The Esko boys and girls cross country represented themselves well in the state cross country meet last week in Northfield. Held on the campus of St. Olaf College, the meet features the best runners and teams in the state. Esko nabbed 13th place in the boys Class A race, while the Esko girls took 14th place in the Class A girls race.
"The meet went well and we were very pleased with how our kids ran," said Esko coach Jerry Zimny. "Several of our runners ran personal records. Kallyn Knutson was our top finisher in the girls race, placing 29th, and Marisa Shady was 48th. Both ran over 30 seconds faster than at last year's state meet."
The boys Class A race was won by Blake with Perham finishing second, and the girls Class A race was won by Adrian with Perham finishing second.
Raleigh Goessling led the boys team by placing 40th with Jackson Lindquist taking 72nd place.
"Both of them improved over last year with Jackson improving by 40 seconds," commented Zimny.
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There were other exciting moments for Esko in the meet as the Eskomos girls defeated Crosby-Ironton - the team that won the Section 7A championship - and they also had a number of runners who placed ahead of other runners from the section who had beaten them in the section meet and qualified as individuals.
"I think our experience from being there last year really helped our kids," explained Zimny. "The kids were not intimidated by the course of the competition. This was a great way to end a very solid season."
The Class AA boys championship went to Wayzata with the Class AA girls title going to Eden Prairie.
