The weather
was cold and blustery at the Brooktree Golf Club in Owatonna on Thursday
afternoon, Oct. 25 but that didn't deter the FHS girls' cross-country team from
a superlative team performance.
The Tigers claimed sixth-place in the 16-team Section 1AA meet that was
highlighted by Maricia Pacheco's 12th-place finish (15:37.3). The junior
captain's personal-best time earned her a berth in the state meet on Saturday,
Nov. 3 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Head coach
Heidi Revels was ecstatic with her team's effort and results and remarked,
"I am so happy for our team with the huge improvement from last year. To
go from third to last to sixth-place this year is very exciting. I was hoping
we could get 10th and the girls certainly exceeded my expectations. It is a
testament to all their hard work."
FHS totaled
198 points with a team total time of 1:21.27.5 for an average individual time
of 16:17.5 and an impressive five-runner spread of 1:05.7. Maricia Pacheco certainly earned her
state berth as she needed to pass two competitors in the final 50-100 yards to
cop the eighth and final state berth.
A new rule instituted by the MSHSL for this fall allows for the
fastest eight times from teams outside of the top two teams to make their way
to state.
"It was
so thrilling to see Maricia come from behind and earn that final spot,"
said Revels. "She's a great
kid, a very harder worker, a good student, and such a well-rounded person and
she really deserved it." Pacheco becomes the first Farmington girl to race
in the state meet since boys' head coach Lisa Lippold (then Dingman) ran in the
1997 and 1998 meets.
Sophomore
Sofia Chadwick, who was Farmington's top finisher in last year's sectional with
a 27th-place finish, was 20th in 15:46.2.
Eighth-grader Sami Hyytinen completed a sensational first year with a
clocking of 16:40.6 and 54th overall.
Senior captain Maria Kiminski closed out her career a step behind
Hyytinen in 16:40.7 for 55th place.
Maricella Pacheco, Maricia's ninth-grade sister, was the Tigers fifth
scorer with a time of 16:42.9 for 57th.
Sophomore Alexis Johnson was 76th in 17:06.8 and seventh-grader
Alexandra Laube showed promise for the future with a run of 17:24.4, good for
88th place among the 111 varsity participants.
Lakeville
North won the 1AA team title again with 41 points with Lakeville South second
(79) for the second year in a row with Northfield (137) third. Albert Lea, the
Big Nine champs, finished fourth (148) and Rochester Mayo (179) was fifth. Lakeville North, ranked sixth in AA,
placed girls 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 15th on the raw and dreary day. The
Panthers had a sensational time spread of just 48.7 seconds for their five
fastest racers with an average time of 15:19 per runner.
Taylor
Perkins, a senior, was ranked ninth in the state and didn't disappoint for the
Section 1AA runner-up squad. The Panther runner won the individual title in
14:30.6 to beat Lakeville South sophomore Kaytlyn Larson (14:50.7) by 20
seconds. Larson's teammate,
sophomore Annie Brekken was third in 15:10.2 and another Cougar runner, junior
Erin Kilbride, was eighth in 15:21.6
Other state
qualifiers include:
Kaia Bierman
(11) - Northfield (fourth in 15:11.5)
Crissy Monson (12) - Albert Lea (fifth
in 15:12.3)
Haley
Splinter (12) - Austin (sixth in 15:16.8)
Madison
Overby (9) - Austin (seventh in 15:18.1)
Caitlyn
Domeyer (9) - Winona (ninth in 15:22)
Elise
Topazin (12) - Rochester Century (10th in 15:27.5)
Sophie
Butterfass (7) - Rochester Mayo (11th in 15:37.3)
Section 1AA
Team Results
1) Lakeville South - 41
2) Lakeville North - 79
3) Northfield -
137
4) Albert Lea -
148
5) Rochester Mayo - 179
6) Farmington -
186
7) New Prague -
229
8) Austin -
233
9) Rochester Century -235
10) Red Wing
-
241
11) Owatonna
-
258
12)
Rochester J.M. -
262
13) Winona
-
277
14) Hastings
-
345
15)
Faribault -
350
16)
Kasson-Mantorville 481
