Pierz's Beth-el Algarin already has a lot of hardware in her career but adding a True Team Championship wouldn't hurt. (Photo provided by Beth-el Algarin)
A Girls
Participating Teams And Their Coaches
Section 1A: Lanesboro/Fillmore Central - Jared Pierce
Section 2A: Blue Earth Area - Tom Plocker
Section 3A: Luverne - Pete Janiszeski
Section 4A: Maple Lake - Ben Youngs
Section 5A: Osakis - Lee Van Nyhuis
Section 6A: Frazee - Jim Jacobson
Section 7A: Pierz - Caig Johnshoy
Section 8A: Park Rapids Area - Corey Hill
Wild Card: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted - Andy Hertwig
Perhaps even more so than the Class A boys, the girls True Team competition is less of a springboard for track stars and more of a showcase of team depth. One need only look at each school's top athletes in the 100 meters, the 100 meter hurdles, or the long jump to see that any number of athletes could win their team 18 points. Certainly there are some individual favorites: Howard Lake's Gracie Mallak and Pierz's Beth-el Algarin will probably have a good leg up on their competition in the 1600 and shot put, respectively (even in spite of the latter facing a supremely deep pool of athletes), and Osakis' Kayla Sorenson has achieved one of Minnesota's best marks of the year in the high jump at 5-5. But it is a challenge to look at the athletes these nine teams have to offer and make a truly strong case for any particular one as a front-runner.
The three teams that stand out the most are Luverne, Osakis, and Lanesboro. The former two are two of the top three returning finishers from last year and frequent visitors to Stillwater High School for this competition, while the Lanesboro girls (competing with a combined team from Fillmore Central High School) are making their first appearance ever at the state True Team Championships. Luverne's team does not necessarily have one particular area that is a "greatest strength," because it is very good in a solid majority. Each of its relays could be an event winner. Kammon Sawtelle could gather a lot of points in the throwing events. Tianna Doppenberg is possibly the best short sprinter in the competition, and seventh-grader Brooklynn Versteeg could have a long and great career ahead of her in either (or both) of the 400 and 800.
The jumping and hurdle events are the only areas in which Luverne could be said to have a definite weakness and the places where Osakis could make up the difference. Those areas are the very ones in which Osakis is at its strongest, with thrower Jessica Bliese and the aforementioned jumper/hurdler Kayla Sorenson leading the way. Also with a great potential to help out the team scores will be the Stanek sisters, Tianna and Tessa, who both sprint and jump. While Osakis isn't nearly as deep a team as Luverne, its top talent might just be enough to pull it to the top.
But the same can also be said for Lanesboro, whose combination of long sprinters and distance alone has to put it into contention. Its key athletes are going to be Ashley Miner and Michaela Brazee, whom coach Jared Pierce is going to have to make some tough decisions regarding which four events to fit them into at the meet. But Osakis' depth in some areas like pole vault or distance will have to make up for its holes in the hurdles (sans the talented freshman 300 hurdler Emma Breitchrecher), short sprints, and especially the throws.
While the competition thins a bit after those three teams, a good day for the athletes of Maple Lake or Howard Lake could definitely be enough to push them up to a podium finish. Maple Lake will rely mainly on its jumpers and hurdlers as its primary source of points to make up for its weakness in the sprinting events, while the wild card winner Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted will need its long sprinters, hurdlers, and its deep group of throwers to step up and help Garcie Mallek, Jenna Benson, and Heather Leukuma in the distance, short sprinting, and jumping events.
As for the defending champions from Blue Earth Area, they will have their work cut out for them in trying to repeat this year after so many of last year's key contributors graduated, but with talented jumpers and the best hurdle group of all the teams present, they do have a solid core to work with if they can see some improvement from areas like distance or throws. The remaining three teams in Pierz, Park Rapids, and Frazee will probably not have enough depth to make a serious challenge for the team title, but they could make a strong showing for an upper-half finish if their top event areas (the jumpers for Pierz, distance for Park Rapids, and relays for Frazee) can take away key points from the favorites.