Weekend Rewind: Sydney Thorvaldson Claims 15th State Title

* Sydney Thorvaldson running at the Wyoming State Meet. Photo Via Wendy Thorvaldson.

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The best female prep athlete to ever run in the state of Wyoming ended her high school cross country career on Saturday.

And she did so on a very high note -- pun intended. 

Rawlins (WY) High School senior Sydney Thorvaldson, ranked No. 3 on the national MileSplit50 cross country rankings, took home her fourth Wyoming State Cross Country title over the weekend, doing so at 6,240 feet of elevation.

She now has fifteen total state titles between cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. 

The University of Arkansas commit now has five sub-17-minute 5k performances on the season.

The run caps off a historic career for the senior in Wyoming, though Thorvaldson is likely to continue her season with at least one more race beyond state lines ...and with no Team XC Nationals or Foot Locker Nationals, the question will be just where Thorvaldson will take her talents. 



Sydney's Post Race Interview


Related Links:


Region Meets Across The Country Heat Things Up:

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Although the temperatures may be dropping as we head into winter, cross country action is continuing to heat up. There are several states that have entered postseason meets -- such as conference, area, district, section and state meet qualifying races.

And one state that had key performances this past weekend was the state of Michigan. Across the board, we saw several races that stood out. 

And Muskegon Western Michigan's Abby Vanderkooi had one of the best performances of the weekend. The Michigander turned in a time of 17:35.80 to win the MHSAA Pre-Regional 41-3 @ GR Covenant Christian race. The race is the sixth win of her season and was the fifth-fastest time of the weekend.

Ann Arbor Pioneer freshman (MI) Rachel Forsyth, meanwhile, also had a strong pre-region race at the MHSAA Pre-Regional 09-1 @ Bedford. She clocked the sixth-fastest performance of the weekend with her 17:38.00 performance. Second place finisher Maddy Foster from Temperance-Bedford High School wasn't far behind, as she clocked a 17:49.70 for the 12th-fastest time of the weekend.

Keeping in Michigan and moving to the MHSAA Pre-Regional 14-1 meet, Birmingham Seaholm's (MI) Audrey Dadamio ran the seventh-fastest time of the weekend to win by well over a minute in front of teammate Haley Deighanwho took second.

Michigan guys also put up some fast times in their respective pre-region meets. The fastest performance came from Riley Houghwho had one of only three sub-15 minute performances for 5K on the weekend. The Hartland junior posted a 14:57.24 at the MHSAA Pre-Regional 04-1 at Davison.

Fremont's (MI) Nathan Walker also had another strong performance, putting up a 15:17.38 at the MHSAA Pre-Regional 20-2 at Chippewa Hills.

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Meanwhile, Indiana competed through its semi-state qualifying series this past weekend.

One of the top battles came at the IHSAA Cross Country Semi-State 2 in Shelbyville between unranked Brebeuf Jesuit Prep School and MileSplit No. 11 ranked Carmel. 

The Braves, however, came up with the win, scoring 68 points to the Greyhound's 75. Brebeuf's leading scorer was Krishna Thirunavukkarasuwho placed sixth overall in 15:49.00. Carmel's leading scorer was sophomore sensation Kole Mathison, who won the meet but who couldn't make up the huge disparity i scorers. Carmel logged a 68-second compression, failing to rival the 37-second spread of Brebeuf Jesuit Prep.

In the girls' race, MileSplit50 No. 6 ranked Carmel High School was led by senior Annie Christie to earn the win, as the program scored 30 points. Christie, a senior, won in 17:59.80, helping lead the team's 18:36 five-person team average and its 54-second spread. 

Other ranked Indiana teams to also win their semi-state battles were No. 16 Fort Wayne Carroll High School. The team scored 46 points to win its Semi-State 3 meet in New Haven. The individual champion on the boys side was MileSplit 50 No. 8 Izaiah Steury from Angola High School, who ran 15:25.70. 

Columbus North High School's boys and girls also won their semi-state matchups as well. The MileSplit50 No. 22 ranked lady Bull Dogs won their match up scoring 50 points, while the MileSplit50 No. 7 ranked guys won scoring 34 points.



State Meet Round-Up:

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State meet season is here and in full swing. We look at some of the key performances from states across the country.


  • Nebraska: Hartington High School sophomore Carson Noecker capped off his undefeated season with a Nebraska Class C state title. Noecker clocked a 15:22.10, the fastest time from any of the athletes who raced on the Kearney Country Club course for the four different class state titles. In fact, his time ranks as the second-fastest ever only behind Foot Locker and Team Nationals all-American Seth Hirsch. Hirsch's course record is 15:04.90, which he set during his senior year in 2016. In the girls Class A race, Marian High School freshmen Stella Miner set a course record of 18:11 to win the state title as a freshman.
  • MontanaSentinel High School upset perennial powerhouses Bozeman and Hellgate. The battle was very close through the top three teams, but Sentinel won with 59 points; Hellgate was second with 67 points and Bozeman High School was third with 69 points. All three of the top teams had a 1-5 compression of 1:12 or better. Sentinel and Hellgate had only a second separating the 1-5 compressions they were 1:05 to 1:04, respectively. In the Class AA girls race, the ladies from Bozeman High School beat Hellgate in a close battle 43-47.
  • Utah: Earlier this week, the Utah stat meet took place, and it saw several ranked teams and individuals faceoff. For more from the Utah State meet click here.



* Madisonville-North Hopkins' (KY) Jackson Watts

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Top Performances Of The Weekend:

  • MileSplit50 No. 12 ranked individual Nathan Mountain helped No. 4 ranked St. Xavier (OH)  win the Southwest District - Voice of America 2020 invitational. Mountain ran a 14:55.30, helping lead the team to its 21 point victory. The performance was the senior's second sub-15 minute run of the year.
  • Winter Springs High School's (FL) Caroline Wells put up the second-fastest girls 5K time of the weekend, hitting 17:16.74 on the clock to win the Seminole Athletic Conference XC Championship. Wells is on the MileSplit50 bubble list.
  • Eastsides High School's (SC) Spain Vaughan clocked his first sub-15-minute 5k of the season. The senior ran a 14:47.40 to win the Region 2-AAAA meet. 
  • Iowa's Paityn Noe ran her second sub-18-minute 5k of the season. The sophomore ran 17:35.62 to win the Iowa Class 3A District in Pella. Her time is the fourth fastest girls 5k of the weekend so far. 
  • Madisonville-North Hopkins' (KY) Jackson Watts produced the past time of his career this past weekend. The senior ran a 5k PR of 15:14.96 to win the KHSAA Region 1 Class AAA. The time is the fifth fastest of the weekend so far. 


The Weekend Rewind