By Les Knutson
Murray County News Sports
NORTHFIELD — Morgan Gehl, a happy and humble freshman at Fulda High School, is steadily becoming one of Minnesota’s best girls’ distance runners.
Gehl claimed her third individual medal in elite season-ending competition sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) last Saturday, November 4, when she impressively ran to a fourth-place finish at this year’s Class A state cross country meet on the 5,000-meter course at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Last fall, as an eighth-grader, Gehl brought home an eighth-place medal and followed that up in early June with a fifth-place performance in the 3,200-meter run at the Class A state track and field meet at Hamline University’s Klas Field in St. Paul.
Justin Clarke, a sophomore at Murray County Central in Slayton, also ran at Northfield Saturday, as he and Morgan again represented the Murray County Central / Fulda Rebels at the state cross country meet.
Clarke, one of the area’s best boys’ distance runners, entered the chute ahead of 91 finishers who had either qualified as one of the 64 competing individuals or as member of one of the 16 participating teams. Clarke ran the course in 17 minutes, 29.1 seconds — which placed him 85th, out of 176.
“Justin ran a good race, smart and steady,” praised Rebels’ head cross country coach Dominick Damm. “He gave it all he had, running as fast he could for that long of a distance over hills. Justin was happy with how he ran and I was pleased, too, with how well he did against the best competition in the whole state.”
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