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Gael, Manson NW girls headed to state XC

HOLSTEIN — For the sixth consecutive season the St. Edmond girls cross country team will get to compete on their home course for state medals.

The Gaels finished third with 108 team points and had three runners place in the Top-20.

“Six in a row is impressive. The cool thing about streaks, is you’re not going to have the same people each time,” said St. Edmond head coach Mike Szalat. “A lot of girls have contributed to this thing and I knew this one was going to be close.

“I’m always excited to see new kids qualify and it never gets old. I want this every year for the kids and want them to experience it. I’m just as giddy as the first team that made it to go to state.”

St. Edmond will also be represented on the boys’ side by Aaron Lursen, who set a freshman record in 17:34 with a fifth place showing. The Gael boys finished fifth.

“Aaron set the freshman record and I’m just so happy for that young man,” Szalat said. “He has put in a lot of work and yet he’s disappointed that his team didn’t make it. That’s tough and hard to see.

“This is a group of kids (boys) that are really crushed right now, as bad as you feel for them, the good part is as a coach, you know they cared.”

Manson Northwest Webster (101) also punched a girls’ state ticket with three runners in the Top-15 and two in the Top-10.

Logan-Magnolia (39) was the team champion with four counters in the top-eight.

“We knew what we were aiming for — Tri-Center and St. Edmond,” said Manson Northwest Webster head coach Theo Clark. “We were looking for black and yellow and green. St. Edmond has been running great all year long and when we seen them earlier, we weren’t at full strength.

“It was great coming in to have a game plan for every girl and that strategy worked for us. We started the season by going to Colorado to bring the team together and it truly helped bring us closer.”

For the Gael girls, junior Aubrey Bemrich had the highest finish, coming in ninth with a time of 20:58.

Anna Kolacia (21:40) and Aleksandria Aljets (21:43) were 17th and 18th respectively.

Kelli Kersten (22:29) was 21st and Sydney Schulte (58th) rounded out the Gaels’ scoring.

Also running for St. Edmond was Jacey Ash (61st in 23:58) and Caroline Shelly (69th in 24:41).

“Aubrey making it as an individual is exciting,” Szalat said. “She ran a great race.

“Maybe some are wishing they had ran a little better, but there was a ton of emotion waiting to see what had happened because it was so close.”

The St. Edmond boys finished with 126 team points. Gehlen (93) was the team champ, followed by Tri-Center (95) and St. Albert (102).

Jed Tracy reached the Top-20 with a 19th place showing (17:58). Grant Heldorfer (22nd in 18:12), Ronnie Orres (43rd in 18:58) and Hayden Mayer (51st in 19:07) rounded out the Gaels’ scoring.

Also competing for the Gaels was Drew Szalat (56th in 19:21) and Connor Bocken (102nd in 20:42).

“We haven’t made it for four years in a row, but we haven’t been this close in a while,” Szalat said. “We are going to lose Connor as a senior and Jed. We are losing way more than just a runner in Jed. He was a team leader and heart and soul of this team. It will be hard to replace him. It’s going to be hard to replace his leadership to the team and program.

“He just meant so much. I’m crushed for him and the team. I’ve seen a positive change in the direction of the program, which just makes it harder to see this.”

Manson Northwest Webster junior Maddie Moline turned in a fourth place finish in a time of 20:22.

“This is what Maddie does,” Clark said. “She puts in 250 to 300 miles during the summer.

“She has great strength and determination.”

Preslie Oswald (20:41) cracked the Top-10 in sixth.

Rounding out the Cougars scoring was Paige Condon (15th in 21:29), Abi Shannon (42nd in 23:21) and Kelsey Widlund (51st in 23:45).

Also running for the Cougars was Noelle Johnson (100th in 27:09) and Miranda Pohlman (117th in 29:11).

“Preslie and Paige qualifying as individuals was great to see,” Clark said. “This team just has a bond. They organize things to get together and we have dinners to try to bring everyone close. Preslie surprised herself finishing sixth, but I told her that’s right where you belong.”

West Bend-Mallard junior Julia Fehr just missed a state spot with a 16th place finish.

The state cross country meet will be next Saturday at Lakeside. The Class 1A girls race will be at 2 p.m. with the boys at approximately 2:30 p.m.

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