PREVIEW: Academy Of Holy Angels Invitational

On this wet and muddy morning, The Academy of Holy Angels will be hosting their eponymous Invitational. The meet is set to take place at Powderhorn Park, right in the heart of Minneapolis. The 3km course consists of one big loop containing a steep hill and a steady climb around the lake in the center of the park. The competitors are a mixture of Class A and Class AA teams, including Benilde-St. Margaret's, The Blake School, Brooklyn Center, Concordia Academy-Roseville, Cretin-Derham Hall, Cristo Rey Jesuit, DeLaSalle, Forest Lake, Fridley, Hill-Murray, Holy Family Catholic, Providence Academy, Richfield, St. Agnes, St. Anthony Village, St. Croix Lutheran, and Visitation. The forecast currently predicts temperatures in the mid 60s with a good chance for thunderstorms at 10AM, when the first gun is set to go off, so weather may alter the schedule.

The favorite in the boys individual battle is Forest Lake junior Charlie Babcock, an athlete who holds a 16:27 5k PR and was runner-up at this race a year ago. He'll have some competition though, as right on his heels are teammates Isaiah Zak and Spencer Kotys, both of whom ran right around 17 flat for 5k last season.

With the Forest Lake girls squad not attending, 6th-ranked Regan Duffy will not be competing. Neither will Providence's Madeline Kelly (4th at the 2016 Class A State Meet), who's out due to injury. That leaves Visitation teammates Margaret Dalseth and Mary Kate Schoonover as the top athletes. Dalseth has broken 19 minutes for 5k, while Schoonover's run 19:12.

In the team competition, the Forest Lake boys have the clear edge. They're the defending champs of this race, and in a virtual meet based on last year's season best 5k times, they take spots 1-4. In total, their 19 points outmatch Benilde-St. Margaret's 67.

On the girls' side, Visitation is projected to have the top 3 finishers in a virtual meet. Those performances add up to Visitation scoring 27 points, ahead of Blake's 69 and Holy Family's 76.