Kennedy will send 2 runners to the state cross country meet. Graham Wood placed 10th at the Class 3A, Section 3 meet in 16:48.6, and Julian Hayes was 17th in 17:16.7. Both earned individual spots in the state field.
As a team, the Kennedy boys were 3rd at sections with 120 points, a solid finish but not enough to send the whole squad. That's a tough way for this group to end the season after it repeated as Tri-Metro champions in October. Behind Wood and Hayes, senior Sam Kaufman was 28th in 18:08, Abdulfatah Hashi was 31st in 18:13.9, and sophomore Gavin Romness was 34th in 18:16.9.
Wood, a senior, didn't have the build-up he wanted. He had mononucleosis and got in only limited training before sections. "It was a rough race for me," Wood said. Even so, the race was good enough for a top-10 finish and a second shot at state.
Kennedy's girls also raced at sections. Senior Meredith Gray led them in 35th place in 24:26.2. Eighth-grader Emily Gray was 45th, junior Suvi Aulwes 46th, freshman Corrin Feldman 47th in 26:02.1, and senior Elise Anderson 48th.
Next door in Richfield, the Holy Angels girls qualified as a team. They were 2nd in Class 2A, Section 3 with 80 points. Junior Mia Lund led them in 2nd place in 19:53.4, and sophomore Katy Aylward was 8th in 20:49.9.
The state meet is Friday, Nov. 7, at Majestic Oaks Golf Course in Blaine, a new venue after years at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course. The Class 3A girls race starts at 10 a.m. and the Class 3A boys, Wood and Hayes included, go at 10:45 a.m.
