area for the girls, Springfield/Cedar Mountain’s Marissa Pabst (21:08.31) and Katie Thram (21:09.98) finished 22nds and 23rd, respectively, while Emmie McCone took 30th (21:59.23) and Lydia Dauer took 34th (22:08.95).

Redwood Valley and Canby/Minneota qualified for state as a team on the girls side by taking first and second, respectively.

On the boys side of the meet for the area, Wabasso’s Andrew Morin qualified for state with a 13th-place time of 17:05.2. Springfield/CM’s Matthew Groebner took 22nd with a time of 17:43, while Luka Fernandez took 40th (18:46.6) and Dylan Dewitt took 42nd (18:52.2).