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| Lauren Peterson |
That wasn't her fault, however. As a seventh-grader this was the first year she was eligible to participate on the high school team.
Last Saturday Peterson capped a brilliant first season by finishing 131st in a 174-field of elite runners at the Class AA State Championships held at St. Olaf College in Northfield. She was just one of eight seventh-graders who qualified for the state finals.
Peterson finished the challenging 4000-meter course in 16:03.2, more than a minute slower than she ran at the Section 1AA Championships last week.
"Lauren did great considering it was her first time participating in such a big meet," Tiger coach Heidi Revels said. "She wasn't happy with her time, but we kept reminding her how amazing it is to make it to state and how she will know what to expect next year.
"I think it was intimidating to be one of the younger athletes and racing with such a large crowd watching. But what a great experience to be racing with the top Minnesota runners. We are so proud of her."
Earlier in the season, Peterson won all-Missota Conference honorable mention honors. She qualified for state with a sixth place showing at the Section 1AA meet.
