Crusader girls third, Meyer third, boys 13th at state cross country

Charlotte Meyer’s strategy going into the state cross country meet today (Saturday) was to not have a strategy.

Instead, the freshman ran the University of MN golf course in Falcon Heights according to what the current situation—and her legs—told her to do.

It worked. Meyer’s 18:18.0 finish, 6 seconds faster than she ran the course a year ago, was good for third place. Beyond that, she led the Mankato Loyola/Cleveland/Mankato Christian Academy Crusader team to a third-place finish as well.

“It’s just how I feel, basically, but I felt more confident this year.”

“Everyone’s different,” said head coach Casey Olson. “Charlotte’s been around long enough. She’s experienced in these types of races enough that she can trust herself, and we coaches can trust her as well. We knew who the top two were. We knew it was going to be really tough to break into it, so seeing her run with them for two miles and finish with a very strong third place was everything we could have asked for.”

Last year, the Crusader girls finished 15th of the 16 teams (two from each section). The year before, in their first strip to the state meet, the Crusaders were 12th. This year, cross country coaches ranked the Crusader girls the third best team in the state, and they lived up to the billing. With 97 points, New London-Spicer won the race by position since St. Cloud Cathedral also had 97 points. The Crusaders were only seven points more than the gold and silver teams but 45 points better than the fourth-place team.

“We knew we had as good a shot as any team to take the title,” Olson said. “There were four or five teams who had a shot. We had third place circled on our calendar at the start of the year, and to see it accomplished is incredible. Third place in the state is a massive accomplishment, and it was great to see it end that way. The girls deserve it for how hard they’ve worked this year. I’m very proud of the fight each of the girls showed to put it all on the line for a chance at a state title. That takes guts and trust, and they showed a lot of both today.”

Overall, Olson didn’t want Meyer and Crusaders to lead during the first mile.

“That would be putting a target on our back. We wanted to be more reactive today. The first and second place girls were a lot taller than Charlotte, so we knew that she is not winning a foot race with them, so with her, we wanted her to be out front, ahead of them. But she was feeling good and feeling strong, and she was strong enough to hold off everybody except for those two.”

Meyer crossed the finish line 22.5 seconds behind the winner and 3.4 seconds behind the second-place runner. This year’s silver finisher won the meet last year while Meyer was second.

Meyer’s time was better than all the Class AA runners, except the winner: St. Peter’s Keira Friedrich with an 18:03.0. In Class AAA, there were 14 faster times, including a blistering 16:54.3 for the gold.

Teammate Valerie Quast, in the last race of her high school career, was fifth among the 159 competitors, with an 18:29.6. Last year she was also fifth but with a 19:05.1.

“We took a shot at the individual title with both Charlotte and Val,” Olson said. “They both gave it a great effort, and two in the top five is incredible for any program. They ran smart and strong races and gave it everything they had today.”

Quast’s heir apparent and younger sister Lila Quast was 22nd with a PR 19:31.6, 12 seconds faster than the PR she set at the section meet, a tough thing to do on the Les Bolstad Golf Course, despite the ideal mid 40s temperature.

“This isn’t really a PR course,” Olson said. “It’s really hilly. What makes it fast is the adenine and the experience at state: being around the best runners in the state who are going to push you a little more.”

Rounding out the Crusader first five, Riley Quigley was 76th with a 20:39.2, and Maddy Seiwert was 105th with a 21:11.3.

Pushing at them, Kate Daly was 121st with a 21:42.3, and senior Molly Koester was 125th with a 21:44.2. Last year, Daly was 131st with a 22:35.0, and Koester was 120th with a 22:10.5.

In the top 25, Meyer and the Quast sisters also made the All-State team.

Rutz is fourth among the Crusader boys

Given the boys team graduated four of its top six last year, the Crusader coaches were pleased they made it to state, Olson said.

“We knew we weren’t competing for a podium necessarily, but we knew we had a really good shot to keep running well. We peaked at sections, and we wanted to continue to push today, and I thought we did that really well. Thirteenth place is only one off last year, and This group is really mature despite the relative lack of experience. These results don’t surprise me given the way they approached the season by just taking small steps every week.”

In the last race of his high school career, Soren Kelly, who Olson said, unlike Meyer, plans a strategy, came in a respectable sixth. His 16:02.2 was 42.5 seconds behind the winner. There were 160 competing. Last year, Kelly was 20th with a 16:44.9, so he made a huge stride since then. In the top 25, he made the All-State team.

“To see him get sixth place overall at a meet like this is incredible,” Olson said. “He’s worked hard. He’s earned his spot up there, and so it’s really good to see all of that pay off.”

Also in the top five Crusader slots, senior Mitchell Buboltz was 91st with a 17:31.5, Francis Bierer was 119th with an 18:03.4, Griffin Rutz, the faster of just two seventh graders in the race, was 125th with an 18:09.6.

“It was a fun experience," said Rutz. “Hopefully we can do it again next year, It’s exciting running against seniors. I’ll get better over the years, so I can be a good runner.”

“Griffin had a great year,” Olson said. “We don’t normally want to rely on junior high boys, but Griffin started the year running well and just got better as the season went on. I can’t say enough about his approach and not being intimidated by the moment. He saved his best couple races for last and capped off a great year with his second-fastest time at state.”

Completing the Crusader top five, Rollie Matejcek was 128th with an 18:13.5. Last year, Buboltz was 132nd with an 18:25.3, and Matejcek was 145th with a 19:00.4, so they both lowered their times as well.

Prodding the top quintet, Jack Green was 151st with a 19:20.8, and Senior Andrew Tieva was 154th with a 19.36.6.

“Almost all the boys ran their second fastest time of their careers, within 20 seconds, so we are really happy with the effort that they gave,” Olson said.

Overall, Olson was proud to be the Crusaders’ coach, not only for their winning times but for their characters as well.

“They’re not just great runners, but they’re great people. They care about their teammates, and they work hard for each other. This is truly a team sport and this team is as close as any I’ve been around. We talked a lot about how running together and being a family is what got us here. and they showed that again today. Everyone gave everything they had and fought to the last meter, which is all you can ever ask for as a coach.”

Above: The girls third-place team, from L to R: assistant coach Landon Javens, alternates Gisele McCabe and Brooks Waagner, Riley Quigley, Maddy Seiwert, Molly Koester, Valarie Quast, Kate Daly, Lila Quast, Charlotte Meyer and head coach Casey Olson. Missing is assistant coach Sean Pickle.

Top three girls running The eventual first, second and third-place finishers from left to right early in the race.

Meyer running Charlotte Meyer runs past the spectators that lined the 5K path.

Meyer on downhill Charlotte Meyer on a downhill shortly before the final stretch. She came on strong at the end to close 3.4 seconds behind the second-place runner, who was the first place finisher last year while Meyer was second.