All-Minnesota Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year: Roseville’s Robert Mechura

Roseville cross-country runner Robert Mechura doesn’t believe in hype songs on his playlist or prerace rituals. Such things, he has found, work against his abilities to be at his best. Sometimes, there isn’t enough time before a race to get in whatever zone he desires.

Once the race starts, however, Mechura runs with guts akin to former Olympian Steve Prefontaine and the focus of Acer Iverson, a local legend and previous state champion from Roseville. Mechura melded the best of both runners, yet he brought talents all his own. Talents leading to fast times and high finishes, which led to this:

Mechura is the repeat selection as Star Tribune Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

The 2023 fall season’s anticlimactic final race — a 20th-place finish at the Nike Cross Nationals on a rain-soaked Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. — “was 100 percent disappointing,” Mechura said. “But it provides motivation for the future.”

He reached an even higher echelon this season, winning six cross-country races during his senior year — culminating in the Class 3A state championship in a time of 15 minutes, 3.7 seconds. He edged Minnetonka’s Sean Fries, who finished second in 15:06.5.

“It was certainly difficult because the past three or four meets, I was more laid back,” Mechura said after the race. “It can be a little tough to snap back into the mode of having to compete the whole race. …

“There are a lot of great athletes who are pushing me the entire race. You don’t want to take anything for granted. A junior could beat a senior any time — just like what happened last year.”

Mechura was referring to the 2023 Class 3A state meet, when he caught and passed Minneapolis Southwest senior Sam Scott in the final 20 meters.

Finishing the high school cross-country season with an exclamation point this time, Mechura ran to 10th on Dec. 7 at the Nike Cross Nationals.

Mechura will run next season for the North Carolina Tar Heels having not lost a Minnesota high school race in more than two years. He reflected on his sustained greatness after repeating as the 3A state champion.

“I always have to bring my best,” Mechura said after he conquered the 5,000-meter route at the Les Bolstad Golf Course on the University of Minnesota campus for the second consecutive year. “And I had confidence in my ability to win again.”