Grace Drietz at the end of the race.

Just short: ‘Girls ran their hearts out’

•Coach Allyson Pesek praised her girl runners

Everyone knew it would be a long shot. Only two girls cross country teams emerge from the Section 3A Tournament into state.
And it was crowded at the top.
Canby/Minneota hoped to sneak in. But it just didn’t happen.
Murray County Central, led by four-time winner Morgan Gehl, won the championship, Luverne finished second and 37 points further back, Canby/Minneota.
“They ran their little hearts out,” said Canby/Minneota Coach Allyson Pesek.
Grace Drietz ran her usual outstanding race and finished third behind Gehl and Tenley Nelson of Luverne. And eighth grader Braelyn Merritt finished eighth and qualified for state along with Drietz.
But after that, Canby/Minneota’s remaining three just didn’t finish high enough.
McKenzie Ruether, a two-time state runner, finished back in 21st place with Claire Stoks in 27th and Faith Traen further back in 39th place.
“Tonight did not quite go as we had hoped, but Section 3A is tough,” said Coach Pesek.
Drietz, who has placed on the podium at state the last two years will take her act back to the big show at St. Olaf College in Northfield next weekend.
She lamented when asked about the team not making it to state. “It was really close,” she said, adding, “Our girls have been working hard.”
Although Drietz “felt good” running in pleasant weather, she admitted she was “hurtin’” when she crossed the finish line.
The Canby/Minneota runner has been running behind Gehl for years, and this was no exception. “I was trying to closer to her,” she said.
Drietz was proud of eighth grade teammate Braelyn Merritt for also making it to state. “She’s really something,” said the girls leading runner.
“We are proud of our girls for the hard fought races they ran today and all season,” said Pesek.
 “They came out with a third place finish out of 17 complete teams.
  While falling short of a team in state, the coach said, “We do not hang our heads”
Traen is the only senior leaving the team and Pesek added, “As I said with the boys, the future is bright.”

Girls Team Scores: 1. Murray County Central 56; 2. Luverne 59; 3. Canby/Minneota 95; 4. Redwood Valley 96; 5. Pipestone Area 188; 6. Southwest Minnesota Christian-Edgerton 192; 7. Springfield/Cedar Mountain 194; 8. Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 202; 9. Windom Area 228; 10. Mt. Lake Area-Comfrey 301; 11. Adrian 334; 12. Montevideo 344; 13. BOLD-Buffalo Lake-Hector 350; 14. Wabasso 374; 15. Yellow Medicine East 386; 16. Lakeview 408; 17. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 425.
TOP 10: 1. Morgan Gehl, MCC, 18:03; 2 Tenley Nelson, Luverne, 18:47.2; 3. Grace Drietz, Canby/Minneota, 19:21.1; 4. Maddie LeSage, Redwood Valley, 19:48,7; 5. Jenne DeBates, Luverne, 19:49.41; 6. Gracie Bucher, Windom Area, 20:00.7; 7. Ashley Overgaauw, MCC, 20:02.4; 8. Amanda Overgaauy, MCC, 20:03.2; 9. Braelyn Merritt, Canby-Minneota, 20:05.4; 10. Lilly McCone, Springfield, 20:13.4.
Besides MCC and Luverne, also qualifying for state were: Drietz, LeSage, Bucher, Merritt, McCone; Chloe Haven of Wabasso, Taylor Post of SWMC/Edgerton and Jasmine Barnes of Redwood Valley.
CANBY/MINNEOTA: 3. Drietz, 19:21.09; 9. Merritt, 20:05.4; 21. McKenzie Ruether, 21:01.2; 27. Claire Stoks, 21:29.4; 39. Faith Traen, 22:11.19.
The Canby/Minneota squad also qualified as a Gold Medal Athletic Team for their grade point average above 3.75.

Braelyn Merritt

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