The boys and girls posing after the girls take 6th and the boys take 2nd at Nationals. A great day for both teams as Wayzata cross country continue to excel.
Annika Lerdall and Michaela Keller-Miller moving through the field at NXN. Looking good in orange!
Team highlight photo montage video from the 2014 NXN National cross country meet held 12/6/14 in Portland, OR. All photos courtesy of the athletes, parents, Kraig Lungstrom at http://kraiglungstrom.zenfolio.com/, and Lance Elliott at http://www.lanceelliott.com/. Music by U2: "MLK" and Matchbox Twenty: "Bright Lights". Full Results at: http://nxn.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=title&title_id=187&event_id=13
Password: Together
Coming of of their third straight Minnesota state title, the Wayzata girls ran a near flawless race to win the Nike Heartland region title. It was the third year in a row that the Lady Trojans have ran at the national meet finishing seventh two years ago and capturing the national title last year. It's been a somewhat rebuilding year for the girls as four new young ladies will gain the Nike experience.
The Trojans were led by Anna French as she lowered her all-time best in the 5k to 17:38, taking 5th place. The race was especially gratifying for Anna as she convincingly turned the tables on Tess Misgen, Emma Benner, and Emily Covert from the state meet. Anna was followed by the one-two punch of Michaela Keller-Miller and Annika Lerdall, finishing 16th and 18th respectively. Putting three in the top 18 was too much for Willmar and Edina as they battled for 2nd place and a national meet birth.
Following the three battle-hardened veterans was Jaycie Thomsen, quite possibly running her best race ever. She covered the Sioux Falls course in an outstanding 5k time of 18:49 and kept her steady improvement this year on a roll. Filling out the top 5 was the amazing Sam Lettenberger, a rookie that seems to never put limits on herself. To almost break 19 minutes as a rookie on a very pressurized stage was phenomenal!
Rounding out the top 7 was the ever-improving Melissa Drenckhahn smashing her time from the previous year by 1:28 and two years a go by a whopping 3 minutes! Ninth-grader Ellie Emerick gained much needed experience running in the 7th slot. She has come a long way this year and leads a great young contingent of runners ready to take on the mantle of what Wayzata girls cross country has become.
In the Black race, the event for up-and-coming young runners, the competition was again dominated by Wayzata, not only winning, but placing three teams in the top 9! Gina Kalkar was the top Wayzata runner of the day. A complete list of athletes can be found in the results here:
http://www.runnerspace.com/nxnhl
The art of peaking goes far beyond running your best times of the year. You also have to match the physical demands of running with the mental stress that big races create. The Wayzata girls blended the two beautifully as they were the first team to win three state titles in a row since the Duluth East dynasty of the 90's. The ladies ran four PR's which is extremely hard to do as race conditions many times do not match a best performance.
The team was led by Anna French who made a valiant effort to run with the Hasz sisters of Alexandria, who have become a powerhouse duo. Anna finished 7th going through the mile in 5:18, her fastest opening mile of her career. She probably gave up a few positions at the finish, but Anna showed a courageous spirit that any coach would have been proud of.
Following Anna was Annika Lerdall finishing 8th over-all, followed closely by Michaela Keller-Miller in 11th place. The trio actually scored less team points than last years top three, which provided a much needed cushion for their rookie state meet teammates. Both Annika and Michaela saved their best races of their careers for this years state meet, running personal bests on a day that looked as if the lady Trojans would have no margin for error.
As it turned out, the inexperienced four of Jaycie Thomsen, Sam Lettenberger, Melissa Drenckhahn, and Ellie Emerick stepped up big providing the support needed for the girls to win by 29 points. Thomsen provided the same consistent performance that she has produced all year. She pulled Lettenberger and Drenckhahn to new personal bests.
The ladies will now set their sites on a third trip to Oregon for Nike Nationals. But first, they will have to reprise their state meet effort over a 5k course in Sioux Falls, SD. The best teams from the Heartland region will come together Nov. 9th vying for the coveted trip out west.
Anna French finishing her last state meet of her career. She has led the Trojans to three state titles and a national championship.
Annika Lerdall and Michaela Keller-Miller running to 8th and 11th respectively. This was the third all-state honor for Michaela and second for Annika.
Jaycie Thomsen, followed by Sam Lettenberger over her right shoulder. Behind the pair is Melissa Drenckhahn and Ellie Emerick. This was the first state meet for the foursome and have grown by leaps and bounds this season.
The State Champs with all of their captains on the winners stage. .
The second year in a row both the boys and girls teams have captured state titles.
When you lose five college level seniors from your top ten that won a Nike National Championship and you hope to compete at a high level the next season, you better have great team depth! The Trojans proved in 2014 that you can still reload a large nucleus of your team and still have continued excellence. With nine out of the top twelve new to the varsity conference squad and four out of seven new to the section team, the ladies had a lot of on the job training to do.
The youthful section team shown here had to hold off two other up-and-coming squads from Edina and Minnetonka. Shown here, bottom row, left to right: Annika Lerdall, Libby Johnson, Anna French, Maeve Andrews, Michaela Keller-Miller. Top row, Left to right: Ellie Emerick, Melissa Drenckhahn, Jaycie Thomsen, Sam Lettenberger, Kristine Keller-Miller.
Race highlight video of the Minnesota 6AA Sectional (4K) Girls event held at Gale Woods Farm, Minnetrista MN on October 22, 2014. Photos courtesy of Tom Franke and Kraig Lungstrom (http://kraiglungstrom.zenfolio.com/). Music by LCD Soundsystem (You Wanted A Hit). Results at http://mn.milesplit.com/meets/185366-mshsl-section-6aa-championships 1. Wayzata 1 Anna French, 12 14:04.4 3 Annika Lerdall, 10 14:32.5 4 Michaela Keller-Miller, 11 14:37.6 17 Jaycie Thomsen, 10 15:12.1 21 Melissa Drenkhahn, 11 15:22.0 24 Samantha Lettenberger, 10 15:27.9 28 Ellie Emerick, 9 15:40.4 Total Time = 1:13:48.6 Total Places = 46
6AA Highlight Video - Thanks to the Mass - man for all of the work!
Girls Awards video from the Minnesota 6AA Section Championship held at Gale Woods, MN on Oct 22, 2014.
Four 6AA titles, four Lake conference titles, Anna shows how it is done! Hard work, dedication to detail, and a love for the sport.
Annika Lerdall and Michaela Keller Miller in control of the lead pack. They would go on to 3rd and 4th place finishes.
Wayzata remained unbeaten in the decade in both the junior/senior race and the sophomore and under race. The five year streak was led by Maeve Andrews, Kristine Keller-Miller, and Mandy Behling in the Jr/Sr race, Brooke Young, Libby Johnson, and Gina Kalkar, led a strong contingent of Wayzata under-classmen to a convincing win in the So. and under race.
Seniors looking confused at the Grade Level Championships. Their confusion and leadership led the young Trojan team to their 5th consecutive state appearance. Thank you seniors for continuing our amazing success!
The youngins getting ready for their last race of the year. Nice concentration ladies!
Annika is so excited for the win, she can hardly think straight!
Erin Kim exemplifies hard work and determination in the JV race. She has improved her time every race this year. The JV took 2nd place.
Kaylea Dohm finishing 2nd in the C race looking amazing! She shattered her all-best and continues to make grade strides. Get it, great strides!
Clare Bossert not intimidated at all by tallness!
Great shot of the flow of a race.
JV having a reflective moment after the race.
Anna French leads the Trojans to a 2nd place finish. The young Trojans handled the heat and competition magnificently as the championship part of the season began in earnest.
Forty runners did not finish the day as conditions were very challenging. The Saugus girls were tough as the heat was not a factor for the team from California.
Michaela ran her best race of the year finishing 20th overall. She slowly is rounding into form as the season progresses.
Past and Present share a moment: L to R - McKenna Evans, Kristine Keller-Miller, Annika Halverson, Evelyn Frenz, Libby Johnson
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