Park junior Henry Joa finished 143rd at the Boys Class AAA 5,000-meter race Saturday at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course at Falcon Heights.

Joa, who completed the 5K in 17:32.4, had an off race, but a stellar season and obviously be aiming for more next season.

“Henry got bumped around pretty good during the race and he has the spike marks to show for it,” said Park cross country co-head coach Brad Narveson. “But that’s what happens at the state meet…everyone is good. He’s used to meets where he’s towards the front and ahead of the big group of runners. Not at state. He’s in the big group of runners because it’s almost always a big group of runners. I’m not saying that effected his race, but it just goes to show how competitive the state meet is.

“Henry was under the weather during the week,” Narveson said. “He stayed home from school on Wednesday. We cut Thursday’s practice short because he was still recovering from being sick. It’s still a great accomplishment to get to the state meet and Henry has done it two years in a row. He’s academic all-state, which is a great accomplishment too. He had a great season. And we get him back for one more year.”

Joa was 76th as a junior in the state meet, finishing that race in 16:43.4. Joa ranks third fastest in the all-time best performances with a 15:43 race set in 2024.

Joa and other Park runners are expected to compete in Sunday's NXR Heartland competitions in Sioux Falls, SD.
Section 3AAA Champion Rosemount finished third in the Class 3A team race. Mounds View was eighth, Stillwater ninth, Roseville 12th and Bloomington Jefferson 15th.