2009 State Boys' Cross Country Running Meet
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Eden Prairie and Plainview-Elgin-Millville win first team titles;
Aaron Bartnik of Eden Prairie and Mubarik Musa of Worthington claim first individual titles
Class A
In a race that is often dominated by seniors, sophomore Mubarik Musa of Worthington won his first individual title in his first year racing in Class A. Three of the five top finishers were non-seniors. Musa and his runner-up were racing shoulder-to-shoulder beyond the 3200-meter mark, but during the next 1000 meters Musa pulled away convincingly. His time of 16:01.8 was nearly 18 seconds faster than the competition. Musa was a Park Center student during the 2008 cross country season, and placed eighth in the Class AA meet, the highest placing ninth-grader in either class. Musa was surrounded by a stream of well-wishers from other schools beyond the finish line.
Senior Paul Koullick of The Blake School, Minneapolis, finished second, and also had a convincing lead over his nearest competitor. Koullick finished the course in 16:19.3, and improved on his third-place 2008 finish. Jake Brown, a Minnehaha Academy senior, finished third while holding off two competitors who were right on his heels. Junior Aaron Haley of Plainview-Elgin-Millville and junior Mason Ferlic of Mounds Park Academy were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Plainview-Elgin-Millville won its first title as a combined program, defeating the runner-up by just two points. Elgin-Millville won titles in 1985 and 1986, and the combined program finished in fourth place in 2008. The Bulldogs finished with 100 points, propelled by top-five finishes from Haley, second in team scoring, and junior Grant Timm, fifth in team scoring. Ninth-grader Pat Reinschmidt was third for the Bulldogs, and was 18th in team scoring. Completing the scoring positions were senior Gabe Thiel, 28th in team scoring, and junior Andrew LeBeau, 47th in team scoring.
Class AA
Junior Aaron Bartnik of Eden Prairie was among the leaders over the entire 5000-meter course and showed no signs of giving up his lead, even as he was challenged in the final 400 meters by runner-up Marty Joyce of Woodbury. Each from-the-course report announced to spectators listed Bartnik as first or second. He was part of a strong pack of nine contenders until the pack opened up beyond the 4000-meter mark, and finished in 15:55.1. Bartnik placed 29th in 2008. Joyce, a senior, ran a strong position in the race, but was not among the two or three leaders until he passed into second place approximately 400 meters from the finish line. He challenged Bartnik for the lead, but Bartnik was able to hold on for the victory. Joyce claimed second in 15:58.0.
Kemal Jarso, a senior from St. Paul Central, finished in third place (16:02.4) improving on his ninth-place showing last year. Cole O’Brien, a Burnsville sophomore, and Jake Autio, a St. Michael-Albertville senior, finished fourth (16:02.7) and fifth (16:04.8), respectively.
Eden Prairie and Wayzata exchanged places from the 2008 state meet, with the Eagles moving from runner-up to champion by outscoring Wayzata by 10 points. This was the Eagles’ first cross country championship, although they have brought home numerous top-five finishes. Bartnik led the way with his first-place finish, and fellow junior Mohamed Mohamed finished in third in team scoring. Seniors Christopher Mueller and Erick Meszaros-Jones placed third and fourth for the Eagles, eighth and 10th in team scoring. Rounding out the scoring places for Eden Prairie was junior Kyle Bratrud, 25th in team scoring. The Eagles finished with 47 points.
The Wayzata Trojans’ 57 points placed second convincingly, led by senior Oliver Haughland’s fourth-place in team scoring, and sophomore’s Josh Thorson’s fifth-place in team scoring. Burnsville finished in third, led by O’Brien, with 113 points.
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Section Tournaments
(B indicates a Bracket is available) |
| Sec. |
Date |
Site |
B |
| 1A |
October 29, 2009 |
Northern Hills, Rochester |
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| 2A |
October 29, 2009 |
moved to Fairmont as of 10-20-09 |
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| 3A |
October 29, 2009 |
Adrian Golf Course |
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| 4A |
October 29, 2009 |
Battle Creek |
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| 5A |
October 29, 2009 |
Pierz Golf Pierz |
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| 6A |
Thur., Oct. 29, 2009 |
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
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| 7A |
October 29, 2009 |
Cloquet Golf Course |
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| 8A |
Fri., Oct. 30, 2009
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Bagley |
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| 1AA |
October 29,2009 |
Owatonna |
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| 2AA |
Oct 29, 2009 |
Willmar Eagle Creek Golf Club |
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| 3AA |
RESCHEDULED to October 30, 2009
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Valleywood Golf Course |
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| 4AA |
October 28, 2009
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Goodrich Golf Course |
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| 5AA |
October 29, 3:00, 2009 |
Bassett Creek, Golden Valley |
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| 6AA |
2010
Oct 27
3:40 pm 5000 meter race |
Gale Woods Farm
7210 County Road 110 W.
Minnetrista, MN 55364
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| 7AA |
Thu Oct 29, 2009 |
2.00 p.m. Cloquet Country Club |
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| 8AA |
October 29. 2009 |
4:15 pm Little Falls |
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