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current. mnsun. com Edina Fall Sports Preview • Thursday, August 28, 2025 Page 11
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will pay off.” The captains estimated that more than 70 girls came to practices the first week.
Eighth-grade phenom Lyla Drayna is the runner everyone knows about. As a seventh-grader, she finished seventh in the Minnesota State High School League’ s Class AAA Meet at the University of Minnesota.
“ The captains are amazing leaders and very sweet girls,” Drayna said.
As the season progresses, coach Gabrielson will try to put together the best lineup for section and state competition. One of the ways he motivates athletes is challenging them to beat their personal records. The side benefits of being on the cross country team are good health and the chance to follow a path to a lifetime sport.”
The captains don’ t just organize summer workouts, they also coordinate team activities and design team apparel. This year the girls are wearing pink T-shirts with kelly-green lettering.
“ When have meets, we wear the shirts to school that day,” captain Lillian Dodd said.“ That ignites the team.
Nelson said she enjoys organizing the team huddles every day. Cross country is a demanding sport and the huddle is a reminder that each member of the team is part of a support system.
New members of the team are learning team traditions early in the season. At the team camp, the girls participated in a decathlon. Before Halloween, the girls dress in costumes and participate in a scavenger hunt.
“ And we run the Hornet Mile under the lights at the stadium,” Nelson noted.
Dodd mentioned that one of her favorite traditions is the Ice Cream Run around Lake Harriet.
Buses take the Hornets to their meets, and Tooley said the bus rides are always fun.“ We sing our school song on the bus and a song thanking our driver,” she said.“ The vibe around the team is really good and, as captains, we want to make it fun.”
Dodd likes the way the girls cross country program connects with alumni.“ Sometimes runners from the past will run with us,” she said.“ We want to stay connected with them.”
“ One of the best parts of the season for me is going to Iowa to race,” Howe said.“ We bond on the bus ride and have fun staying at the hotel.”
The captains started a new tradition after practice recently. Instead of just posing for a picture, the captains had their picture taken while they ran. A photographer noticed that the captains were holding hands. How’ s that for friendship and solidarity?
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to have Jamie Kirkpatrick as his head coach in cross country.“ Jamie is the best in the state,” he said.“ I learn from him every day.”
Kirkpatrick’ s resume includes two state team titles( the other coming in 2018), several other topthree finishes at state and a state individual champion, Patrick Roos.
So who will join Sander Ohe in the varsity line-up this season?
One of the runners to watch is Isaak Koivula-Schadow, the former Lake Conference middle school individual champion. In winning that title, Koivula-Schadow finished ahead of some of the best young runners in the state
– boys from Wayzata, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and St. Michael-Albertville.
“ We put in a lot of miles this summer to get ready for the season,” Koivula-Schadow said.
“ We are looking to put in the work and compete for state,” Tyler Notermann said.“ Sander is a great example for us every day.”
Rocco Hawthorne, an alternate on the state championship team last season, who is coming off a good spring track season, said,“ It is inspiring to have a coach like Jamie.”
Kirkpatrick is known for his ability to bring his teams to a peak year after year.
“ You can never count Edina out,” Wayzata head coach Popp said.
One of Edina’ s highlights every year is an out-of-state meet, usually in Iowa. The trip helps the Hornets build stronger friendships within the team.
Three big races at the end of the season are the focus of Edina’ s training. First is the Lake Conference Meet, then comes the Section 6AAA Meet and, finally, there is the State Class AAA Meet on the Les Bolstad Golf Course at the University of Minnesota.
Edina is perennially a top-three finisher in the conference meet and almost always wins one of the two state berths out of Section 6AAA. Beyond that is a chance to step onto the podium at state with 4,000 cross country fans cheering and applauding as medals are awarded.