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Paynesville, ranked second in the state, and St. Cloud Cathedral, ranked eighth, tied with 48 points apiece after running through the win on the 4,000-meter course, but Paynesville won the Section 5A title on a tiebreaker because the Bulldogs' sixth runner, junior Nicole Flint, beat Cathedral's sixth runner.

Senior Jen Hess added a section team title to the three individual section titles she has won in cross country. She advances to state as a section champ for the third straight year. The defending Class A state champion beat Albany's Rachel Stangler, an all-state runner a year ago, by 23 seconds.

Hess could win her second individual title at the state meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield next weekend and could also be part of a team champion. Hess has earned all-state honors three times in cross country.

Ninth grader Kim Hess (running at right) also qualified individually for the state meet by placing sixth. She covered the course in 15:53.

Eighth grader Brooke Schmitz placed ninth, just missing an individual state trip by two places. Seventh grader Kacy Nehowig was right behind Schmitz, placing tenth.

Once again, the Bulldogs placed four runners in the top ten of a meet, a feat they have done in their last four races and six times this season. At LPGE, the girls actually had five runners in the top ten.

Paynesville's fifth runner was junior Mandy Mayer. She placed 22nd, with Flint almost right at her heels, placing 25th. Flint has run consistently as the Bulldogs' sixth runner all year, but has not been used in the team scoring as the Bulldogs had cruised to seven titles in nine meets.

To get their eighth victory, Flint delivered when needed.

Seventh grader Tanis Beireis was Paynesville's final runner. She placed 44th.

The Bulldogs will run on Saturday at St. Olaf at 2 p.m.

Team Scores
1. Paynesville 48
2. Cathedral 48
3. Pierz 107
4. Rockford 111
5. Albany 121
6. Crosby-Ironton 135
7. Pine City 138
8. Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball 176

Individual Results
1. Jen Hess 15:02
6. Kim Hess 15:53
9. Brooke Schmitz 16:04
10. Kacy Nehowig 16:10
22. Mandy Mayer 17:15
25. Nicole Flint 17:24
44. Tanis Beireis 18:24