Roseville senior Robert Mechura wants to be the best Minnesota State High School League runner there’s ever been.

With that in mind, ahead of the Class 3A state cross country meet in 2023, Mechura set a goal for himself to win six state titles in the largest school division — sweeping the cross country title and the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races in the track and field seasons in both his junior and senior campaigns.

Four down, two to go.

Mechura completed the cross country repeat Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course on the University of Minnesota campus, winning the 5-kilometer race with a time of 15 minutes, 3.7 seconds. That was nearly three seconds clear of Minnetonka’s Sean Fries, who battled Mechura to the finish.

Knowing he has more races to come this fall outside of the high school season, Mechura didn’t entirely taper leading up to the state meet. So while he knew his physical conditioning was excellent, he wasn’t sure how much was in his legs on Saturday.

“It takes a little bit away from the confidence, like, ‘Are my legs a little too tired today?’ ” Mechura said.

Nope.

Trailing for much of the race, Mechura made a move in the latter stages to gain the edge he needed over Fries.

“I was still happy with my kick today, even though it hurt really bad,” Mechura said. “Of course there’s self-doubt. I feel like everyone goes through that. No matter how good of shape you’re in, if someone is ahead of you, and you’re hurting, you don’t know exactly how much they’re hurting and you’re like, ‘Can I make a move? Or are they going to come with me and pass me?’ You never know. It’s always a battle to fight that self-doubt. I had to do that today, and it worked out well.”

All of his state title races have been difficult. Mechura has had to earn his hardware. That’s what he loves about the sport.

“What makes running great is that even when you’re supposedly at the top, it can be taken from you in an instant,” he said. “That’s what makes it rewarding. If it was a huge gap, it’s not the same. It’s great that Minnesota has some great athletes that can all push each other to do great things. To do it back to back in a pretty competitive state, feels really good.”

Silencing doubters

Forest Lake’s Norah Hushagen nears the finish line as she takes first in the Class 3A State Girls Cross Country Championships at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Lewis-Mosher finished first. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Years ago, Norah Hushagen was told by “several people” that she was only fast because she was small in stature. In seventh and eighth grade, she was warned “when you’re a senior, you’re going to be gone.”

Off the radar. Irrelevant.

“I kind of took that as, ‘Oh, yeah?’ ” Hushagen said, “ ‘Watch me later.’ ”

Later served Hushagen well.

The Forest Lake senior defended her Class 3A state title, winning in 17:32.3 — 16 seconds clear of the runner-up, Wayzata’s Maddie Gullickson.

Hushagen’s teammate, Forest Lake junior Anna VanAcker, took third, while Mounds View’s Linnea Ousdigian placed fourth.

Despite the margin, Hushagen noted she always assumed people were right behind her.

“You don’t know until you cross that line,” she said.

Nothing was ever assumed this season. A state title a year ago did not guarantee another.

“Just because you do it once, doesn’t mean you can do it again,” Hushagen said. “You have to show up on the day. It can be anything on paper, but nothing matters until you’re actually there on the day and you recognize there’s so many factors always.”

The performances of Hushagen and VanAcker helped lift the Rangers to a second-place finish in the team competition, behind only Wayzata.

Hushagen noted how close she and her teammates are and the fun they have outside of running. She called her teammates her “closest friends.”

“It’s been really special this year knowing we’ve made some bigger jumps than other years, and it’s exciting, because this has never really happened before,” she said. “So kind of very surreal.”

Hushagen admitted there was certainly pressure to win again this season, in a year that she said featured more bumps and criticism.

“I had to deal with more mental block,” she said. “This is my last year. And I try not to look at it as this is my last time. Just more this is what I have now, and enjoy the now.”

On Saturday, the now was certainly special.