Boys’ Cross Country Team Earns 7th place at State Posted on November 5, 2023 in Activities, Press Releases, Student NewsTagged all-state, citizenship, leadership, Preparatory Nick Hansen ’24 earns third place in championship race MSHSL State Cross Country Class A Meet The Cross Country teams ended a historically successful season in spectacular fashion! On Saturday, November 4, our athletes competed at the state cross country meet at the Les Bolstad Golf Course on the U of M campus on November 4. 160 athletes competed in the meet. The boys’ team, after winning their second Section 5A Championship title, were excited for a second team trip to the Minnesota State Class A Championship. The Prep School improved on its Historic State Class A 10th Place finish in 2022 with an even more impressive seventh place finish in 2023! Led by Seniors Nick Hansen ’24, Zack Meyer ’24, Aaron Ruesink ’24, and Po-Huan Lu ’24, Junior Ben Suo ’25, Sophomore Laurenz Haselbock ’26 and Freshman Ryan Mahowald ’27, the team proved to be up for the challenge and finished with TWO ALL-STATE runners! Nick Hansen ’24 placed third in the Class A Boys’s race! Zach Meyer ’24 placed 21st! Team individual results: THIRD PLACE and ALL-STATE; Nick Hansen ’24 21st Place and ALL-STATE; Zach Meyer ’24 56th Place; Ben Suo ’25 111th Place; Aaron Ruesink ’24 135th Place; Po-Huan Lu ’24 136th Place; Laurenz Haselbock ’26 150th Place; Ryan Mahowald ’27 Team Alternates: Lane McIntyre ’26. Will Vix ’26, Brett Penk ’25, and Patrick Duffy ’24 Nick Hansen Earns 3rd Place at State Cross Country Meet Congratulations to Nick Hansen ‘24 for an excellent third place finish in the MSHSL Class A State Cross Country race! Nick had an outstanding race time of 15:56.6. Nick stayed with the lead pack of runners throughout the race and had a spectacular sprint to the finish line. Nick is the son of Denise and Greg Hansen of St. Joseph. He is the brother of Isaac ’19 and Holly ’22. Nick is looking forward to competing in his senior track and field season this spring. He was a part of the 4x800m relay team that won the 2023 state championship title. Nick also placed 5th in the 2023 state track and field 3200 race. Zach Meyer Earns 21st Place at State Cross Country Meet Congratulations to Zach Meyer ’24 for an excellent 21st place finish in the MSHSL Class A State Cross Country race! He earned all -state honors! This finish comes after a particularly tough slip and fall while running on the course. Zach showed his resilience and still managed to complete the race with the incredible time of 16:47.6. Zach is the son of Jai and Andy Meyer of St. Joseph. He is the brother of Ben and Sam ’22. Zach is is looking forward to competing in his senior track and field season this spring. He was a part of the 4x800m relay team that won the 2023 state championship title. Zach placed 4th in the state 800 race. He was also part of the 4×400 relay that earned 5th place at the state meet. Coaches’ Honors Coaches Lance Nydeen and Stephen Woods ’09 were honored with Section 5A Head Boys’ Coach and Assistant Boys’ Coach of the Year Awards by the Minnesota State High School Cross Country Coaches Association! This is Stephen Wood’s Second year in a row earning the Assistant Class A Boys Coach of the Year and Lance Nydeen’s Second Class A Boys Head Coach of the Year honor. The team is also coached by Kurt Salzl ’87, who has coached Nick and Zach in track and cross country since their 7th grade seasons.
