stillwatergazette . com Stillwater Ponies Fall Sports Preview • Friday , September 6 , 2024 Page 19

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meet 15 times , starting with its inaugural appearance in 1979 . The Ponies have also qualified for state in 1980 , 1981 , 1983 , 1986 , 1989 , 1992 , 1993 , 2000 , 2005 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2021 and 2022 . Prior to consecutive fifthplace finishes in 2018 and 2019 , Stillwater ’ s highest showing at state was sixth place in 1980 , 1983 and 2005 .

• Stillwater has produced three individual state champions in the program ’ s history , including Marta Wilson in 1977 — the final year of a one-class state meet . Ladia Albertson-Junkans ran to a gold medal as a sophomore in 2001 and Ana Weaver added another state title for the Ponies in 2019 . Weaver also won the Cross Country Showcase in 2020 , which was a replacement meet with a state-caliber field after the MSHSL state meet was canceled due to the pandemic .

Weaver , who set the 5,000-meter state record for a cross country race when she posted a time of 16:42.6 as a senior , was presented the Gatorade Minnesota Girls Cross Country Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020 , an honor based on athletic excellence , academic achievement and exemplary character .

Wilson was inducted into the St . Croix Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and Albertson-Junkans joined her in the Hall of Fame as a member of the 2018 induction class . Albertson-Junkans was a four-time state qualifier in cross country for the Ponies before embarking on an All-American career at the University of Minnesota .

• Second-year head coach Rob Greer has been involved with the program starting as an assistant since 2019 . He has coached kids and adults and also raced competitively for more than a decade in distances that range from 5-kilometers and beyond — way beyond . In addition to half-marathons and marathons , Greer has completed 100-mile events and even multi-day ultramarathons measuring 252 , 314 and 326 miles . Jenny Archibald enters her second season as an assistant coach with the Ponies .

• Last year marked the first time in more than three decades the Minnesota state cross-country meet was held at a site other than St . Olaf College in Northfield . The Minnesota State High School League also started charging admission a year ago when the state meet moved to the University of Minnesota ’ s Les Bolstad Golf Course , which previously hosted the event from 1964 to 1990 . Arrowwood Golf Course in Alexandria was the state meet site in 1991 before moving to St . Olaf College in 1992 .

The inaugural girls ’ cross-country state meet was

Sophomore Brynne Laska and senior Kathryn Wiens are returning members for the Stillwater girls crosscountry team .

held in 1975 . Prior to that , however , the boys state meet was held at Northrop Field at the U of M in 1943 and then at Lake Nokomis Park from 1944 to 1963 . The U of M golf course originally took over hosting duties in 1964 and that extended through 1990 .

• Former Stillwater runners competing for college programs include : Annabel Lantz ( Augsburg ), Annie Kiolbasa ( Saint Louis ), Ana Weaver ( Utah State ), Brooke Elfert ( Northern Colorado ) and Elsa Huckels ( Michigan Tech ).

2024 Roster Seniors ( 5 ) — Evelyn Armstrong , Casey Johnston , Eden Letourneau ,

Elsie Rush and Kathryn Wiens .

Juniors ( 17 ) — Alivia Amundson , Amanda Arkell , Addison Bergstad , Ava Cybulski , Alexandra Dougherty , Abby Hellrung , Maeve Hermes , Scarlet Huelsmann , Jaclyn Jurek , Autumn Lettner , Ava Noah , Ruby Peterson ,

Anya Schultz , Greta Shockey , Quinn Sterenchuk , Ahnalie Tepp and Zola Tuccitto .

Sophomores ( 5 ) — Thalia Drexel , Brynne Laska , Lucy Schacht , Margret Wiens and Indira Williams .

Freshmen ( 10 ) — Annabelle Bliss , Amelia Bonestroo , Nikola Dawson , Lucy Drollinger , Claire Haaland , Emma Hamond , Laura Jurek , Rachel Malmgren , Erikah Peterson and Irene Wilson .