DETROIT LAKES, Minn (KWAD) – Alexandria’s cross country program put together a statement day at the Central Lakes Conference Championships, capturing both the girls’ and boys’ varsity team crowns with performances built on depth, pack discipline and late-race composure.

Alexandria’s girls won with just 47 points, outpacing Willmar (70) and Rocori (78). The Cardinals didn’t need an individual champion to control the race; instead they stacked finishers inside the top 15 and closed the door before most contenders reached the chute.

Senior Citori Halbe set the tone in sixth at 19:41.3, with eighth-grader Avery Warzecha right behind in seventh (19:47.5). Isabella Nei (10th, 19:54.2), Emma Bassen (13th, 19:55.9) and Anna Korynta (14th, 19:57.4) rounded out the scoring five—giving Alexandria a top-five spread of only 16 seconds and a top-five total of 1:39:16 (19:51 average). Few teams can match that kind of compression on championship day.

The depth didn’t stop at five. Johanna Kjolhaug (16th, 20:06.5), Quinn Hills (18th, 20:14.0) and Ainsleigh Lehmann (19th, 20:14.5) provided immediate insurance, extending the pack presence deep into the results and blunting any counter from rival contenders.

Individually, the race belonged to Fergus Falls’ Cassie Wellman (1st, 19:13.9) and teammate Carsyn Lill (2nd, 19:23.7), while Willmar’s Gabby Martinez (3rd, 19:26.2) and Rocori’s Izzy Kraemer (4th, 19:34.0) filled out the podium spots. Yet even as the title went elsewhere, Alexandria’s plan—get five in before the opposing third and fourth—worked to near perfection. Willmar placed two in the top 15 but couldn’t match the Cardinals’ 6-7-10-13-14 wall; Rocori landed two in the top 11 and still trailed because Alexandria had five across the line within 19:57.

If the girls’ win was clinical, the boys’ title was dramatic. Alexandria edged Brainerd 72–73, a razor-thin verdict in which every lean mattered. The Cardinals’ top five finished with a 26-second spread, and they needed every single one of them.

Junior Kyle Jahner led the way in eighth at 17:10.1, just ahead of the sophomore tandem of Tyler Jahner (11th, 17:16.6) and Cedric Soderholm (12th, 17:16.9). Juniors Matty Soderholm (20th, 17:35.2) and Cohen Lussenden (21st, 17:36.1) sealed the scoring, while Jakin Miller (22nd, 17:39.8) and Carson Bumgarner (23rd, 17:42.2) formed a second wave of Cardinals in the low-20s that ultimately swung the meet. The top seven averaged 17:28 with a 32-second spread—numbers that win conference championships in tight fields.

Brainerd countered with podium firepower—Jonathan Cowell took third in 16:33.1, backed by Nolan Kalthoff (14th) and Eli Kotsmith (15th)—but Alexandria’s sixth and seventh runners arriving ahead of Brainerd’s back end nudged the tally the Cardinals’ way. Willmar’s duo of Zach Engstrom (2nd, 16:32.6) and John Spencer (5th, 16:49.0) kept the pressure on as well, but the Cardinals’ pack kept its shape through the final kilometer.

Detroit Lakes sophomore Connor Malecka claimed the individual title in 16:14.1, but, like the girls’ race, the team storyline belonged to Alexandria’s balance.

The Cardinals will look to punch their tickets back to the State Cross Country Meet at the Section 8AAA meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School on Thursday, October 24th.