The first Saturday in November is here - and as usual Ely’s Molly Brophy will be in the Twin Cities.
That’s the site of the state high school girls cross country meet, and the Ely junior has qualified for a fifth consecutive year.
Brophy punched her return ticket Oct. 23 at Coleraine, where she placed sixth at the Section 7A girls competition on the Eagle Ridge Golf Course.
Brophy proved to be Ely’s only individual qualifier, and both teams lagged behind in the team standings.
The Ely boys placed sixth overall while the girls were seventh in a 15-team field.
The Wolves nearly had an individual qualifier among the boys, but sophomore Wyatt Devine collapsed and was unable to continue with about a half-mile remaining in the race.
Brophy, who has been battling a rib injury for much of the season, had some jitters prior to the 7A meet but she rose to the occasion.
She took sixth overall with a time of 18:33.3, about 12 seconds behind winner Olivia Pascuzzi of Chisholm.
“That was her best time this year and might be her best time ever,” said Ely Head Coach Jayne Dusich. “She was worried, but she ran a good race. She was happy.”
A year ago, Brophy took 35th in a field of 160 at the state meet, which is held on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
The Class A girls race is set for Saturday morning.
“If she gets better than she did last year or improves her time that would be great,” said Dusich.
Brophy almost had some company at the state meet, as sophomore Mattie Lindsay just missed qualifying individually.
Lindsay capped off a big season by taking 13th in 7A in 20:38.6.
Next up was Ely freshman Katy Brophy in 40th (21:51.9), followed by teammates Elsa Ellerbroek (56th, 22:38.2), Isabella Macho (57th, 22:40.6), Moxie Lindsay (63rd, 23:08.1) and Lillie O’Neill (77th, 24:20.2).
G r e e n w a y / N a s h wauk-Keewatin cruised to the team title and Crosby- Ironton was the 7A girls runner-up. Ely was a point behind sixth-place North Shore and well ahead of eighth-place South Ridge.
It was Greenway/Nashwauk- Keewatin and North Shore taking the top-two team slots and berths to state in the 7A boys event, while the Wolves were sixth - five points behind fifth-place Stella Maris Academy of Duluth.
Wyatt Devine was on pace for a bid to state when he was not able to continue.
“He had a half-mile yet to go,” said Dusich. “He was in fifth and nobody was behind him so he would have made it. He just didn’t have enough in his body to keep him going.”
The Wolves had a surprise leading the pack - with sophomore Blake Houde finishing in a career-best 17:56.8, good for 22nd overall.
“Blake had his best time ever and he got under 18 which was his goal,” said Dusich.
Not far behind was senior Otto Devine, who took 29th in 18:24.9, and junior Oliver Hohenstein followed in 30th (18:25.9).
The Wolves’ lineup also included Mason Kurnava (46th, 18:56.1), Drew Johnson (51st, 19:02.8) and Brooks Brenny (52nd, 19:14.4).
“The kids were pretty happy with how they ran,” said Dusich, who has led the program since it began in the mid-1990s. “They ran close to their best times. We knew it would be tough teamwise with these other teams.”
