Prep Athletes of the Week: Forest Lake's Norah Hushagen keeps pulling away

NORAH HUSHAGEN

Forest Lake • cross-country

Hushagen is only a sophomore, but she is already distancing herself from the Class 3A, Section 7 field. Her coach is not surprised.

"Norah's progression through the season has been impressive but not unexpected," Forest Lake coach John Fick said.

Hushagen successfully defended her medalist honors in the section meet with a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 29.1 seconds at Anoka High School.

"Norah's goal for the section race was to run 17:30," Fick said. "We discussed pacing prior to the race, and she followed the plan perfectly."

Hushagen, ranked fourth in Class 3A by the Minnesota Cross Country Coaches Association, was more than a minute faster than the runner-up. She won the title by 24 seconds in 2021.

"It's harder mentally to race against the clock," Hushagen said. "I would rather have somebody right next to me, pushing me."

Hushagen will return to St. Olaf on Saturday for the state meet, where she finished sixth a year ago despite being spiked on the first turn of the race and bleeding throughout.

"I had a lot of ground to make up after that," Hushagen said. "I am going to go out, do my best and have fun."

TANNER ZOLNOSKY

East Ridge • football

The junior quarterback completed 19 of 26 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns in the Raptors' 40-14 victory over Totino-Grace in the Class 6A playoffs. "Tanner is a very mature quarterback and true leader," East Ridge coach Dan Fritze said. "He teaches all the players on the team to be better players and better people."

SARAH SHAHBAZ

Minnetonka • tennis

The senior concluded her career in style, successfully defending her Class 2A singles championship with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over teammate Kelsey Phillips at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. Shahbaz exits with five state titles: two singles, one doubles (2019) and two team championships (2021 and 2022).

CHARLIE POWER-THEISEN

St. Paul Como Park • cross-country

The fifth-ranked runner in Class 2A won the Section 4 meet with a time of 15:40.95 over the 5,000-meter course at Highland Golf Course. "Charlie has been consistent since middle school and brings it every day," Cougars coach Tim Kersey said. "He enjoys competition."

SYDNEY GILBERTSON

Rosemount • soccer

Gilbertson, a junior who is Rosemount's fifth-leading goal scorer, had shown a tendency to score only in blowouts. That was until the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinals. She scored on a header with 9:54 remaining, giving the No. 2-ranked Irish a 2-1 victory over St. Michael-Albertville. It was her fifth goal of the season.

GABE GOLDENMAN

Two Rivers • football

Goldenman saved his best for last. The senior played a role in two touchdowns in the final 1:10, running for one and throwing a halfback option for the other with seven seconds to play, as Two Rivers rallied to beat Bloomington Kennedy 32-28 in the Class 5A, Section 3 semifinals. He also ran for two earlier TDs and made 13 tackles as a linebacker.

MEGAN LEE

Bloomington Jefferson • cross-country

Lee added to her strong senior season, earning medalist honors in the Class 3A, Section 3 championships for the first time. Ranked fifth in the class, she posted a time of 17:42.5 over the 5,000-meter course. "It was great to see her finally break through for the win," Jaguars coach Sean Faulk said.

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