HEADED TO NORTHFIELD — Fairmont sophomore Macy Hanson, shown breaking from the starting line during the Paul Metcalf Invitational at the Mountain Lake Golf Course in Mountain Lake on Sept. 3, will compete in the Class AA state cross country meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

FAIRMONT — Area state cross country qualifiers Macy Hanson, Katie Hartke, Josiah DeMaris and Jamesson Forsberg have grown accustomed to running in various atmospheric conditions throughout their high school careers.

The Fairmont sophomore, Martin County West junior, Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther sophomore, Martin County West senior and the rest of the Class A and AA competitors might catch a 5-hour respite from the current forecast for rain at the St. Olaf College campus on Saturday.

The Weather Channel has a 75 percent chance for rain in Northfield from 9 a.m. to noon before tapering to 15 percent from noon to 5 p.m.

Hartke kicks off her third Class A girls state meet at noon Saturday, DeMaris and Forsberg make their second appearances in a row with the Class A boys field at 1 p.m., while Hanson steps to the starting line at 2:30 p.m. for the Class AA girls 5,000-meter race.

“We’re still working on some speed drills in practice this week,” Fairmont co-head coach Stew Murfield said in reference to Hanson’s preparation for the talent-laden Class AA competition. “(Today) Macy will get to run the actual course at a selected time from 1 to 4 p.m. and get a feel for it. We’ve done that her previous two trips to state, so she knows the routine.”

Hanson earned all-state honors by crossing the finish line in a seventh-place time of 18:57.89 after qualifying as an individual in 2021.

Hanson also earned a spot in the 2019 Class A state meet as part of the Fairmont Cardinals’ qualifying team performance. The then seventh-grade phenom generated a time of 19:48.9 to place 31st overall and second on the Cardinals’ lineup that finished 11th out of 16 teams.

Hanson did not run in a Minnesota State High School League-sponsored event in 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

“After competing at St. Olaf in 2019 and last year, Macy knows the course and she knows the competition,” said Murfield. “Now it’s a matter of getting a good start and finding her rhythm as the race progresses.”

Ironically, Hanson battled defending Class AA state champion Isabelle Schmitz of Hutchinson and last year’s 10th-place finisher Allyson Sample of Marshall in this season’s Section 2 Meet at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista.

Schmitz, who struck gold at St. Olaf College with a winning time of 17:59.44 in 2021, claimed first-place sectional accolades in 18:19.59 last month.

Jordan senior Kendra Krueger, who netted 24th at last year’s state meet, garnered runner-up sectional honors (18:34.58) to Schmitz, while Sample claimed third (18:50.42) and Hanson took fifth (19:30.44).

Section 8 champion Calia Chaney of Pequot Lakes and Section 1 runner-up Natasha Sortland of Zumbrota-Mazeppa represent two of the nine top-10 runners from 2021 returning Saturday.

Chaney, who took the bronze medal at last year’s state competition, posted a qualifying time of 18:35.4 at sectionals, while Sortland advanced by netting a time of 19:27.62 to finish second behind Red Wing freshman Nora Hanson’s winning time of 18:58.81. Sortland captured fourth place at the 2021 Class AA state meet.

Waseca senior Ella Dufault and Zimmerman senior Hailee Zimpel round out the returning top 10 state runners from a year ago.

Dufault, who pocketed eighth at state in 2021, garnered third place at this year’s Section 1 competition in 19:37.28.

Zimpel, who netted ninth in 2021, advanced by collecting second place (18:49.9) behind Monticello freshman Isabel Mahoney (18:39.0) in the Section 5 Meet.

St. Paul Highland Park junior Luna Scorzelli, who was ranked in the top 10 throughout the entire fall, will be another runner to look for Saturday after winning Section 3 with a time of 18:11.2.

In the Class A girls division, Hartke returns after earning all-state accolades by crossing the finish line in 24th place with a time of 20:02.21 during last year’s state competition in Northfield.

The Martin County West junior standout also finished 75th as an eighth-grader in 2019 with a mark of 20:24.0.

Hartke produced a state-qualifying time of 20:24.53 to garner fifth place overall during last month’s Section 2 Meet.

Defending state champion Amanda Overgaauw of Murray County Central leads a strong Section 3 contingent into Saturday’s noon 5K race. Four of last year’s top 12 placers return to St. Olaf College from Section 3, including Amanda Overgaauw and twin sister Ashley Overgaauw.

Amanda Overgaauw, who earned the top spot on the 2021 medals stand with a winning time of 18:09.13, advanced to state with a first-place sectional time of 17:34.74 this fall.

Ashley Overgaauw, who merited all-state honors with a sixth-place showing in 2021, qualified by netting second to her sibling in 18:28.46.

Luverne junior Jenna DeBates, who proved the state bronze medalist a year ago in 19:06.82, netted third place at this fall’s Section 3 Meet in 18:30.1, while Windom Area’s Kaylee Walklin claimed fourth in the Section 3 clash of titans. Walklin posted a 12th-place effort at state in 2021.

Section 8 champion Jade Rypkema of Nevis, who qualified with a winning time of 18:07.4, collected fifth place individually at state last fall. Rypkema also captured state runner-up accolades in 2019.

Long Prairie-Grey Eagle junior Caroline Kuehne, Perham freshman Gracie Morris and Staples-Motley senior Aften Robinson round out last year’s top 10 placers returning to St. Olaf College on Saturday in Class A.

Kuehne finished seventh in Northfield a year ago, Morris crossed the line in eighth, while Robinson generated a 10th-place performance.

In the Class A boys state competition, DeMaris steps to the starting line as the Section 2 champion after breaking the wire in 16:15.79. DeMaris placed 39th as a freshman with a time of 17:23.28 in 2021.

Forsberg, who pocketed the sixth and final individual sectional spot in 17:04.48, generated a 46th-place time of 17:29.01 during his state debut last fall.

Perham’s Jakob McCleary returns to St. Olaf College after striking gold in Class A with a first-place time of 16:09.64 last year, while Nova Classical Academy senior Henry Karelitz and Sauk Centre senior Brandon Kampsen will challenge McCleary again.

Karelitz claimed second in 16:25.02 a year ago, while Kampsen placed third overall. Karelitz won Section 4 with a time of 15:43.4, while Kampsen earned the Section 6 crown in 16:04.5.

Cromwell-Wright senior Noah Foster, Staples-Motley junior Issiah Tabatt and Pierz junior Ethan Kowalczyk round out the six top-10 runners returning Saturday.

Foster, this year’s Section 7 champion, finished fourth in 2021, while Tabatt and Kowalczyk placed ninth and 10th, respectively, last fall.