Even when the race was over, Hanna Grinaker didn't quit running Thursday at Johnson Park in Moorhead.
The Detroit Lakes senior was tardy to the awards stand because she was doing her cool down.
"She's a once-in-a-lifetime type of kid," Detroit Lakes coach Jon Freeman said. "They really don't make a high school race long enough for her."
In her final section meet, Grinaker cruised to her third straight individual girls title at the Minnesota Class 2A, Section 8 cross country meet.
She covered the 4,000-meter course in 15 minutes, 21 seconds.
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"It's always special," said Grinaker, who finished second at the Class 2A state meet last season. "I think winning any kind of race like this is exciting. It's nice to hold my title like that."
Like Grinaker, the Moorhead boys rolled to the team title. The Spuds, who finished with 36 points, had five runners place in the top 12. All seven of their runners finished in the top 20.
Moorhead is making its fifth consecutive trip to the state meet, scheduled for Nov. 5 in Northfield.
"We're really proud of it," said Moorhead sophomore Tyler Iverson, who clocked a 16:54 and placed second in the boys race. "We have a very close, tight bunch of guys. It's like my family."
Becker put five runners in the top 20 in winning the girls team title with 57 points. Brainerd was second with 86 and its coach, Dave Herath, was named the section girls coach of the year.
Grinaker grabbed the early lead in the girls race, battled a strong wind, and never looked back. She finished 15 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Heidi Peterson, an eighth-grader from Sartell.
Grinaker said her strategy was to run from the front.
"I like to feel like I have the edge on my competition," she said.
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"I'm extremely proud of her efforts," Freeman added. "She's getting what she deserves. She puts so much time into this."
On the boys side, no team could contend with the Spuds' pack approach.
Despite having just one senior, Moorhead finished 39 points ahead of second-place Brainerd, which was paced by individual winner Justin Tyner. The junior covered the 5,000-meter course in a time of 16:41.
Senior Brad Rassier, fifth place, and junior Tom Sederquist, sixth, finished in the top 10 for the Spuds, joining Iverson.
"We're very pleased with the final result, but we are not satisfied," said Moorhead coach Tom Dooher, named section boys coach of the year.
The Spuds are pushing for a top-five finish at the state meet.
"The team wants to go to the state meet and do a respectable job representing Moorhead," Dooher said. "This year we are in position to do that."
Girls results
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Team totals: Becker 57, Brainerd 86, Sartell 90, Fergus Falls 105, Grand Rapids 111, Moorhead 137, Alexandria 224, Detroit Lakes 226, Little Falls 231, Bemidji 258, Rocori 275, Sauk Rapids-Rice 339, St. Cloud Tech 352, St. Cloud Apollo 378, Thief River Falls 443.
Top 10 (state qualifiers)
1, Grinaker, Detroit Lakes, 15:21. 2, Peterson, Sartell, 15:36. 3, Gudmundson, Becker, 15:38. 4, Pauquette, Detroit Lakes, 15:38. 5, Smith, Becker, 15:38. 6, Vold, Sartell, 15:39. 7, Dingman, Rocori, 15:42. 8, McAllister, Brainerd, 15:43. 9, VanWechel, Fergus Falls, 15:44. 10, Holmes, Brainerd, 15:44.
Other area finishers
Fergus Falls (105): 12, Shea 16:01. 18, Zenner 16:17. 19, Vogt 16:17. 47, Rengel 17:06. 57, Draxten 17:23. 63, Kitzman 17:38.
Moorhead (137): 17, Stordahl 16:16. 22, Mjones 16:22. 26, Henne 16:25. 34, Slette 16:37. 38, Hest 16:49. 48, Klungtvedt 17:08. 49, Doda 17:09.
Detroit Lakes (226): 72, Klein 18:14. 74, Wilson 18:27. 75, Ammons 18:28. 83, Berg 18:43. 84, Anderson 18:53.
Boys results
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Team totals: Moorhead 36, Brainerd 75, Alexandria 100, Bemidji 142, Grand Rapids 143, Detroit Lakes 156, Sauk Rapids-Rice 165, Sartell 175, St. Cloud Tech 236, Rocori 279, Little Falls 334, Becker 353, Fergus Falls 354, Thief River Falls 413, St. Cloud Apollo 416.
Top 10 (state qualifiers)
1, Tyner, Brainerd, 16:41. 2, Iverson, Moorhead, 16:54. 3, McConnell, Sauk Rapids-Rice, 17:08. 4, Wyborny, Detroit Lakes, 17:10. 5, Rassier, Moorhead, 17:11. 6, Sederquist, Moorhead, 17:17. 7, Gibeau, Grand Rapids, 17:20. 8, Smith, Bemidji, 17:22. 9, Wilson, Alexandria, 17:23. 10, Noll, Alexandria, 17:28.
Other area finishers
Moorhead (36): 11, Lillehaugen 17:35. 12, Hanson 17:37. 14, Lindaas 17:46. 19, Nelson 17:52.
Detroit Lakes (156): 26, Twig 18:05. 36, Langworthy 18:24. 42, Jasken 18:28. 48, Weiss 18:36. 79, Bentley 19:51. 85, Shane 20:05.
Fergus Falls (354): 46, Vatnsdal 18:35. 56, Johnson 18:51. 58, Ekren 18:55. 95, Demuth 21:02. 99, Reiten 21:31. 100, Wicklund 21:45. 105, Gorman 23:29.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513
