Gannon Farrens stood by himself on the U.S. Bank Stadium field, frozen by disbelief and disappointment. He watched from a distance as Eagan’s boys soccer team burst into celebration.
The Maple Grove senior forward battled hard and scored a highlight-worthy goal in the Class 3A boys soccer state championship. Like every player on the field, Farrens had to feel physically and mentally exhausted after an intense back-and-forth title game ended in overtime with Eagan celebrating its first championship.
A half-hour later, Farrens already had begun preparing himself mentally for his next challenge: the cross-country state championships on Saturday.
“Got to move on [emotionally] and be ready,” he said.
Farrens isn’t just a multisport athlete. He’s a two-sport athlete in the same season who is competing for a championship in his two sports on back-to-back days.
His recovery time is roughly 27 hours from the time the soccer championship game ended Friday until his race in the Class 3A cross-country championship starts Saturday.
While his fellow running competitors might have been resting and conserving energy Friday, Farrens sprinted as fast as his legs could move up and down the soccer field, pouring everything he had into the championship game.
Don’t think he’s conceding anything in his race on Saturday, though. His goal is to finish top 10, which he calls “very doable” in his sixth and final state meet appearance of his high school career.