RUNNING TO STATE — Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther runner Josiah DeMaris (left) and Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin’s Ryan Pierson display their all-Section 2A cross country certificates after qualifying for the Class A state meet during Thursday’s competition at Baylor Park in Norwood Young America. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Hartke)

NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA — It doesn’t matter which co-operative cross country program he competes for, senior standout Ryan Pierson continues to qualify for the Class A state meet year after year.

Pierson, who’s competing for the Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin Public team this fall, and Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther junior Josiah DeMaris generated the top two individual state-qualifying 5K times during Thursday’s Section 2A Meet in Norwood Young America.

Pierson, who holds the No. 2 spot in the Class A state individual rankings, covered the Baylor Park course in a time of 16:23.97 to capture third place overall behind sectional gold medalist Levi Miest of St. James Area and runner-up Kody Wassman of Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey.

Miest, who captured 18th place at the 2022 Class A state meet with a time of 16:39.4, broke the tape in a winning mark of 16:06.32 on Thursday to guide the Saints to runner-up sectional team accolades and a state team bid.

Wassman, who claimed 48th place during the 2022 state competition in 17:09.0, earned the Section 2 silver medal on Thursday by running the 5K race in 16:09.16 to power the Wolverines to the sectional team championship via a 10-point margin of victory over the Saints.

Pierson added his bronze-medal performance at Baylor Park on Thursday to his impressure high school resume that includes a 12th-place individual showing of 16:31.9 for Butterfield-Odin at the 2022 Class A state meet, in addition to a 28th-place performance of 17:16.25 for St. James Area at the 2021 state competition.

Pierson topped the Mavericks’ 12th-place team finish in Thursday’s sectional meet at Norwood Young America, while DeMaris posted a fourth-place effort of 16:31.59 to steer the Jayhawks to a fourth-place team finish behind No. 10-ranked Mankato Loyola/ Cleveland/St. Clair, 81-127.

DeMaris, like Pierson, earned his third consecutive individual state bid since the covid-19 interruption during the 2020 season. DeMaris placed 67th in the 2022 state event with a time of 17:18.8, while netting 39th place in 17:23.28 in 2021.

Kaydon Firchau contributed a 20th-place overall time of 17:52.44 to the Jayhawks’ effort, Carson Meraz finished 22nd in 17:57.74, Caleb Decann took 39th in 18:33.0, while Dalton Tatro rounded out the counting scores in 46th with a time of 18:49.2.

Grant Koehnen supplied a 19th-place mark of 17:45.57 to Pierson’s performance for the Mavericks, Hayden O’Connor netted 91st in 21:39.55; while Kaleb Kennedy and Lincoln Kennedy chipped in 99th place (22:28.93) and 101st (22:56.21), respectively.

Brady Lorenz covered the 5K course in 18:16.02 to guide Blue Earth Area to a 15th-place team finish.

In the Section 2A girls competition, Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin Public senior Katie Hartke produced a 13th-place overall time of 21:00.24 to just miss repeating as an individual state qualifier during Thursday’s Section 2A Meet at Baylor Park. Le Sueur-Henderson’s Norah Renstrom garnered the sixth non-team state individual berth with a ninth-place overall time of 20:37.2.

Hartke closed out her prolific prep cross country career by topping the Mavericks’ seventh-place team showing, with Evelynn Christenson contributing a 31st-place showing of 22:18.89.

Maddison Lyon placed 39th overall in 22:36.45 for MCW/BOP, Katelynn Kennedy supplied a 23:20.85 to take 55th, while Hannah Cole took 72nd in 24:41.39 to round out the Mavericks’ counting marks.

Aubrey Woodwick and Sidney Eitzmann produced top-20 individual performances to help guide Blue Earth Area to an 11th-place team showing. Woodwick claimed 15th place at the sectional with a time of 21:07.28, while Eitzmann posted a mark of 21:46.88 to claim 20th place individually.

Valerie Quast earned the sectional gold medal with a winning 5K time of 19:03.67 to power Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair to a runner-up sectional score of 86 and a Class A state team bid.

Meghan Johnson netted 10th place overall with a time of 20:42.91 to steer Mountain Lake Area/Butterfield-Odin to the sectional girls championship with an 82.

The Class A boys state meet starts at noon Saturday, Nov. 4, while the Class A girls’ competition gets under way at 12:45 p.m. The event will be held at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

SECTION 2A CROSS

COUNTRY MEET

(5K Distance)

Boys Division

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Levi Miest (St. James Area) 16:06.32; 2. Kody Wassman (Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey) 16:09.16; 3. Ryan Pierson (Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin) 16:23.97; 4. Josiah DeMaris (Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther) 16:31.59; 5. Soren Kelly (Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair) 16:34.82; 6. Sam Vetter (LCSC) 16:54.41; 7. Jacob Friesen (St. James Area) 17:01.1; 8. Mason Anderson (Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet) 17:01.48; 9. Zach Kallen (MLA/Comfrey) 17:05.37; 10. Tyrone Stout (MLA/Comfrey) 17:12.4.

Other MCW/BO Results: 19. Grant Koehnen 17:45.57; 91. Hayden O’Connor 21:39.55; 99. Kaleb Kennedy 22:28.93; 101. Lincoln Kennedy 22:56.21; 104. David Taylor 23:16.58.

Other MTGHECML Results: 20. Kaydon Firchau 17:52.44; 22. Carson Meraz 17:57.74; 39. Caleb Decann 18:33.0; 46. Dalton Tatro 18:49.2; 73. Eddie Ramirez 20:02.58; 76. Adriel Martinez 20:11.2.

Blue Earth Area Results: 33. Brady Lorenz 18:16.02; 77. Devin Haase 20:19.84; 92. Marcus Eckles 21:45.33; 94. Seth Mathews 22:06.31; 97. Owen Jahnke 22:15.1; 100. Oliver Ankeny 22:39.41; 102. Jason Casey 22:56.92.

Individual Qualifiers: 3. Pierson; 4. DeMaris; 5. Kelly; 6. Vetter; 8. M. Anderson; 11. Kieran Allison (NYA) 17:14.83.

Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey 60; 2. St. James Area 70; 3. Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair 81; 4. MTGHECML 127; 5. LCWM/Nicollet 134; 6. Sibley East 178; 7. NYA 239; 8. Le Sueur-Henderson 259; 9. Lester Prairie 262; 10. Sleepy Eye United 270; 11. WEM/JWP 295; 12. MCW/BOP 296; 13. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 303; 14. Maple River 304; 15. Blue Earth Area 372.

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Girls Division

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Valerie Quast (Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair) 19:03.67; 2. Addison Hoof (Lester Prairie) 19:14.34; 3. Charlotte Meyer (LCSC) 19:27.56; 4. Sophia Stencel (Maple River) 19:39.59; 5. Madyson Steele (Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop) 20:06.45; 6. Paige Gardiner (Sibley East) 20:13.22; 7. Katelyn Friesen (St. James Area) 20:22.39; 8. America Trejo Esqueda (St. James Area) 20:26.22; 9. Norah Renstrom (LSH) 20:37.2; 10. Meghan Johnson (Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey) 20:42.91.

Martin Co. West/Butterfield-Odin Public Results: 13. Katie Hartke 21:00.24; 31. Evelynn Christenson 22:18.89; 39. Maddison Lyon 22:36.45; 55. Katelynn Kennedy 23:20.85; 72. Hannah Cole 24:41.39; 79. Paige Hartwig 24:50.22; 86. Eva Miranda 25:16.93.

Blue Earth Area Results: 15. Aubrey Woodwick 21:07.28; 20. Sidney Eitzmann 21:46.88; 40. Natalie Griffey 22:39.0; 91. Leah Becker 26:22.64; 103. Makayla Ankeny 27:59.42; 109. Myla Eastman 31:59.8.

Individual Qualifiers: 2. Hoof; 4. Stencel; 5. Steele; 6. Gardiner; 7. Friesen; 8. Trejo Esqueda.

Team Standings (Top 2 Advance to State): 1. Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey 82; 2. Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair 86; 3. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 125; 4. Sibley East 140; 5. Maple River 192; 6. St. James Area 194; 7. Martin Co. West/Butterfield-Odin Public 210; 8. WEM/JWP 224; 9. Lester Prairie 260; 10. NRHEG 261; 11. Blue Earth Area 269; 12. LSH 282; 13. LCWM/Nicollet 303; 14. United South Central/ Alden-Conger 332; 15. Sleepy Eye United 338; 16. Norwood Young America 340; 17. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 436.