Carson Goodell is fastest freshman; Jackson Goodell finishes in top third

NORTHFIELD — For the first time since 2006, the Albert Lea cross country team was represented by two runners at state: the Goodell brothers.

Jackson Goodell, a senior three-time state qualifier, earned his highest state finish, while freshman Carson Goodell, already Section 1AA’s fastest freshman, became not only the fastest freshman in Class AA, but the fastest freshman in the state.

With a time of 16:37.4, Jackson Goodell took 53rd place in the 176-runner field, and Carson Goodell finished 91st in 16:58.0 Saturday at the Class AA state boys’ cross country meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

“I am very proud of both young men and happy for their family,” said Tigers coach Jim Haney. “It is so rare to have two brothers compete with each other in such a big race. What a great memory to have.”

Carson Goodell made massive strides by cutting more than a minute, 1:04.1, from his time Sept. 4 at the same course during Albert Lea’s second meet of the season.

“Since I was more familiar with the course, that helped me run a better time,” Carson Goodell said. “It was a pretty cool experience going with my brother.”

The highlight of the race for Carson Goodell was the last hill before the finish line.

“Coming down that final stretch, it was really loud,” he said.

Although Carson Goodell had the top finish of any freshman in the state, two eighth-graders from Chanhassen — Zach Long and Nick Scheller — edged him by taking 87th and 90th place in the Class AA race. Cross country in Minnesota has two classes, and the fastest freshman in the Class A race was Perham’s Clayton Anderson, who took 58th place with a time of 17:21.5, which was 23.5 seconds slower than Carson Goodell.

After qualifying for state behind five seniors with a sixth-place finish at the section meet, Carson Goodell turned the tables on Lakeville North’s Collin Van Dussen at state. Van Dussen took fourth at the section meet 8.3 seconds ahead of Carson Goodell. At state, Carson Goodell edged Van Dussen by 2.6 seconds.

“In year one of cross country, he has learned so much, and he has a great deal of confidence headed into next season,” Haney said about Carson Goodell. “He will be one of the top runners in the section and a force to deal with in the coming years.”

Jackson Goodell moved up 15 spots from his state finish last year. As a sophomore, he finished 92nd with a time of 16:56.0. Last year, he took 68th in 16:35.7. This year he moved up 15 spots even though his time was 1.5 seconds slower than last year.

The course was at the same location as last year, but it was laid out differently, Jackson Goodell said.

“It was a new course this year, but I liked it,” he said. “It’s been a fun year, and it was a good race.”

In Jackson Goodell’s sophomore season, he was five places away from the cut for the top half of the field at state. Last year, he broke that barrier and placed in the top half. As a senior, he finished in the top third.

“Jackson ran his best state meet in his third try,” Haney said. “We were looking for improvement, and that’s exactly what Jackson did. He went out, pushed the pace in the race and gave everything he had.”

The last time the Tigers had two state cross country qualifiers was in 2006 with Ethan Marquardt and Chrissy Monson.

Jackson Goodell was one of five seniors listed on the Albert Lea boys’ cross country team’s Minnesota State High School League roster. The team doesn’t have any juniors this season, but it has nine sophomores and 10 freshman.

“The future is bright for the Albert Lea boys’ cross country team,” Haney said. “We lose some great senior leadership, but we have some runners to step up for next year and the coming years.”