Earlier this season, Devils Lake cross country coach Nick Kavli said he was excited to see Brooklyn Johnson race against a higher level of competition.

He wanted people to challenge her, given that she came in first place in each of her first two varsity meets.

She got that experience Saturday in the Border Battle in Grand Forks. And it worked to her benefit — she set her personal best in a strong showing for Devils Lake against a host of teams from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. There were more than 2,000 runners from sixth grade through varsity.

Johnson posted a time of 19:24.6 on Saturday. It was faster than her previous best by 27.2 seconds.

The eighth-grader, in her first year running cross country, has beaten 20 minutes in all four varsity races she’s competed in.

Joh

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