The Owatonna cross country season is coming to an end after the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Boys Cross Country team had two state qualifiers, senior Leyton Williams and junior Jack Sorenson. The girls team qualified as a whole when they placed second at the section meet. Altogether, Owatonna’s cross country teams thrived this season.
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OHS girls cross country team huddles while Coach Tasheena Cooke talks to them during warm ups.
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OHS girls cross country team poses for a picture together after the race.
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Sophomore Paige Thompson sets her pace at the beginning of the race.
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Eighth Grader Clara Sennot leads the front of the pack during the race
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Senior Anna Cox finishes the race strong by sprinting towards the finish.
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The Owatonna Girls Cross Country team had an incredible season and a great run at the state meet. They finished in 15th place. Senior Carsyn Brady has been the team’s top runner this season. Brady finished in 45 at the state meet. Brady said, “I’m so glad that I finished as strong as I did and I’m really happy with not only my placement but the team’s as well. I’m also really glad to end the season on a high note.” Brady has made it to state a total of five times as an individual.
The girls team will be losing a total of two seniors for the next season. Coach Dan Leer said, “This is an amazing experience for the girls to run and to finish their season at an event like this. I have a lot of hope that all our younger girls will continue to strive for this in future years.” It will be thrilling to see how the girls team will continue their efforts to achieve all their goals again next season. For the girls, it was a given they were continuously putting in the work from day to day to be able to achieve their goal of going to state.
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State Qualifiers Jack Sorenson and Leyton Williams pose for a picture with Coaches Luke Holt and Jake Jensen
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Senior Leyton Williams running his last race at the state cross country meet.
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Junior Jack Sorenson starts sprinting towards the finish line.
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Senior Leyton Williams starts sprinting aggressively towards the finish line.
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The boys’ team consistently improved in races and their personal times, while also encouraging each other for constant progress throughout the season.
Senior Leyton Williams placed 98 with a final time of 16:49.30, his best of the season. Williams said, “I really enjoyed this race because I wasn’t nervous at all and it was just an exciting experience.” With this being Williams’ last race as a senior, he has seen a lot of improvement from himself and overall good times throughout the season.
Junior Jack Sorenson placed 43 with a time of 16:16.70. After the race, Sorenson said, “It was a really good season for me and I accomplished a lot of things I wanted to do at the end of the year.” Unlike Williams, Sorenson still has another year of room for improvement and has high aspirations to make it to state again.
