Best of luck to the St. Peter girls’ cross country team and boys’ runner Enzo Gazzola as they head to the Minnesota State Class AA State Meet on Saturday at Majestic Oak Golf Course in Ham Lake. The girls' race begins at 2:40 p.m. with the boys’ race following at approximately 3:15 p.m.
The Saints’ girls' team will be making their third straight state tourney appearance after placing fourth a year ago (2025) and sixth the previous season (2024). The Saints’ varsity consists of Brielle Friedrich, Lucia Penner, Grace Penner, Mia Gazzola, Kady Thoms, Marie Wills, Kendra Johnson, Payton Fredrickson, and Abby Ramirez. Lucia Penner placed 18th last year at the state meet, earning All-State honors, along with 2026 SPHS grad Keira Friedrich, who won the AA girls’ race last year and now runs for the University of Minnesota. (NOTE - The cover of this year’s state meet program, shown below, includes a photo of Keira winning last year’s race!)
Gazzola will make his second straight state trip in the boys' race. The junior standout will look to improve on his 78th-place finish in 2025 out of 160 runners.
For complete Minnesota State AA Cross Country Meet information, including ticket info, streaming info, spectator guide, schedule of events, etc., please go to https://www.mshsl.org/tournaments/state-tournament-central
