Cloquet makes run to State

Despite finishing in the middle of the pack in last year's Section 7AA cross country meet, Cloquet boys team coach Chandra Allen had an inkling that things could only get better for the Lumberjacks. They were losing just one senior to graduation.

"We knew after last season," she said of the 2024 prospects.

The hunch was indeed correct, as this year's team won the section meet in Hibbing on Oct. 24. The team will now travel to St. Paul Saturday for the Minnesota State High School Class AA Cross Country Meet.

The Lumberjacks were powered by three top-10 finishes, enough to hold off second-place Grand Rapids by 13 points. Both teams qualified for state.

Allen said it was "how they trained and how they kept improving" that led to the title. And if there were dreams last year of a state run, the top five runners for the 'Jacks last Thursday are all juniors and sophomores.

Sophomore Evan Rothamel finished third, 27 seconds behind individual champion Jack Kendall of Rock Ridge and 6 seconds behind runner-up Brenden Sylvester of Grand Rapids.

"Evan went out fast" and stayed with the front runners, Allen said. "He's aggressive, just fearlessly competitive."

Cloquet juniors Ellis Allen and Andrew Shepherd were seventh and eighth while junior Ethan Lavan (19th) and sophomore Jace Bell (27th) rounded out the scoring for Cloquet.

Rothamel and Shepherd are making return strips to state.

It was warm in Hibbing, Allen said, and the times weren't the best. "That's OK, hopefully they will be at State."

The Lumberjacks do well on hills, she said, and there are plenty of them on the University of Minnesota golf course in St. Paul. There's little to tell the runners now, Allen said, except: "Have fun. It'll go off fast."

She tells her runners to be prepared for the giant mass of runners in the state meet.

"It's always packed, and where you are halfway is how you'll finish," she said.

Section 7A

Carlton/Wrenshall had two runners qualify individually for state after the Section 7A run in Coleraine Oct. 24.

Anders Erickson finished second, just 3 seconds behind champion Garrett Guida of McGregor. David Tuttle, despite spraining an ankle, finished ninth, in the final position eligible for state.

"Anders was spectacular," Raptors coach Brenda Knudsen said. "David managed to hold on. He really had to hold it together."

South Ridge won the team title and Greenway was second. Both will go to state as teams. The Raptors finished a distant third. Its 3-4-5 runners - Bodyn Gunderson, Owen Spender and Gavin Gibson - finished as a group, 40th, 41st, and 42nd in the field of 112 runners.

Cromwell-Wright's top finisher was Michael Schiller in 14th. The Cards were seventh as a team.

Moose Lake/Willow River/Barnum was the eighth-place team out of the 16 in the section. Its top runner was Elliott Wasche in 27th.

Esko finished 11th. Its top runner was Alec Halvorson, in 31st.