Two members of the Laker cross-country teams competed at the State Boys and Girls Cross-Country Meet at St. Olaf College, Saturday.

Freshman Lauryn Ankeny competed for the Laker girls, placing 23rd overall during her second state competition, while junior Maeson Tank ran for the Laker boys, earning 56th place during his first state meet.

Ankeny was fourth overall at the Section 6A Meet one week earlier while Tank was ninth at the section meet.

Perham edged St. Cloud Cathedral for the girls’ Class A team title with Section 6A champion Staples-Motley earning third.  In the boys’ meet, Heritage Christian edged Luverne by three points for the title, while Perham was third and Section 6A champion S-M was sixth.

“I thought Lauryn and Maeson ran really well,” coach Jennifer Johnsrud said.  “Lauryn ran 12 seconds faster than last year with somewhat worse conditions and they both ran one of their fastest times of the season on a difficult course.”

The cross-country teams will lose  seven athletes to graduation from this year’s team — James Ward, Jaden Anderson, Nick Ankeny, Elsey Hagen, Molly Hjelm, Alexx Carlson and Kiearra Wilmes.  Ward, Ankeny, Hagen, Carlson and Wilmes served as captains for the 2022 season.

State Cross-Country

Jade Rypkema, of Nevis, earned the Class A girls’ individual title with a time of 17:43 to edge Amanda Overgaauw, of Murray County Central, by five seconds for the title.

Overgaauw’s twin sister, Ashley, placed third with a time of 18:52 to help MCC place fourth as a team with 149 points behind Perham (56), St. Cloud Cathedral (78) and Staples-Motley (107).

Wadena-Deer Creek, which edged the Lakers for the second team berth at state, was ninth overall with 248 points.

Lauryn Ankeny ran a personal-best time of 19:46 to place 23rd overall during her second meet after placing 19th overall last year.

Audrey Brownell, of S-M, who won the Section 6A girls’ title this season, placed seventh overall this year at state with a time of 18:59, while Caroline Kuehne, of LPGE, who was second at the section meet, placed ninth.

•  In the boys’ competition, Heritage Christian won a close team competition by three points over runner-up Luverne (99-102) with Perham placing third, Park Rapids fourth, Greenway-Nashwauk-Keewatin fifth and Section 6A champion Staples-Motley earning sixth with 188 points.

Brandon Kampsen, of Sauk Centre, closed out his high school career with a state title, edging the runner-up from Nova Classical by six seconds with a personal-best of 15:49.

Maeson Tank, who barely missed qualifying to state last fall, was 56th overall with a time of 17:12, one of his fastest times ever.

Bertha-Hewitt, which placed second in the Section 6A Meet, was right behind S-M in seventh place in the Class A team race with 200 points. There were just under 160 runners in each race.

“They both raced as well as we had hoped and I am very pleased with their performance,” coach Johnsrud said.  “The course is not as well-groomed as we have used all season and has some steep hills at difficult points in the race.

“I am thrilled that both runners will be returning next season.”

at State Class A Boys and Girls Cross-Country Meet

Girls varsity team results:  (1) Perham 56  (2) St. Cloud Cathedral 78  (3) Staples-Motley 107  (4) Murray County Central-Fulda 149  (5) Lake City 167  (6) Canby-Minneota 200, Northwest Nighthawks 3210, Hawley 238, WDC 248, Rochester Lourdes 253, Ely 278, Minnehaha Academy 285, Nova Classical Academy 286, Carlton-Wrenshall 302, GFW 367, Sibley East 385

Top 10 finishers:  (1) Jade Rypkema, Nevis 17:43  (2) Amanda Overgaauw, Murray Cty Cen 17:48  (3) Ashley Overgaauw, MCC 18:52  (4) Sonja Semling, Cotter 18:53  (5) Jenna DeBates, Luv 18:54  (6) Angalie Aho, United N Cen 18:54  (7) Audrey Brownell, Stap-Mot 18:59  (8) Addison Hoof, Lester Prairie 19:01  (9) Caroline Kuehne, LPGE 19:01  (10) Kaylee Walklin, Windom 19:04

Minnewaska Area times:   (23) Lauryn Ankeny, Minnewaska 19:46 . . . 158 total runners

Boys varsity team results:  (1) Heritage Christian  99  (2) Luverne 102  (3) Perham 133  (4) Park Rapids 139  (5) Greenway-Nash-Kee 157  (6) Staples-Motley 188, Bertha Hewitt 200, Redwood Valley 204, St. Cloud Cathedral 221, St. John’s Prep 222, Cotter 235, Minnehaha Academy 242, Moose Lake-WR 297, LA-RP-H 321, Mankato Loyola-Cleveland 333, Lake Crystal-WM-Nicollet 348

Top 10 finishers:  (1) Brandon Kampsen, SC 15:49  (2) Henry Karelitz, Nova Classical 15:55  (3) Bjorn Anderson, Perham 15:57  (4) Will Ahrens, Redwood 16:07  (5) Owen Janiszeski, Luv 16:09  (6) Noah Foster, Crom-Wright 16:14  (7) Cole Stencel, Maple River 16:24  (8) Brady Rach, BH 16:27  (9) Garrison Hubka, Kingsland 16:29  (10) Noah Huot, Park Rapids 16:30

Minnewaska Area times:   (56) Maeson Tank, Minnewaska 17:12 . . . 160 total runners