It was a commanding victory for Wayzata senior Maddie Gullickson as she finished in 16 minutes, 54.3 seconds Saturday afternoon at the Class 3A girls state cross country championship on the University of Minnesota campus.
The result never seemed to be in question as Gullickson sprinted across the finish line 37.1 seconds before Forest Lake’s Anna VanAcker, who came in second. Gullickson unleashed her pent-up joy as she completed the race, smiling with her arms raised over her head.
Forest Lake’s Anna VanAcker runs during the Class 3A girls cross country race of the State Tournament at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Saturday, Nov. 01, 2025. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)
Burnsville’s Carley LaMotte finished in third, eight seconds back of VanAcker, while Mounds View’s Linnea Ousdigian placed sixth.
Gullickson said the emotion came not only from winning the state championship but from beating a benchmark she set for herself.
“My big goal this season was to break 17 [minutes], so that was so cool to be able to do it here,” Gullickson said. ”Just knowing how much adversity I’ve faced in the work that I’ve put in the season comes to show in moments like this.”
But just like a cross-country course, the road to this achievement was an uphill battle with challenging twists and turns. Gullickson had to battle through adversity stemming from her previous track campaign.
Gullickson said she had to push through a stress fracture in her foot and a recent nagging illness.
“I raced with it for like, half the track season, and then we finally went and got it checked out,” Gullickson said. “I’ve been facing a sickness the past few weeks, so I’ve been on the come up from that.
Even with the happiness that overcomes one when winning a state championship, Gullickson was quick to praise her teammates when asked about her accomplishment.
“Yeah, it’s awesome, I mean, I’ve won state championships in track, but just like coming out here for cross is just a whole other thing because I have my whole team here with me,” Gullickson said. “I’m not just racing for my success, but I’m racing for my team’s success.”
Her motivation comes from striving for team success, but also in response to a personal setback a season ago.
Gullickson finished as runner-up to then-Forest Lake senior and now Gophers freshman Norah Hushagen last year. She said coming up short motivated her heading into her senior campaign.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because it just motivated me even more this year,” Gullickson said. “It just makes the success so much more … knowing that I put in so much work to get here.”
The North Carolina State commit also spearheaded the Trojans’ fourth straight team title.
Class 2A
Simley freshman Annaleigh Schwab finished in second in the individual race with a time of 18 minutes, 22 seconds – 19 seconds behind St. Francis senior Keira Friedrich. Minneapolis Southwest won the team title.
Class A
St. John’s Prep’s Margaret Duffy won the girls championship. Nova Classical freshman Isabel Pass finished fourth.
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