Section 6AAA was originally set up to kick off on Wednesday, at Gale Woods Farm, but was delayed due to weather. With nerves and excitement put on hold for 2 days, both Wayzata teams came to punch their tickets to State on Friday, and were not disappointed.
On the girls side, All 7 runners finished in the top 30, with 3 being named to the All-Section Team. Sienna Blomberg led the way finishing 3rd with an 18:32 followed by Faith Sundet at 5th with an 18:43. Alissa Ledman came in 10th, with a 19:12. Naoko Neitz and Adele Stark finished back to back 15th and 16th overall, with a 19:21 and 19:27. Brianna Ledman and Sabrina Shrestha drove the team home finishing 21st and 26th of 55 runners in the race.
The team finished 2nd by just 3 points to Edina, and secured their trip to Majestic Oaks next weekend for the State meet. One of the girls stated “We are really coming together as a group. We know that there are some really good teams that are going to challenge us, but we’re ready to show what we can do.”
The boys team put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten! All 7 runners finished in the top 20, and the ending was one for the books. Minneapolis Washburn and Wayzata are 2 of the top favorites in the state, and competed head to head for just the second time this year. At The Griak Invitational in September, Washburn bested Wayzata by 26 points. Wayzata was looking for redemption.
Thomas Berndt came in first for the Trojans at 15:51 followed by Charlie Williams at 15:57. Blake Knutson came in 10th followed directly by Will Chabot and Benjamin Raisanen. Ryan Haag and Troy Tong battled for 17th and 18th place overall with times of 16:34 and 16:38.
Two runners sprinted to the finish, one from Washburn and one from Wayzata, shoulder to shoulder through the finish line. After much anticipation, a DQ was announced, earning Wayzata the win.
Both teams will compete at the MSHSL Class AAA State Championship meet next Saturday, November 7th at the brand new, never before run state course in Ham Lake. No doubt that these rematches will be intense and full of dramatic endings.