With Patrick Roos and Khalid Hussein both competing (among others), the boys distance races on Friday will be a big event to look forward to (Photo provided by Ben Vanderbosch)
AAA Boys
Participating Teams And Their Coaches
Section 1AAA: Lakeville South - Jonathon Gilmer
Section 2AAA: Stillwater Area - Scott Christensen
Section 3AAA: Prior Lake - Ken Klamm
Section 4AAA: Elk River - Russ Gran
Section 5AAA: Blaine - Rob Nick
Section 6AAA: Mounds View - Ross Fleming
Section 7AAA: Wayzata - Aaron Berndt
Section 8AAA: St. Michael-Albertville - Curt Hahn
Wild Card: Edina - David Boone
As is typical of the Class AAA True Team state meet being one of the best track meets in
Minnesota, this year's is no exception. Unlike the Class AA State Championships in June, the True Team meet focuses on the depth of each team, and boy do
these teams have a lot of depth! There are a lot of names to be watching out for on Friday, as we have some very special
athletes in the field. Edina's Patrick Roos could be a major contender in any of the events 800 meters
and up (most likely 1600 and 3200), while individuals such as Khalid Hussein and Gemechu Meskele of Wayzata, Christian Leonard of Elk River, and Roos' Edina teammate Zac Miller
could possibly dethrone him in either the 1600m or the 3200m. On the sprint side, Mounds
View's Nick Sharma has the leading time in both the 100m and 200m with Jeremiah Jacobson of
Lakeville South could contend for the titles. In the 400, there are 10 athletes between these nine teams with season bests of under 52 seconds, so that event will surely be competitive. Colin Dwyer of Prior Lake and
Frank Fetrow of Wayzata come in with top times in the 800, with season bests both under 1:57. This will also
prove to be an event without a clear favorite, but many individuals right near the top to
challenge.
As the champion of this Class AAA True Team state meet four years in a row, Wayzata again seems to be the clear favorite. Headlined by their distance squads, not to mention at least one athlete who could finish in the top three of nearly every event, they seem to be difficult to beat. Ben Grosse seems to opening his horizon a bit competing in multiple events such as the 300 Hurdles
and Long Jump, but will still contribute some major points in the high jump as one of the state's
best. But with any team, there seems to be some sort of weakness. This lies in the short sprints,
short sprint relays, and hurdle events for Wayzata. With the Section 7AAA meet champions
being called by a slim 50-point margin, if a couple guys have an off day, Edina could steal the title. They seem to be highlighted their hurdle events and distance and definitely do not
lack in the sprint events, and their NXN-qualifying distance team is the only one that can realistically compete with Wayzata. Mounds View could also be crowned the champion as they are having
one of their best seasons in recent memory with great depth all around.
Other teams in the mix are Prior Lake, Lakeville South, and Stillwater. Host school
Stillwater usually shows up when needed in big meets and most would not be surprised if they
secured a top-three finish. However, Stillwater's weakest area is in the
field events. Even with individuals like Tyler Olson in the throws, it still may not be
quite enough; true team requires multiple people stepping up in many events and proving the
depth of the overall team that they have.
Similarly, many of the other schools competing have one or two top-tier guys who can bring in a boatload of points in a state meet setting, but won't quite cut it in the True Team format. Similarly, many of the other schools competing have one or two top-tier guys who can bring in a boatload of points in a state meet setting individually, but the strength of one individual compared to the rest of his respective team won't quite cut it in the True Team format. This can be seen in Blaine's Ben Olson who has top eight times in both the 1600m and 3200m. He will be able to attain quite a few points in both events, but it is up to his teammates to truly make a difference in the team scoring (and since they are in the bottom quarter of seed times in all relays they will lose a lot of points in one of the most important aspects of True Team). All in all, this year should prove to be one of the most exciting and tightly contested true team state meets.
(This portion was written by Wes Heal)