Conference Championships Begin

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews

Oct 10, 2017

Weather: Mid-50's, some clouds, no wind, beautiful

BOYS

Top Teams: Class AA #8 Sartell-Saint Stephen (30 points), Forest Lake (55), Willmar (78)

Top Individuals: Charles Babcock (Forest Lake, 16:11), Alex Nemeth (Sartell, 16:31), Hudeife Mire (Hudeife Mire, 16:37), Mason Wendt (Mason Wendt, 16:39), Ryan Fernholz (Sartell, 16:41)

The Skinny: This meet is well-known for producing fast, fast times, so this will be Charlie Babcock's best chance to break 16 minutes for the first time in his career, and maybe even the best chance for a few others like Willmar's Mire and Wendt. Sartell is definitely the top team here and should take the win, but Forest Lake (who have been having an up-and-down season) could definitely take advantage of the conditions and make things interesting. At this point, Willmar has at-best an outside shot at Sate, but again, this could be a great day to help build up some momentum.

GIRLS

Top Teams: Class AA #4 Willmar (28 points), Class AA #9 Forest Lake (53), Brainerd (93), Sartell-Saint Stephen (94)

Top Individuals: Ingrid Buiceag-Arama (Sartell, 19:01), Regan Duffy (Forest Lake, 19:09), Heidi Schmitz (Willmar, 19:10), Leah Hansen (Willmar, 19:18), Serena Monson (Willmar, 19:29)

The Skinny: Willmar has run some very good races this year, but we have yet to see the jaw-dropping times they are capable of based on what these runners did last year. That should change after this meet, as I sill be shocked if at least two Willmar girls don't run under 19 minutes. Same thing with Sartell's Ingrid Buiceag-Amara. What is more up-in-the-air, however, is the status of Regan Duffy. Saturday's Swain Invitational was Duffy's first race in almost a month, and she was clearly running cautiously (although she still finished 5th overall). A healthy Duffy is an easy pick for a top-two finish, but it remains to be seen if she has recovered enough to run the types of times she is capable of. Still, as Swain showed, her very presence is a huge boost to her Forest Lake team, who are easily one of Minnesota's top teams with her.