2025 State XC Preview - Class AA Girls

Introduction

The 2025 Girls Class AA state race at Les Bolstad feels different than the last few years. Two of the division’s anchors — St. Paul Highland Park and Alexandria — have moved up to Class AAA after finishing in the top three in each of the four seasons since Minnesota went to three classes. Their departure removes two long-established contenders and, in doing so, opens up the Class AA podium to a new set of programs. At the same time, Class AA gains a powerhouse in Minneapolis Southwest, which dropped down from AAA after finishing 4th there last fall. Add in Perham’s sustained excellence, Northfield’s rise, and several programs getting healthy at the right time, and the result is a state meet with a very clear team storyline at the top — Minneapolis Southwest vs. Perham — and a very crowded individual race with no returning top-three finishers. We already got a partial preview at the Griak Gopher race, and it confirmed what this meet will look like: tight, well-coached packs, a handful of frontrunners who can win on the right day, and very little separation behind the favorite.

Girls Class AA Team Preview

The team to beat is Minneapolis Southwest. The Lakers have been ranked No. 1 all season and arrive at Les Bolstad with one of the strongest top threes in the entire state, regardless of class. Last fall they took 4th in Class AAA — their first state appearance since 2003 — and made the move to Class AA this year without losing their identity. At the Roy Griak Invitational they finished 6th overall, 3rd among Minnesota teams, and 1st among Class AA programs, and they finished more than 130 points ahead of Perham there, a result that matters when you compare the two programs on a neutral, high-level course. Southwest also placed 2nd at the Metro Invite and won the Bauman-Rovn Invitational early in the season. Seniors Annika Midness and Annabel Schendel lead this team, and Southwest has an unusual advantage for Class AA — three runners who all have realistic top-10 state potential. If their 4–5 runners keep the gap manageable, they will be very hard to unseat.

If anyone can, it’s Perham. Ranked No. 2 all season, Perham is the most accomplished program in this field and has been the model of sustained excellence in Class AA. This is the Yellowjackets’ 22nd straight state appearance; during that stretch they’ve won five state titles (2015–2022) and have averaged a 2.3 finish over the past 10 seasons. This year looks like more of the same. They dominated Section 8AA with five runners in the top nine, rolled through the Border Battle in North Dakota, and ran extremely well at the Meet of Champions. Perham is again built around tight, disciplined pack running. An 8th grader, Tilly Mathies, was their top finisher at sections, but most of the season their frontrunner has been senior Gracie Morris. Perham may not match Southwest’s star power up front, but their scoring compression and state-meet experience give them a realistic path to the title if Southwest’s back end leaves the door open.

The best of the rest begins with Northfield, a team that has improved steadily throughout the season. The Raiders were ranked 10th only a few weeks ago but moved up to No. 3 entering state after a strong finish to October. This is their fourth straight state appearance, and they have finished 4th each of the last two seasons — so this is not a program arriving out of nowhere. Northfield won the always-competitive Big 9 Conference by 19 points and did it with a young roster that doesn’t have any upperclassmen in its top five. Sophomore Makayah Petricka has been their lead runner, winning sections and running 19:01, and fellow sophomore Sunny Rodriguez has had an impressive season with an 18:44 personal best. Northfield is clearly trending upward and is peaking at the right time.

Saint Peter will also be in the mix for a top-five finish. The Saints made state last year for the first time since 1997 and finished 6th. They spent most of this season ranked 3rd and backed that up by winning both the Big South Conference and Section 2AA. They have a true low stick up front in Keira Friedrich and two more reliable scorers in Lucia Penner and Brielle Friedrich. Their final finish will depend on how well their fourth and fifth runners handle the traffic at Les Bolstad, but their front three is good enough to keep them in the upper half of the results.

Orono is one of the biggest wild cards in the field. They made their first-ever state appearance last year and finished 12th, but they should improve on that significantly this season. Orono comes in ranked 6th after edging rival Delano by five points at Sections. Their season has been uneven largely because of injuries. Key scorer Delaney Stephens missed most of the year but raced at sections, and sophomore Jocie Hallen has also been working back from injury and raced at sections as well. With both healthy, Orono becomes a much more dangerous team because they suddenly have two runners capable of finishing high up in the race.

Mankato East makes its first trip back to state since 2021, when it finished 8th in its only previous appearance. The Cougars were ranked 4th or 5th for much of the season but enter state ranked 7th after an up-and-down fall. Their résumé shows their potential — 5th at the Olaf Showcase, a win at the Faribault Invite, and 21st at Griak as the third Class AA team — but they haven’t put all of their pieces together on the same day as of late. Two freshmen led them at sections, while senior Lauren Henkels is usually their top runner. If they can all connect and put it together on Saturday, Mankato East can be dangerous.

Rocori is another team whose stock rose late. This is just their second state trip since 1995; the last time they made it (2018), they finished 14th. This year they come in ranked 5th after placing second to Perham in Section 8AA and beating several strong programs, including Little Falls. Rocori is young — they have just one upperclassman in the varsity lineup, senior Izzy Kraemer — which means they may gain the most of any team from the experience of running at Les Bolstad.

Hermantown returns to state for the first time since 2005 after winning the Lake Superior Conference and taking the Section 7AA title by three points over Chisago Lakes. They come in ranked 10th and are led by Ferrah LaLone, who placed 16th at state last year. Becker makes its fifth straight state appearance after winning Section 5AA with an impressive performance that saw them place seven runners in the top 13. They also won the Mississippi 8 Conference and run with one of the best packs in the field. St. Paul Academy & Summit School, led by junior Paloma Good, is back at state for the seventh time since 2007 after winning Section 3AA and finishing second at the IMAC Championships.

Girls Class AA Individual Preview

Unlike recent years, this Class AA individual race does not have a returning top-three finisher, which makes this one of the most open championship races on the schedule. One of the athletes with the strongest overall resume this fall is Keira Friedrich of Saint Peter. A senior, Friedrich placed 8th at state last year and 10th in 2022, giving her more high-level November experience than almost anyone in the field. She has eight wins this season, and her only loss came at the Griak Gopher race, where she finished 3rd. She has broken 18:00 three times this fall and is the defending Class AA 1600m champion on the track, where she ran 4:51. Her teammate Lucia Penner has also been consistently strong, running under 19:15 four times, and should be in the lead chase group.

The other obvious title contender is Annika Hall of Chisago Lakes. Hall has the best recent head-to-head result in the field, beating Friedrich by 11 seconds at Griak. She was 4th at state last year as a freshman and 12th in 2023 as an 8th grader. She has not lost to another Class AA runner yet this season and finished as the runner-up in the 3200m at the state track meet in the spring. Hall races with confidence and has now shown she can win in large-championship settings.

Hannah Boese, a senior from Spectrum, has had one of the most consistent seasons in Class AA. Her only loss this fall came in her first race of the year, when she finished behind Hall by 12 seconds. Since then, she has reeled off seven wins, including a strong 22nd-place finish in the Griak Championship race — an impressive result against that level of competition. Boese was 13th at state last year and has rarely been challenged this season.

Because Minneapolis Southwest is so strong up front, their athletes must be included in the individual conversation. Senior Annika Midness, who placed 12th in Class AAA last year, has broken 18:50 four times this fall and leads a trio that could all finish high. At sections, the Lakers went 1–2–3, with Midness, Keira Bell, and Annabel Schendel all running under 18:55 and their 4^th wasn’t far behind either! If the race goes out hard and stays honest, Southwest could realistically place 3-4 runners inside the top 10-15.

Northfield’s Makayah Petricka is another proven state performer. She has finished 17th at state in each of the last two seasons — notably doing so last year after coming through the mile in 44th. She opened this season very strong, had a tougher stretch midseason, and then closed with a 19:01 win at sections. Her teammate Sunny Rodriguez also factors into the all-state picture after running 18:44 this year.

Several returning all-state athletes are also well positioned. Cassie Wellman of Fergus Falls was 6th last year at state and won the Section 8AA title this fall in 18:55. She also placed 6th at the Griak Gopher race, which reinforces her ability to finish high in large, competitive fields. Mya Werner of Delano finished 9th at state last year and 14th in 2023. She owns multiple sub-19:00 races this season, won the Wright County Conference, and has set a personal best at the state meet each of the last two seasons. Annaleigh Schwab, a freshman from Simley, is another name to watch. She placed 41st in the Griak Championship race — a very strong mark for a Class AA freshman — and then won both the Metro East Conference and Section 3AA titles. She has already run at state twice (as a 7th and 8th grader), so the stage will not be new.

Nora Hanson of Red Wing is a veteran presence in this race. She finished 15th last year at state and was runner-up at the Big 9 Conference meet in 18:44 before having a more difficult section race. If she returns to her conference form, she can be in the top 15 again. And as you noted, don’t be surprised if a Perham runner is in the mix near the front. Senior Gracie Morris has been Perham’s top girl for most of the year, has broken 19:00 multiple times, and has finished in the top 20 at state three times. Given Perham’s history and the way Class AA races tend to stay together longer, Morris is absolutely capable of working her way into the lead chase pack.