Two area runners ready to represent their schools at state
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FAIRMONT - Minnesota State High School League Cross Country State Championships are here. This Saturday, boys and girls runners in Class A, AA, and AAA will compete at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake.
Last Thursday, two area runners punched their tickets to this prestigious race: Cole Hanson from Fairmont and Evelynn Christenson from Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin. Christenson will race at 12:15 p.m., while Hanson will compete hours later at 3:15 p.m. Awards for each class will be presented after the respective girls’ and boys’ races.
A breakout season
Hanson has shown flashes of his potential. His jump to become one of the best runners in Section 2AA was previewed a year prior during his eighth-grade season. He concluded 2025 with a handful of top-20 finishes. The most impressive mark came at the I-90 Invite, where Hanson outduelled former Fairmont runner and state qualifier Cooper Gudahl for a second-place finish.
Since last fall's finish, Hanson focused on improving for his second varsity season, hoping to shave seconds and keep climbing the ranks. He credits Fairmont cross country head coach Andrew Moeller for helping him work through an offseason full of "hard workouts" and "mileage days," saying that has been a key to his current success.
"It was hard to get out of bed," Hanson said, smiling. "You never want to wake up, but you have to force yourself to go out, get a few miles in, and do that consistently."
Moeller, who also coaches distance for the Cardinals track and field team, immediately noticed progression this past spring. By the time cross country season approached a few months later, Moeller continued to see Hanson show signs of significant progress.
"At our time trial to start our season, I was running it with him [Cole Hanson], and he kind of made a racing move on me with about 800 [meters] to go," Moeller said. "I was like, 'Alright, we are in a different league here already. That was really exciting for me to see and probably a little foreshadowing."
Foreshadowing indeed. Fairmont's season-opening performance at the Early Bird Invite showed Hanson had what it took to make that next jump, beating St. Peter's Enzo Gazzola by 12 seconds to secure first place.
Hanson has since won four races, finished second place in two others, and, on Thursday, Oct. 29, placed fifth in the MSHSL Section 2AA Championships. He was the first non-Mankato East runner to cross the finish line with a time of 16:52.7.
"I knew everyone in front of me was from the same team, so I knew I would make it," Hanson said. "I was just trying to focus on qualifying and get into that top group there, and was extremely pleased and happy that I got to keep going."
Peaking at the right time
Different year, same result. Christenson once again found herself among the section’s top runners at this year’s MSHSL Section 2A Championships. The MCW/BO junior's time of 19:34.4 placed her fifth among all section runners, earning a trip to the state championships for the third straight season on varsity.
"Just definitely very excited for her," Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin cross country head coach Stannetta Svoboda said. "She's worked really hard and is the type of athlete who puts in the time, listens to the training, and knows what it's going to take to get to that next level."
Svoboda preaches that each runner in her program should be racing their best during the final weeks of the season. It's a slow build from early September to late October.
"With most of the athletes that I'm working with, they've been going since the track season in March," Svoboda said. "March, April, and May, they took off two weeks in June, and we start back up again. Once we get to October, that's the competitive part of the season. Now is when we have to start pulling things together and performing at our top."
Christenson has done this each of the past three seasons. In her three career section championship races, she has notched a season or personal best, with her latest showing of 19:34.4 being just one second off her personal best.
Eight of the 11 races Christenson competed in saw times between 19 and 20 minutes. She picked up nine top-10 finishes, including a first-place finish in the I-90 Invite by 15 seconds. Svoboda hopes that Saturday's race can cap off yet another strong campaign by her star runner.
"She has great mental toughness, is a hard worker and listens," Svoboda said. "She's what you would call a very coachable athlete, and she listens to what she needs to do."