Section 8AA XC: Laker Girls Finish 8th, Boys 12th at Section Meet

Senior runner Julia Steffl approaches the finish line at the 2022 Central Minnesota River Run at the Vintage Golf Club in Staples on August 29th. (Photo: Zeke Fuhrman)

ALEXANDRIA, MN (KDLM) – The Detroit Lakes Lakers Cross Country teams saw their season come to an end at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria on Thursday at the Section 8AA Meet with the Girls finishing 8th, and the boys placing 12th.

Senior Julia Steffl, in her final race as a Laker, finished 22nd overall with a time of 20:54.4. Maria Foltz, the other Laker senior on the team, finished with a 22:39.2.

Sadie Johnson finished 29th, Natalie Mohr was 52nd, Marin Johnson was 55th, Karlie Skarie was 56th and Lila Kallstrom was 58th.

Alexandria won the 8AA championship with a team score of 48. Willmar finished as runner-up and will also compete at State. Calia Chaney of Pequot Lakes was the individual Section champion with a time of 18:35.4.

On the boys side, three seniors finished their Laker Cross Country careers in Alexandria: Mark Carlson, Xander Jessen, and Hunter Hanson.

Junior Braydon Francis finished in 20th place overall with a time of 17:58. Micah Barger placed 50th, Carlson was 68th, Jessen was 71st, Hanson was 73rd, Peyton Malecka was 80th, and Ben Sundby placed 83rd.

Alexandria also won the boys section title with a score of 53. Fergus Falls finished as runner-up with a 72. Willmar’s Sully Anez won the race with a time of 15:51.4.

SECTION 8AA GIRLS TEAM SCORES:

1. Alexandria, 48
2. Willmar, 57
3. Rocori, 62
4. Little Falls, 122
5. Fergus Falls, 178
6. Pequot Lakes, 188
7. Melrose, 201
8. Detroit Lakes, 211
9. New London-Spicer, 217
10. Albany, 280
11. Thief River Falls, 282
12. East Grand Forks, 299

SECTION 8AA GIRLS INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS:

1 Calia Cheney, Pequot Lakes 18:35.4; 2 Lauren Eilers, Willmar* 18:40.9; 3 Citori Halbe, Alexandria* 19:04.4; 4 Elise Hofer, Rocori 19:14.6; 5 Erin Eilers, Willmar* 19:24.4; 6 Jaelyn Miller, Alexandria 19:37.1; 7 Paige Larsen, Rocori 19:54.2; 8 Grace Leclair, Little Falls 19:56.4; 9 Brooklyn Jurchenko, Alexandria* 20:00.7; 10 Sophia Negen, Willmar* 20:04.2; 11 Malin Youngberg, Little Falls 20:04.2

DETROIT LAKES GIRLS SCORES:

22 Julia Steffl 20:54.4; 29 Sadie Johnson 21:10.8; 52 Natalie Mohr 22:38.7; 53 Maria Foltz 22:39.2; 55 Marin Johnson 22:46.6; 56 Karli Skarie 22:46.9; 58 Lila Kallstrom 22:54.0

SECTION 8AA BOYS TEAM SCORES:

1. Alexandria, 53
2. Fergus Falls, 72
3. Rocori, 87
4. Willmar, 102
5. Pequot Lakes, 116
6. Albany, 174
7. Little Falls, 189
8. New London-Spicer, 228
9. Thief River Falls, 244
10. East Grand Forks, 247
11. Melrose, 260
12. Detroit Lakes, 282

SECTION 8AA BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS

1.Sully Anez, Willmar-15:51.4; 2. Eli Hall, Pequot Lakes-16:05.3; 3. Vincent Kaluza, Rocori-16:37.9; 4. Harrison Greathouse, Alexandria*-16:41.7; 5. Jaden Miller, Fergus Falls*-17:06.5; 6. Carter Schwalbe, Albany-17:11.8; 7. Wyatt Baum, Little Falls-17:17.4; 8. Landon Runge, Alexandria*-17:20.8; 9. Fathi Dubet, Willmar-17:24.6

**denotes team qualifier

DETROIT LAKES BOYS SCORES:

20 Braydon Francis 17:58.6; 50 Micah Barberg 19:11.8; 68 Mark Carlson 20:03.8; 71 Xander Jessen 20:06.6; 73 Hunter Hanson 20:13.2; 80 Peyton Malecka 20:46.7; 83 Ben Sundby 21:27.8

SEE FULL MEET RESULTS HERE, COURTESY OF GSE TIMING