Section 8AA powers square off at Rocori as Willmar girls edge Alexandria by one point

The Alexandria and Willmar girls cross country teams are two of the top contenders in the Section 8AA field, and it played out that way at the Rocori Invite on Thursday.

Willmar edged Alexandria by just one point, 42 to 43, as another good section team in Rocori finished third in the girls’ race with 56 points.

“Our girls ran well with Aleah Miller leading the team with an impressive time of 19:07,” head coach Travis Hochhalter said. “The girls believed in themselves and pushed through with tough races for the day.”

Miller won the individual race, while teammate Emma Ecker was right behind in second place with a 5K time of 19:19.1. Willmar’s Erin Eilers and Lauren Eilers were third and fourth, while an 8th-place finish for Nina Dawson proved important too.

Alexandria’s next in line behind Miller and Ecker was Jaelyn Miller as she finished ninth in 20:22.5. Brynn Kosters was 11th (20:23.4) and Giselle Jahner was 21st (21:07.1) to finish off the team scoring.

Brynn Cross (36th, 22:34.2) and Bobbi Nichols (39th, 22:49.6) also ran varsity. Across all age divisions, the Alexandria girls had 15 season-best times and six personal records Thursday.

Senior Joel Brault continues to have a good start to the season for the Alexandria boys as he finished fourth overall in 17:04.8. That was part of a fourth-place team finish for the Cardinals after posting 92 points. Annandale won the meet with 66 points.

Harrison Greathouse was Alexandria’s second runner in ninth place overall with a time of 17:48.5. Landon Runge (11th, 17:59.4), Tom Wilmesmeier (32nd, 18:50.3), Luke Panther (38th, 19:05.8) and Nolan Peterson (45th, 19:24.3) finished off the Cardinals’ varsity lineup.

In total, the Alexandria boys had 18 season bests and 12 personal records against all age divisions at Rocori.

ROCORI INVITE

GIRLS TEAM SCORES - Willmar - 42; Alexandria - 43; Rocori - 56; Moorhead - 78; Annandale - 152; Little Falls - 194; Fargo South - 202; Cambridge-Isanti - 220; St. Cloud Apollo - 230; Sauk Rapids-Rice - 250

BOYS TEAM SCORES - Annandale - 66; Willmar - 72; Moorhead - 83; Alexandria - 92; Cambridge-Isanti - 108; St. Cloud Apollo - 156; Rocori - 170; Little Falls - 188; Sauk Rapids-Rice - 231; St. Cloud Tech - 257