NORTHFIELD — Pacelli sophomore Kayla Christopherson took another big step forward and freshman Rory Bickler made a solid first impression at the Minnesota Class A state cross country meet in St. Olaf College Saturday.

Christopherson earned All-State honors for the third time in her four state appearances as she took sixth overall with a time of 19:24.3. Christopherson was just two-tenths of a second behind Brook Wedin of Mora, who finished in fifth.

“It’s really exciting and I worked hard,” Christopherson said. “Everyone worked hard I’m sure, but I’m happy with my results. I was glad to have Rory there, that helped.”

It was a minor miracle that Christopherson was even running at state as she missed six weeks of the season due to a foot injury. Christopherson was able to stay in shape by biking and swimming on her own.

She also had to battle heat stroke after the race Saturday.

“t’s really warm out today and I gave it everything I had at the end,” Christopherson said. “This is the first time I had to go in the medical tent at state.”

Bickler took 113th with a time of 21:07.8 out of 176 runners in her first state meet.

“It was a lot to take in. It was nice having a teammate to run with,” Bickler said. “It’s a lot of people in the first mile, but it does get spread out and you can run your race. I had a pretty good time and I’m OK with how I did. I definitely want to come back.”

Tierny Wolfgram, a freshman from Math and Science Academy, won the meet with a time of 18:23.6.