Alexandria Twins Face Off For Top Spot At State Cross Country Meet
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (WCCO) -- The state cross country meet was held Saturday at St. Olaf, with the biggest question mark surrounding the girls Double-A race.
It was a showdown between two twin sisters from Alexandria, years in the making.
In a way, Megan and Bethany Hasz have been racing each other their entire lives. Their first showdown was over who would enter the world first.
Megan won that one by a comfortable margin -- 28 minutes.
They've pretty much been following each other, one after the other, ever since. And never again that far apart -- 28 seconds, by Megan's estimate.
Two years ago, as sophomores, Bethany and Megan finished 1st and 2nd in the state cross country meet. Bethany edged her sister by 20 seconds.
Then last year as juniors, they swept the top spots again. Except this time it was Megan first and Bethany second, by 3 and a half seconds.
That made this year the rubber match -- the decisive tiebreaker. It was their final high school race for life-long bragging rights.
"We're competitive," Bethany said. "We're competitive against pretty much anyone, like even each other. But we're still best friends at the end of the day, and me beating her isn't going to change that."
Everyone at the meet knew they were the two to beat, but everyone wondered the same thing: Which one would beat the other?
Two miles in, Bethany had pushed out to a four second lead, and as they came down the stretch, she stretched her lead even further before crossing the finish line, 6 and a half seconds ahead of her sister.
For the third year in a row, the Hasz twins had gone one and two, and it was Bethany winning the tiebreaker.
"We're just sad it's our senior year," Bethany said. "We're going to miss our coaches, and our team. It's weird that this is our last state cross country meet."
The rest of the state, probably doesn't share their sadness.