.jpg)
Minnesota roared in the girl’s Heartland Regional Championships in Sioux Falls this afternoon as twin sisters Bethany and Megan Hasz went 1-2 in the individual race and Wayzata placed five in the Top 40 to cruise to the girl’s team title over East Ridge (MN).
HASZ SISTERS CONTROL INDIVIDUAL RACE
From the gun, it was apparent twin sisters Bethany and Megan Hasz were in Sioux Falls to take care of business.
The twins ran side-by-side through the mile in a quick 5:25, but were followed by a large chase-pack that had Nike National dreams of their own as nine girls sped through the first mile in under 5:30.
The Hasz sisters used one another to push the pace even harder after the opening mile, making a move that sent a clear message to the rest of the Heartland: the Hasz sisters are for real.
“We always race together,” Bethany Hasz said of her and Megan. “We push each other to run faster.”
Run faster they did, as they cruised through two miles in 11:05, seven seconds in front of Jenna Trudeson, who had attempted to go solo to try and catch the Hasz sisters.
Already at two miles, the girl’s field was spread-out and the race for top five individuals was becoming more and more clear. Two Iowa runners, McKenzie Yanek and Karissa Schweizer along with South Dakota’s Tamara Gorman went through in under the 11:17-11:22 range at the deuce to place their names in the game for top five.
At 4,000 meters, it was apparent Trudeson’s chase-effort, although gutsy, was to no avail as she would surrender to the Hasz sisters and try to conserve her own bid to NXN.
THE LAST 1K
There was less drama in the girl’s race, but there was still the question at the finish:
What twin wins?
“It was with about 500 yards left- at the sharp turn- that she (Bethany) got a little bit ahead of me” said Megan.
This was it- the point where the twins had to make a split.
“I was feeling pretty good,” said Bethany.
“Good” was a probably an understatement, as Bethany turned on the steam, running to the win in 17:17.
Sister, Megan wasn’t far behind, as she was clocked in at 17:21.
McKenzie Yanek picked off Trudeson after the two-mile mark and was a comfortable 3rd place (17:43).
But what about the other qualifiers?
Well, the battle for the three, four and five spots was actually really good.
Schweizer ended up sprinting into 4th place (17:51) and Trudeson finished in the 5th and final NXN individual qualifying spot with a 17:54 clocking. Emi Trost, Rebekah Topham, Brittany Brown Otter, Tamara Gorman and Hannah Jeter rounded out the top ten and all within a few seconds of the coveted
“Five Spot”.
In a battle that was closer than expected on the team front, Wayzata won over in-state rival East Ridge as Wayzata makes a return to Portland.
Wayzata placed all of their scores in the Top 40.