A crisp Saturday morning in Minnesota usually offers a pleasant autumn jog beneath majestic oaks. But at the 2026 MSHSL Class A State Cross Country Championship, those rain-soaked woods provided the backdrop for an absolute battle—a contest of grit where seconds were scraped tooth-and-nail, and a burgeoning high school athletic program cemented its place in state history.
Entering the final meet of the season ranked No. 3 in Class A, the Loyola-Cleveland-St. Clair (LCS) Lady Crusaders did not just meet expectations on the big stage; they shattered them.
Behind an astonishing team performance, the Crusaders captured the 2026 Class A Girls State Championship by a staggering 51-point margin—the fourth-largest winning margin in Minnesota girls’ Class A state history. The championship caps off a flawless season in which the team finished undefeated against Class A competition (74–0) and an eye-popping 104–7 overall across 10 regular-season and postseason meets.
For the communities involved in the tripartite cooperative program, the victory carries profound historic weight:
- Mankato Loyola celebrates its first State Championship in 23 years, dating back to the legendary 32-0 Boys Basketball title run in 2003.
- St. Clair claims its first State Champion team in 37 years, spanning all the way back to the 14–0 9-Man Football title team of 1989.
- Cleveland secures its first-ever team State Championship title.
The result is a testament to the growth of a co-op that began with Loyola and Cleveland in 2012, before welcoming St. Clair in 2022. Since St. Clair joined the fold four years ago under renewed leadership, the girls’ squad has made four consecutive state tournament appearances, accumulating 10 All-State honors and five top-10 individual finishes while amassing a stunning 60–0 streak against Class A foes in section play.
“I don’t know if there are any words that do justice to the season the girls had, but it was truly remarkable,” said Crusader XC Coach Casey following an emotional awards presentation. “At the team meeting the night before the race, we were reflecting on how far we’ve come in the last four years. We were struggling to field a full varsity team at the beginning of that run, and now here we are talking about state titles. It’s a true testament to how hard this team has worked.”
While cross country can often masquerade as an individual sport, the Crusaders won their crown through absolute team depth. Despite graduating three key runners and losing another to injury in the spring from 2025’s third-place finish, the 2026 squad stepped into the breach without missing a beat.
The Crusaders’ core five—Charlotte Meyer, Lila Quast, Riley Quigley, Kaitlyn Anderson, and Gisele McCabe—outpaced a crowded 16-team field through sheer pack-running strategy.
Leading the charge was sophomore Charlotte Meyer, who capped an unbelievable 2026 campaign with a 6th-place All-State finish (18:27.6). Meyer’s season included five 1st-place individual victories, a 3rd-place spot at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, and near-sweeps at the Conference and Section 2A meets—all accomplished while overcoming a midseason knee injury that sidelined her for two weeks.
“Today was a good race,” Meyer noted after navigating a tight pack of elite State runners like St. Johns’ Margaret Duffy—the individual Class A State Champion. “It’s very fun to be back here as a team. We work so well together, everybody pushing each other in the pack.”
Following close behind were Lila Quast and Riley Quigley, running shoulder-to-shoulder around the final turn. Quast clinched All-State honors in 25th place (19:29.0), following five consecutive top-five performances down the stretch of the season. Quigley crossed less than a second later in 26th place (19:30.0)—marking a 50-spot leap and a 26-second PR from her 2025 state run.
Newcomer Kaitlyn Anderson dashed across the finish line in 63rd with a 4-second PR, while Gisele McCabe (88th) and Brooks Waagner (93rd) rounded out the varsity squad. Both McCabe and Waagner dropped nearly two minutes off their personal bests over the course of the season to provide LCS with unmatched depth.
On the boys’ side, eighth-grade sensation Griffin Rutz stood out as the sole male qualifier for the Crusaders, capping off a stellar breakout season.
After an unusual false start forced a recall on the boys’ race, the 159-runner field restarted with high intensity. Rutz maintained a steady pace through the tactical mid-race stretch before unlocking another gear over the final few hundred meters. He surged out of a late cluster to secure 74th place with a time of 17:24.8—a massive leap forward in both time and placing compared to his 2025 state outing.
Rutz’s journey to the state meet was defined by a daring performance at the Section 2A meet, where he shaved nearly 30 seconds off his PR to punch his ticket to State. With a 1st-place finish at NRHEG, two 2nd-place finishes, a 4th-place run at the Tomahawk Valley Conference, and a 7th-place finish at Sections, the future of the Crusader boys’ program looks exceptionally bright.
“Griffin ran a great race all things considered,” Coach Olson said. “I think he’s grown so much as a racer in the last three weeks alone, and he’s ready to try to lead the team back to state next year. The rest of the boys are motivated, so we could see something special happen.”
The celebration kicked off earlier in the week during a spirited pep fest at St. Clair, where the St. Clair Athletic Director Brad O’Donnell, staff, proud parents, and the energetic pep band gathered to send off the state-bound athletes. Heartfelt acknowledgments were also given to athletes like senior Kate Daly, whose leadership anchored the team culture through an injury-saddled final year.
As the team reflects on a historic championship trophy, the horizon looks equally bright. With zero graduates among the top nine runners, the Lady Crusaders will return their entire title-winning nucleus in 2027.
“We’ll have a target on our backs all year long,” acknowledged Coach Olson. “But as long as we continue to embrace that mindset and team culture, we’ll be ready to meet the challenges… Cross country is about perseverance and finding a way when something is challenging you. The ones who embrace the team atmosphere are the ones who will be most successful, both in running and in life.”
For the 2026 Loyola-Cleveland-St. Clair Crusaders, that formula didn’t just produce success—it produced a potential dynasty. Congratulations on a stellar season!
