Though he may have run seven seconds faster than his State run last year, junior Grant Strukel still placed one spot behind his 27th placing from 2017.

The Blue Earth Area Buccaneer placed 28th in his third consecutive State Meet on Nov. 3, with a time of 16:42.

His head coach, Tom Plocker, stated Strukel started out strong but in control and found himself in about 50th place at the mile mark.

“He then began to chase down his opponents, and had moved up to 35th by the two-mile mark in the lonely loop,” said Plocker. “Grant motored down the big hill at St. Olaf College with a half mile to go, and powered to 28th position as he crossed the finish mat.”

Plocker says Strukel was admittedly a little disappointed as the top 25 runners earn All-State honors, but Strukel still ran his State-fastest 5K against a “very speedy 176-man field,” and was the sixth individual to finish from Section 2A.

Plocker adds that Strukel also garnered academic All-State honors for the second consecutive year.

With that, the 2018 BEA Cross Country season comes to a close until next fall.