Alexandria’native Bethany Hasz won a cross country Big Ten individual championship in 2020, so it was only fitting that her twin sister, Megan, earned that same title a year later.

Megan Hasz led the sixth-ranked University of Minnesota women’s cross country program to a team championship on Oct. 29, 2021 at the Big Ten meet. Megan ran to the individual title in the 6K with a time of 20:34.5. It took a late surge as Megan passed runner-up Erika VanderLende down the stretch as the two finished less than a second apart.

The Gophers’ depth shined around Megan’s win. Abby Kohut-Jackson was seventh in 20:48.3, and Bethany Hasz added a top-10 finish by taking ninth in 20:54.4.

Anastasia Korzenowski finished 21st (21:42.2), and Tate Sweeney was 35th to secure the title for the Gophers with 72 total points. Wisconsin finished second with 78 points. It’s the third Big Ten championship in program history for the Gophers.

Bethany and Megan Hasz keep adding to their legacy at the University of Minnesota. They are now two of just three Gopher women’s runners to ever win an individual Big Ten title in cross country. Eileen Donaghy won the title with Minnesota in 1987.

The Gophers run at the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Nov. 12 in Iowa City, Iowa. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Florida.

WCA Youth basketball tournament set for Dec. 18

The West Central Area Youth Hoops Tournament will take place on Dec. 18 in Barrett and Elbow Lake.

Boys and girls basketball players in grades 4-6 are welcome to sign up for the tournament. There is a $120 entry fee.

Contact West Central Area boys basketball coach Kraig Hunter for more details or to sign up by emailing him at khunter@isd2342.org.