Congrats to the Saints' girls cross country team and junior boys' standout Alex Bur for earning trips to the MN Class 2A State Cross Country Meet after qualifying via the Section 2AA meet on Tuesday at North Mankato's Benson Park.
The St. Peter girls took first-place honors in the team competition, besting runner-up Marshall by 25 team points (53-78) to earn their trip to state. Junior Keira Friedrich (2nd), Lucia Penner (3rd), and
Brielle Friedrich (8th) turned in top-10 finishes to lead the Saints to the win and an automatic state berth. This will be the Saints' first state trip as a team since 1997.
Other Saints finishers and members of the state-qualifying team included Robin Hibscher (18th), Grace Penner (22nd), Kady Thoms (47th) and Addison Maxfield (54th). Team alternates are Kendra Johnson and Marie Wills. This will be Friedrich's and Lucia Penner's second straight trip to state as they qualified as individuals in 2023.
Bur placed 11th overall in the boys' race but earned his spot as he was the third boys' runner to hit the chute which wasn't on either the first-place team (Mankato East) or second-place team (Marshall) to earn his state trip for the second year in a row. Teammate Enzo Gazzola (18th overall) was just two places away from joining Bur at state.
The Saints' boys placed 6th out of 11 teams and were only two points out of fifth place in a loaded Section 2AA field. The team coaches are Jeff Portugue, Bill Stuewe, and Ryan Timmerman. Kudos to the Saints' cheerleaders for making the trek over to cheer their schoolmates on in what was a very successful day for the St. Peter runners!
State tournament details will be shared early next week! For complete results on the Section 2AA meet please see the following link -->
https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/246910/info
