Best of luck to the Saints’ girls cross country team (Keira Friedrich, Lucia Penner, Brielle Friedrich, Mia Gazzola, Grace Penner, Maddie Petersen, Robin Hibscher, Addie Maxfield, and Kady Thoms) and Saints’ boys runners Alex Bur and Enzo Gazzola in Saturday’s Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country Meet at the U of MN Golf Course in Falcon Heights. Jeff Portugue is the Saints’ girls' head coach and Bill Stuewe is the boys' head coach, and the assistant coach for both teams is Jennie Friedrich.
The Class AA state boys meet is set for 12:15 p.m. that day while the girls Class AA race is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, with the awards ceremony at approximately 1:30 p.m. Tickets for the state meet are only available online for $13 for adults and $8 for students at https://gofan.co/event/4551450.
St. Peter’s varsity girls cross country team earned a trip to the Minnesota State Class AAA Girls Cross Country Meet by winning Section 2AA meet on October 23th at Benson Park in upper North Mankato. It marks the second straight trip to state for the Saints girls as a team, and the fourth in program history as the Saints also made it to state back-to-back in 1996 and 1997 where the team placed 13th both years. The Saints, who were ranked fourth in state in the last state ratings, turned in a program-best sixth-place finish at state last fall and with everyone back plus some talented new faces the team hopes to improve on that this time around.
This will be the third state meet trip in a row for two members of the Saints’ girls team as Keira Friedrich, ranked #1 overall in the final ratings, and Lucia Penner, ranked #11, qualified individually for state in the fall of 2023 in addition to their time making it with the team. Alex Bur will also be making his third consecutive trip to state on the boys side of things and he finished the season as the #12-ranked runner for boys in Class AA.
Friedrich, perhaps St. Peter’s most decorated long-distance runner ever, is searching for a fourth-straight All-State designation (top 25) and third consecutive top-10 finish as she finished eighth individually in 2024, 10th in 2023, and 21st in 2022.
2025 Minnesota Class AA girls’ state team qualifiers (with state ranking) includes:
Section 1 - Northfield (#3) & Winona
Section 2 - ST. PETER (#4) & Mankato East (#7)
Section 3 - St. Paul Academy/Summit (#12) & Visitation
Section 4 - St. Anthony Village & De La Salle
Section 5 - Becker (#11) & Zimmerman
Section 6 - Minneapolis Southwest (#1) & Orono (#6)
Section 7 - Hermantown (#10) & Chisago Lakes
Section 8 - Perham (#2) & Rocori (#5)
For more details on the girls state meet please click HERE, while the boys state meet info can be found by clicking on this LINK.
SAINTS' STATE MEET NOTES:
* Saints’ senior standout KEIRA FRIEDRICH, who won a state track title in the 1,600-meter run last spring, recently committed to run cross country and track for the University of Minnesota. To tell you how tough the Saints’ section has been over the years, Friedrich will be the third straight Section 2AA girls individual champion to run for the Golden Gophers as she will join previous Section 2AA winners Isabelle Schmitz (2023 champ from Hutchinson) and Macy Hanson (2024 champ from Fairmont) on the team in the fall of 2026! Friedrich had offers from multiple Big Ten schools she considered before choosing Minnesota.
* This will be the second state tournament trip in a week for one of the Saints’ girl’s team members as junior KADY THOMS competed last week in the Minnesota State Class AA Girls Tennis Team Tournament where she won two matches during the team competition. She finished the tennis season with a 32-3 overall record with two of her three losses coming to state individual qualifiers.
* Two other Saints’ girls team members, MADDIE PETERSEN and MIA GAZZOLA, also did double duty this fall as they were key members of the St. Peter girls’ soccer team that made it all the way to the Section 2AA championship match. Maddie and Mia were midfielders for the Saints this fall.
* Congrats to Saints’ head girls coach JEFF PORTUGUE as he was named Section 2AA Girls Coach of the Year for the second year in a row!
* According to Saints’ boys coach BILL STUEWE, this is the first time the Saints’ boys have sent more than one runner to state individually during his 26-year tenure as the boys’ head coach with senior ALEX BUR and sophomore ENZO GAZZOLA earning state trips this fall. This is Bur’s third state trip in a row and he’s looking to improve upon last year’s 34th placing in the boys’ race, while Gazzola is making his first trip to state.