Ille earns state berth: boys place 6th at sections

Blooming Prairie High School sophomore Alec Ille earned a spot in the state cross-county meet, after finishing 8th individually at the Section 1A meet on the Northern Hills golf course at Rochester on Thursday, Oct. 29. 
The state meet will be held at St. Olaf College Saturday, Nov. 7.
Ille ran the course in 17:09.6 and led the Blossom boys to a sixth-place team finish out of 23 teams in the meet. LaCrescent and Lake City took the top two places in the annual event. Three other Blossom runners placed in the top 35 individuals. A young Blossom girls team finished 19th, with Lanesboro and Lake City running first and second in the girls’ division.
Behind Ille, Elijah Baker ran an 18:01.3 (17th), Evan Doerhoefer counted an 18:34.69 (32nd) and Isaac Baker timed an 18:35 for 34th place. Ethan Grant and Jesse Schewe also ran for the locals.
“I thought we had a real strong showing today,” remarked Coach John Bruns. “A sixth-place against that tough opposition was a tribute to the hard work the athletes have displayed this season. The girls also ran well, despite the fact that three of the runners are just seventh-graders. This is the first time since 2006 that a BP runner has qualified for the state meet.”
Alison Pryor led the girls to their spot in the team standings.  She Finished 28th in a 21:36.5 time. Seventh-grader Olivia Johnson ran a 24:39.8, Anika Nowlan a 24:56, Alison Krohnberg a 25:55.1 and Rose Michaud a 26:03.8.