ST. MICHAEL, Minn. — In a sectional finish that will be talked about for years to come, the Alexandria boys delivered a clutch, shoulder-to-shoulder performance to place second at Thursday’s Section 8AAA Championships —just three points off the title and one point clear of third. The final tally told the story of a true photo finish: Bemidji 74, Alexandria 77, Brainerd 78, with St. Michael-Albertville (85) and Moorhead (90) right on their heels.
Sophomore Jakin Miller set the tone with a fearless run up front, placing 7th in 16:39.2. From there, the Cardinals’ depth and discipline took over. Cedric Soderholm (13th, 16:50.3) and Matty Soderholm (14th, 16:55.6) stacked back-to-back finishes in the top 15, while Tyler Jahner (21st, 17:03.8) and Cohen Lussenden (22nd, 17:13.4) closed the door to lock in the 77-point total.
On paper, the numbers jump off the page: Alexandria’s top five combined for 1:24:42, averaging 16:56 with a remarkably tight 34-second spread, and they needed every second. Alexandria fifth-scoring runner, Cohen Lussenden, finished half a second ahead of Brainerd’s fifth-scorer Mullen Bratney…a half second that sent Alexandria back to the State meet. That compression—five runners in under 35 seconds—was the program’s winning card all afternoon, and it’s the kind of pack profile that travels well to the state meet.
The margin was razor thin all the way around. With five teams between 74 and 90 points, every pass in the final 800 meters carried postseason weight. Bemidji’s senior trio of Tanner Johnson (8th, 16:41.1), Caleb Knott (10th, 16:48.6) and William Ames (11th, 16:48.6) supplied the slightest edge in the middle of the pack, but Alexandria matched that punch with its own 7-13-14 front and a strong fourth-and-fifth close from Jahner and Lussenden. It’s Bemidji’s first trip to state since 1974.
Brainerd was equally dangerous, led by Jonathan Cowell (3rd, 16:29.6) and eighth-grader Eli Kotsmith (15th, 16:57.7), and stayed in podium range until the final wave of finishers. St. Michael-Albertville produced the individual champion—sophomore Benjamin Raisanen in 15:57.6—and still finished just outside the top two in the team standings.
On the girls side, Alexandria delivered a textbook pack performance to place second with 77 points with scoring five finished within :24 of one another—an elite The Cards posted a top-five total of 1:37:40 (19:32 avg): Citori Halbe (19:19.1) led the way with a ninth-place finish. Quinn Hills (19:29.3) was 14th, Avery Warzecha (19:32.0) was 16th, Isabella Nei (19:36.7) placed 20th, and Emma Bassen (19:43.5) was 21st. Depth mattered, too: Johanna Kjolhaug (23rd, 19:55.4) and Anna Korynta (24th, 19:58.7) were both under 20 minutes as displacers—insurance that kept Alexandria firmly in second.
Powerhouse St. Michael–Albertville surged to the team title, winning the meet with 21 total points led by eighth-grade Section 8AAA champion Mackenzie Myran’s winning time of 17:47.
MSHSL Section 8AAA Cross Country Championships
Team Results
| Boys Team Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pl | Team | Score | Scoring Places |
| 1 | Bemidji | 74 | 8-10-11-16-29 (33,34) |
| 2 | Alexandria | 77 | 7-13-14-21-22 (26,63) |
| 3 | Brainerd | 78 | 3-15-17-20-23 (27,52) |
| 4 | St. Michael-Albertville | 85 | 1-5-24-25-30 (31,44) |
| 5 | Moorhead | 90 | 9-12-18-19-32 (38,47) |
| 6 | Sartell | 154 | 2-36-37-39-40 (43,46) |
| 7 | Elk River | 173 | 4-28-42-48-51 (54,58) |
| 8 | St. Cloud Tech | 225 | 35-41-45-49-55 (57,59) |
| 9 | Monticello | 225 | 6-50-53-56-60 (61,62) |
| Girls Team Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pl | Team | Score | Scoring Places |
| 1 | St. Michael–Albertville | 21 | 1-3-4-5-8 (10,16) |
| 2 | Alexandria | 77 | 9-13-15-19-21 (22,23) |
| 3 | Monticello | 100 | 2-12-18-31-37 (48,54) |
| 4 | Moorhead | 111 | 7-20-27-28-29 (35,51) |
| 5 | Brainerd | 140 | 6-25-32-38-39 (42,50) |
| 6 | Bemidji | 158 | 17-24-26-45-46 (47,53) |
| 7 | Sartell | 160 | 14-33-34-36-43 (44,52) |
| 8 | Elk River | 171 | 11-30-40-41-49 (55,56) |
Boys — Individual Finishers (Top 15 Overall)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Raisanen (SO)* | St. Michael-Albertville | 15:57.6 |
| 2 | Andrew Berndt (SR)* | Sartell | 16:20.1 |
| 3 | Jonathan Cowell (JR)* | Brainerd | 16:29.6 |
| 4 | Jackson Carlson (JR)* | Elk River | 16:30.6 |
| 5 | Benjamin Dayton (JR)* | St. Michael-Albertville | 16:33.9 |
| 6 | Aitor Peralta (JR)* | Monticello | 16:36.8 |
| 7 | Jakin Miller (SO) | Alexandria | 16:39.2 |
| 8 | Tanner Johnson (SR) | Bemidji | 16:41.1 |
| 9 | Eli Schlichting (SR) | Moorhead | 16:46.6 |
| 10 | Caleb Knott (SR) | Bemidji | 16:48.6 |
| 11 | William Ames (SO) | Bemidji | 16:48.6 |
| 12 | Wes Brouillard (SR) | Moorhead | 16:49.4 |
| 13 | Cedric Soderholm (SO) | Alexandria | 16:50.3 |
| 14 | Matty Soderholm (JR) | Alexandria | 16:55.6 |
| 15 | Eli Kotsmith (8) | Brainerd | 16:57.7 |
*denotes individual qualifier
Girls — Individual Finishers (Top 15 Overall)
| Pl | Athlete | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mackenzie Myran (8) | St. Michael–Albertville | 17:47.7 |
| 2 | Isabel Mahoney (SR)* | Monticello | 18:24.0 |
| 3 | Sophie Miller (FR) | St. Michael–Albertville | 18:56.3 |
| 4 | Annabelle Vossen (FR) | St. Michael–Albertville | 18:56.8 |
| 5 | Abigayle Vossen (JR) | St. Michael–Albertville | 19:04.0 |
| 6 | Briana Blasing (SO)* | Brainerd | 19:07.9 |
| 7 | Sophia Johnson (SO)* | Moorhead | 19:10.7 |
| 8 | Ady Hannon (JR) | St. Michael–Albertville | 19:16.7 |
| 9 | Citori Halbe (SR) | Alexandria | 19:19.1 |
| 10 | Maren Nelson (JR)* | St. Cloud Tech | 19:20.2 |
| 11 | Delanie Brand (SO) | St. Michael–Albertville | 19:24.2 |
| 12 | Erin Auel (FR)* | Elk River | 19:24.9 |
| 13 | Kylie Lindberg (FR)* | Monticello | 19:28.2 |
| 14 | Quinn Hills (SR) | Alexandria | 19:29.3 |
| 15 | Grace Steele (FR) | Sartell | 19:29.9 |