Conference Championships Begin

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews

Oct 10, 2017

Mora Last Chance Invitational

Weather: Low 50s, sunny, no wind

BOYS

Top Teams: Cambridge-Isanti (40 points), Class A #11 Annandale (50), Class A #9 Mora (51)

Top Individuals: Christopher Groth (Annandale, 16:43), Cooper Lennox (Mora, 16:52), Ryan Droubie (Cambridge-Isanti, 17:11), Justin Hiemkes (Annandale, 17:13), Mason Friesz (Cambridge-Isanti, 17:14)

The Skinny: Small meet for one last tune-up before conferences, with just five teams. A good selection of teams, however, as Cambridge-Isanti is a great matchup for the Class A powers. Our pitrual meet puts Annandale in front by the slimmest of margins, although that may be because the conditions in their last race at Ltchfield (where most of their runners had season-bests) were so much better than Mora's conditions at Swain. Also, perhaps a win for Groth could finally earn him a ranking, although Lennox will be a challenge to beat considering how much he's improved from race-to-race this year.

GIRLS

Top Teams: Annandale (23 points), Mora (60), Cambridge-Isanti (80)

Top Individuals: Emma Fashant (Annandale, 19:58), Jessica Illg (Cambridge-Isanti, 20:02), Alaina Steele (Pine City, 20:08), Jessica Sheer (Annandale, 20:17)

The Skinny: Like any great team, the Annandale girls have improved at virtually every meet this season, and they are approaching the level of performance everyone thought they would reach. Their advantage in this meet is based strongly on the fact that they have six runners with a better season best than Mora's fastest athlete, Johanna Schwinghamer. This is a rare instance where Mora's beautiful spread (their 1-5 were separated by just 13 seconds at Swain) works against them, as Annandale has both a tight spread and a great lowstick in Emma Fashant.