Twin Cities Running Company Showcase, alternative to MSHSL state meet, has large school girls winners in Weaver and Edina, along with boys champions in Vargas and Prior Lake; Anderson and Nova Classical Academy triumph in boys small school races, with Rypkema and Luverne best in girls small school section

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The Edina High girls cross country program and Stillwater Area senior Analee Weaver are no strangers to being in the spotlight in Minnesota, capturing team and individual state titles at the Class AA final last year.

The Prior Lake boys team and Stillwater Area senior Ethan Vargas didn’t possess the same championship resumes as their female counterparts before Friday, but both rose to the occasion at the Twin Cities Running Company XC Showcase to also earn the respect as the state’s best this season.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

With Minnesota State High School League officials voting Oct. 1 by a 10-8 margin not to hold the traditional state meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield as a result of health and safety concerns linked to the Coronavirus pandemic, Twin Cities Running Company stepped forward on short notice to organize an event at the new 5-kilometer layout at the Island Pine Golf Course in Atwater.

The different environment created a picturesque backdrop for memorable performances by Weaver and the Edina girls team in the large school competition, along with breakthrough efforts by Vargas and fellow senior Gabe Smit in the boys races, including the first team title in any setting for Prior Lake.

Weaver, a BYU commit, continued her impressive season by winning in 17 minutes, 4.38 seconds in the fourth of six waves, achieving a time more than 40 seconds ahead of any female competitor despite battling 15-20 mph winds.

Molly Moening, a junior at St. Paul Highland Park, used a late surge in the fifth wave to hold off Farmington senior Anna Fenske by a 17:49 to 17:52 margin, joining Weaver as the only female athletes to produce sub-18 efforts.

With Minnetonka sophomore Maya Mor wearing a walking boot on her left foot and not able to race, the anticipated rematch from Edina’s thrilling victory on a sixth-runner tiebreaker Oct. 14 at the 6AA Sectionals didn’t produce the same dramatic outcome Friday.

With Maggie Wagner (18:19.48), Macy Iyer (18:27.74) and Mary Velner (18:30.42) – the three returning members from the Hornets’ Class AA state championship lineup last year – finishing fourth, fifth and sixth in their wave, all three Edina athletes placed in the top 10 overall to lead five scorers among the fastest 45 competitors when merging results from all six waves, leading to a 79-117 victory over Minnetonka.

It was an inspired effort by Minnetonka, led by freshman Ella Graham (18:36.44) finishing 13th overall, since the Skippers finished fourth in their wave behind Edina, Farmington and St. Paul Highland Park.

Motivated by Moening, St. Paul Highland Park was third with 129 points, and Farmington took fifth overall with 141 points behind Anna Fenske and sister Mariah Fenske (18:16.81) both placing among the top four individuals.

Wayzata, which prevailed in the fourth wave despite competing without injured sophomore Abbey Nechanicky, placed fourth overall with 136 points and Stillwater Area secured sixth with 162 points.

Waseca sophomore Ella Dufault, competing in the last wave showcasing only unattached individuals, was fifth overall in 18:17.36. Hopkins eighth-grader Sydney Drevlow, who won the opening wave in 18:20.25, was seventh and Hutchinson freshman Isabelle Schmitz (18:24.56) earned eighth overall after placing runner-up to Dufault in the last race of the meet.

Vargas and Smit were 10th and 11th in last year’s Class AA boys final, but both athletes made significant strides to take the top two spots and produce the only two sub-16 efforts for the meet.

Vargas relied on a strong kick to prevail in 15:54.60, with Smit clocking 15:57.12.

Although Stillwater Area senior Aiden Kilibarda took third overall in 16:01.34, Prior Lake was still able to hold off the Ponies by a three-point margin in their wave and secure an 89-109 triumph with all the results combined, benefiting from four scorers in the top 20 overall.

Prior Lake, which had never finished higher than fifth in any state competition, also had freshman Hootie Hage taking seventh overall in 16:11.27, along with seniors Kyle Nordling (16:16.11) and Magnus O’Connor (16:19.80) placing 13th and 17th, respectively.

Wayzata was third with 143 points, Rosemount took fourth with 153, Robbinsdale Armstrong finished fifth with 170, Eden Prairie secured sixth with 173 and White Bear Lake earned seventh with 182. Mounds View, last year’s Class AA champion, placed eighth with 216 points.

Eden Prairie seniors Jack Gschwendtner (16:05.72), Alex Gutierrez (16:12.97) and Isaac Hartman (16:13.13) were fourth, eighth and 10th overall for the Eagles, with wave winners Brennen Peterson of Rosemount (16:06.46), Joseph Lee of Roseville (16:10.40) and Elliott McArthur of Mounds View (16:13.04) finishing fifth, sixth and ninth, respectively.

Chanhassen senior Benjamin Scheller won the opening wave in 16:15.30 to place 12th overall. Big Lake brothers Kade Layton (16:29.60) and Owen Layton (16:34.94) took the top two spots in the unattached individuals wave.

Willmar eighth-graders Lauren Eilert (18:51.66) and Erin Eilert (18:52.59) placed first and second in their wave, with Andover senior Claire Beckman winning her wave in 18:54.87. St. Michael-Albertville, which was third last year in the Class AA final, finished fourth in its wave and 20th overall without junior Ali Weimer.

Small school section recap

Emmet Anderson of Staples-Motley and Jade Rypkema of Nevis didn’t get an opportunity to earn the rematches they had been waiting an entire year for, but both second-place finishers at last year’s Class A state meet made the final statements Saturday, battling wind gusts of more than 30 mph at times during their respective races  to produce the top overall marks and secure the coveted red championship jackets.

Anderson, a senior, was seeking a showdown with two-time Class A winner Geno Uhrbom of Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin after finishing runner-up last season and third place in 2018.

With Uhrbom competing in one of the four team waves and clocking 16:24.82 more than an hour earlier, that left Anderson to race the pace cart and the clock in the final individual wave in his pursuit of history.

Anderson not only prevailed in 16:02.17, he ran the fourth-fastest time among all 277 combined athletes participating at the two-day event. Alden Keller, a sophomore at Breck School, was second in the wave in 16:26.60 to place third on the day and 26th overall.

Rypkema, sophomore, didn’t have the opportunity to race against reigning champion Morgan Gehl of Murray County Central, who was unable to compete Saturday. But Rypkema used a well-timed surge in the last 400 meters of the final individual wave to pull away from Murray County Central sophomore twins Amanda Overgaauw and Ashley Overgaauw and triumph in 18:57.33 to join Anderson in becoming the top small school athletes in the state.

Amanda Overgaauw finished second in the race and ran the fifth-fastest time of the day overall in 19:34.8, but despite running in the top three for most of the competition, Ashley Overgaauw was unable to finish the race.

Perham had captured the past three Class A team championships in both genders, but with the girls not competing and the boys team entering only three athletes because of injuries, it opened the door for a pair of first-time winners at any state-level event.

Junior Tenley Nelson and freshman Jenna DeBates took the top two spots in their team wave, leading Luverne to the girls championship with a 45-99 victory over Cotter. Nelson clocked 19:16.84 and DeBates ran 19:22.63 to produce the second- and fourth-fastest times overall among the 91 athletes participating.

Luverne, which prevailed by a 40-49 margin against Murray County Central with Gehl and the Overgaauw sisters all competing Oct. 15 at the 3A Sectional, had five scorers in the top 35 overall Saturday to establish itself as the new small school power after enduring a 35-point setback to Perham at last year’s Class A final.

Grace Drietz, a junior at Canby/Minneota, ran the fastest time in the first team wave by clocking 19:17.74 to place third overall.

Glencoe-Silver Lake took third overall with 129 points, one ahead of fourth-place Minnehaha Academy, led by second wave winner Molly DiNardo (20:42.8).

Although Perham junior Jakob McCleary won the fourth boys team wave in 16:33.58, a second-place finish by junior Finn McCormick (16:46.91) helped Nova Classical Academy secure the team victory by a 78-91 margin over Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin.

Nova Classical Academy, which finished sixth at the Class A state meet last season, had five scorers in the top 40 overall – led by McCormick in ninth – to secure its first team title in any state-level competition in program history. Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin had five scorers in the top 50 overall, but was hurt by a gap of more than a minute between Uhrbom and No. 2 runner, junior Daniel Olson.

Minnehaha Academy, competing against Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin in its team wave, placed third overall with 114 points and Lake City – in the final team wave against Nova Classical Academy – took fourth with 132 points, just two points ahead of Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd. 

Kevin Turlington, a junior at Rochester Lourdes, won the first team wave in 16:45.2 to run the eighth-fastest time on the day. Tyson Mahar, a senior at East Grand Forks, prevailed in the second team wave in 16:50.2, good for 12th overall in the small school section.

Team Champions

Large School: Prior Lake boys 89 points, Edina girls 79 points - RESULTS

Small School: Nova Classical Academy boys 78 boys, Luverne girls 45 points - RESULTS