Gold individual finishes in both the girls and boys competitions…
A dozen PRs and first places for the boys and girls teams...
A trip to the state tournament!
The Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair/Mankato Christian Academy Crusaders left it all on running path at Norwood-Young America’s Baylor Park on Thursday.
“Words can't describe how awesome tonight was,” said head coach Casey Olson, who also left NYA with an award: the section 2A girls Coach of the Year. “We talked before the race about how close of a family this team is and that they should all believe in themselves and believe in each other, so to see them running together and pushing each other tonight was inspiring. I'm unbelievably proud of how much they were willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves and fight for one more race together as a team.”
With 35 points, 69 better than second place Mt. Lake Area-Comfrey, the Crusader girls ran away with their race. The top two teams advance to the state meet.
Valarie Quast’s 17:53.09 gold-medal finish was her career best. Charlotte Meyer’s season best 18:07.16 put her in the silver slot. Lila Quast finished ninth among the 105 competitors with a PR 19:43.35. Directly behind her was Riley Quigley with a PR 19:59.73. All of them would have qualified for the state meet as individuals. Also in the Crusader front five, Maddy Siewwert’s PR 20:36.72 was good for 16th place.
Pushing the top Crusader five, Kate Daly was 25th with a PR 21:22.26, finish while Molly Koester was 29th with a PR 21:42.61.
“The girls came in as favorites, but we still had to execute,” Olson said. “They stayed focused throughout the week and did everything they needed to and then some, so I'm very pleased with what they showed tonight. It took a lot of guts to run that hard and trust that the training set them up to do so. They've been running extremely well all season and it's great to see it pay off towards the end of the season. I'm excited just thinking about what this team can accomplish at state next weekend.”
With 114 points, LSH-MN Country School was third among the girls teams. Rounding out the field were St. James Area (156), GFW (177), MVL (183), WEM/JWP (187), Glencoe-Siver Lake (192), Maple River (221), MCW/BO (226), NRHEG (260), LCWM/Nicollet (267) and Norwood-Young America (294).
The Crusader boys’ 76 points was 16 better than second place Sibley East.
Soren Kelly won the race with a 16:06.77 finish. Mitchell Buboltz was sixth with a PR 16:42.42. Their times would have qualified both for the state meet. Rollie Matejcek was 20th among the 117 runners with a PR 17:37.20. Francis Bierer was 23rd with a PR 17:41.49. Also contributing to the team score, Griffin Rutz came in fifth for the Crusaders and 29th overall with a PR 17:57.43.
Biting at the heels of the Crusader first five, Jack Green finished the course in 18:38.70 for a career-best 40th place while Andrew Tieva came in 53rd with a PR 18:58.89.
The Crusader boys lost four seniors to graduation last year. This year, some of them had to learn how to run 5 Ks, said Olson. But they were one of several who had a shot to finish in the top two spots.
“We knew going in this was going to be a tough battle, but they have maintained faith in themselves throughout the entire season, even when we weren't hitting the same times and places we were used to seeing early on. They kept their heads down, kept believing in themselves and their teammates all season long, and that faith never wavered. They ran a really smart race and they ran a really gutsy race by going out a little more controlled and trusting that the legs would be there in the second half to carry them to the finish line. We made the right moves over the course of the race, and they pushed themselves to fight for every spot to the line.”
Glencoe-Silver Lake came in third among the boys teams with 114 points. Rounding out the field were Madelia (133), Mt. Lake Area-Comfrey (139), MVL (161), Le Sueur-Henderson (189), St. James Area (202), Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s-Sleepy Eye (202), WEM/JWP (260), MCW/BO (300), Norwood-Young America (312), Lester Prairie (361), Maple River (393) and Blue Earth Area (450).
Upping their game way past expectations, the 12 of the 14 runners who set a personal record did so by an average of 40 seconds for the girls and 34.5 seconds for the boys.
“To be running that fast after all the PRs we've had throughout the season is incredible, and it's a testament to their work ethic and how much they didn't want it to end,” Olson said.
The section victories mark the girls' third-straight trip to state and the second-straight trip for the boys, who have qualified for state eight of the last nine years (excluding 2020, when the state meet was cancelled).
“Sending both teams for the second straight year is incredible for our program,” Olson said. “It shows that we have athletes who care about their own success but more so about the team's success and their teammates' success. These athletes take pride in developing into better athletes and people year after year, and I think our success reflects the culture that has been established. I'm really proud of that.”
Finishing in the top 15, Kelly and Buboltz for the boys and the Quast sisters, Meyer and Quigly for the girls took home an All-Region award.
The state meet will run on the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course on Saturday, November 1. Last year there, the Crusader girls took 15th of the 16 class A teams while the Crusader boys were 12th of 16 Class A teams. The Crusader boys' best finish was third place back in 2017. Last year, Meyer came in second with an 18: 24.0 finish, Quast was fifth with a 19:05.1, and Kelly was 20th with a 16:44.9.
The starting gun for the boys competition goes off at 10:00 a.m. while the girls race starts 45 minutes later.
Above: Upon their return to Cleveland, the champion Crusaders parade around town courtesy of the Cleveland Fire Department. (photo courtesy of Casey Olson)
Charlotte Meyer runs between the crowd en route to a silver finish. (photo courtesy of Bree Meyer)
Just a seventh grader, Griffin Rutz made it into the Crusader top five to contribute to the team win. (photo courtesy of Bree Meyer)
The Crusader boys winning team with alternates. (photo courtesy of Bree Meyer)
The Crusader girls winning team with one of its alternatives. (photo courtesy of Bree Meyer)
The Crusader championship teams and teammates pose with the section trophies. In back right is head coach Casey Olson. In back left is assistant coach Sean Pickel. (photo courtesy of Casey Olson)