REGIONAL- A host of North Woods cross country runners are headed to the state meet in Minneapolis after boosting the South Ridge Panthers to the girls championship and boys runner-up trophies at the Section 7A championships in Coleraine on Thursday, Oct. 26.
Zoey Burckhardt set the pace for the Panthers with an eighth-place finish in a time of 20:22.9, and Addison Burckhardt came across the line in 12th place in 20:46.30. But the inspirational boost for the day came from 2022 sectional champ Evelyn Brodeen, who returned to the team after a six-week injury layoff to place 16th with a time of 20:56:40.
“Evelyn Brodeen, the defending section champion, ran a total of five miles since Sept. 17 after suffering an upper quad strain,” said Panthers Head Coach Jeremy Polson. “(This was) a gutsy performance that, to me, means more than her section championship last year. When you take your Michael Jordan out of the mix you know the odds are going to be stacked against you.”
Tatum Barto crossed the finish line in 48th-place finish, clocking a time of 22:32.
The Panthers edged out Carlton for the team championship with 79 points, four better than Carlton’s 83.
As he’s been all season, the Grizzlies’ Alex Burckhardt was the headliner for the Panthers’ boys, capturing second place with a time of 16:41.5. He finished nine seconds behind champ Jack Riley of Carlton.
Polson had high praise for the next highest North Woods finisher, seventh-grader Kahlil Spears, who placed 20th with a time of 17:53.9.
“Kahlil Spears ran the race of his life,” Polson said. “Adding him to our team this season completely changed the outlook of the season for us and put us at a level where we could compete for a state berth. I can’t imagine there are too many seventh graders in the state or the country running 17-minute 5k’s.”
Lincoln Antikainen also turned in a strong race, finishing 34th in the field of 104 runners with a time of 18:34.2.
Greenway easily took home the boys championship with four finishers in the top ten and 40 points, with South Ridge solidly in second with 83 points, 50 points better than third-place Ely.
After a 30-year absence, the state meet returns to the University of Minnesota’s Lee Bolstad Golf Course this Saturday. The Class A boys race will start at noon, followed by the Class A girls at 12:45 p.m.