By John Rittenhouse
An outstanding high school cross country career came to an end in impressive fashion Saturday for Hills-Beaver Creek High School senior Brad Haak.
Competing in his third consecutive Minnesota State Class A Cross Country race at St. Olaf College in Northfield, the most prolific runner in the history of the H-BC-Ellsworth program placed him name among the stateÕs elite during the 5,000-meter, 139-runner race.
Haak had his sights set on making the All-State Team by placing in the top 25 individually prior to the meet. He accomplished that goal by finishing in 15th place with a personal-best time of 16.52, which was 47 seconds off the pace of 16.05 set by Long Prairie-Gray Eagle senior Will Enns, the 2001 Class A champion.
"It was exciting to see him do well," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "He deserved it. Brad worked extremely hard and has gotten better every year. He has gotten smarter in his racing approach, too."
Haak, who won the Section 3A individual title in late October, had his best showing at a state meet Saturday.
As a sophomore in 1999, a side ache hampered the Patriot harrier when he placed 107th individually.
His return trip last fall featured improvement as Haak finished 42 places better with his 65th-place effort as a junior.
The defending Minnesota State Class A 800-meter run champion in track and field expected to run even better during last weekend's race, and he did make that happen by following a preset plan.
"Brad ran a very smart race," Goehle said. "He went out with the lead pack and was able to stay with them for the first mile. Then the top leaders took off, but Brad held onto the place he earned early in the race and maintained it."
What made Haak's performance even more impressive was the fact that he helped the H-BC-E football team win a section championship in Hills the night before the state meet.
Immediately after the football game, Goehle and Haak drove to Lakeville, arriving at their motel early Saturday morning. After a short night of rest, Haak ran his strongest cross country race at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"Brad had a great day. He gained all-state honors and ran the fastest time of his career," Goehle said.