Thomas Ruhl led the Brainerd boys with a 29th-place finish in 16:17.27 at the Class 3A State Cross-Country Meet Saturday, Nov. 6, at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Ruhl’s finish narrowly missed the All-State cut. Still he helped the Warrior boys finish 15th as a team in the meet with 341 points.
“Thomas had a great time drop,” Brainerd head coach Dave Herath said. “About a 20 second personal best for him. He was really shooting for trying to be All-State, which is tough in the big-school class and he was in the top 25 until the last 15 to 16 yards and I think if he would’ve been two seconds faster he would’ve been in the low 20s instead of 29th. He had nothing left in the tank and left it all out on the rest of course. Nothing to hang your head about, but he was so close.”
Adam Cady ran a 17:13.98 good enough for second on Brainerd’s team. Braden Capelle finished in 17:30.54 while Bennet Capelle was one spot behind him in 17:30.75.
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Michael Howe was the fifth Brainerd runner in 17:37.61. Nolan Thiesse raced in 17:48.81 and Ben Stadum in 18:44.63 for the Warrior boys.
“It’s a senior dominated group that’s set their goal early to getting to the state meet,” Herath said. “I could not be prouder of those boys. We had great leadership this year and that goes a long way. They enjoyed every minute of being down there. Four of the seven runners had lifetime bests and the other three were within a few seconds of their best.”
Madi Miller was the only Brainerd girl represented in the Class 3A State meet and finished in 19:53.68, which put her in 68th.
“She did so amazing for a ninth grader and her first state app\u0009earance by herself,” Herath said. “She had a 10 second personal best and had a great, great race. She weathered the first-mile storm of people going out so quickly and then by the end she worked her way up to 68th. She beat 100 kids and got valuable experience and finally broke 20 minutes.”
Boys results
Team scores: 1-Wayzata 96, 2-Minneapolis Southwest 118, 3-Mounds View 125, 4-Minnetonka 135, 5-Rosemount 170, 6-Lakeville North 172, 7-Stillwater 182, 8-Roseville 203, 9-Buffalo 205, 10-White Bear Lake 249, 11-Edina 258, 12-Lakeville South 294, 13-Bloomington Jefferson 318, 14-Centennial 330, 15-Brainerd 341, 16-Anoka 348
Individual winner: 1-Nick Gilles (Minnetonka) 15:22.81
Brainerd results: 29-Thomas Ruhl 16:17.27, 107-Adam Cady 17:13.98, 127-Braden Capelle 17:30.54, 128-Bennet Capelle 17:30.75, 136-Michael Howe 17:37.61, 143-Nolan Thiesse 17:48.81, 158-Ben Stadum 18:44.63
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Girls results
Team scores: 1-Edina 75, 2-Wayzata 100, 3-Prior Lake 117, 4-STMA 176, 5-Farmington 177, 6-Mounds View 178, 7-Hopkins 186, 8-Eagan 197, 9-Forest Lake 251, 10-Lakeville South 262, 11-Eastview 263, 12-Stillwater 297, 13-Bemidji 303, 14-Champlin Park 306, 15-Centennial 339, 16-Woodbury 384
Individual winner: Ali Weimer (STMA) 17:42.81
Brainerd results: 68-Madi Miller 19:53.68
CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
