Conference Championships Begin

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews

Oct 10, 2017

Adrian Invitational

Weather: Mid-70's, partly cloudy, light wind, fairly humid. A bit warm for running.

BOYS

Top Teams: Marshall (39 points), Worthington (58), Mountain Lake (96)

Top Individuals: Zach Matzner (Marshall, 16:45), Nathan Runck (Mountain Lake, 16:45), Noah Versaevel (Marshall, 17:01), Adam Koller (Worthington, 17:08), Mitchell Buerkle (Springfield-Cedar Mountain-Comfrey, 17:15), Brady Henning (Adrian, 17:16)

The Skinny: Six of the top ten season bests in this race are owned by either Marshall or Worthington, so the final outcome will likely come down to either one of those two. Both Matzner and Runck are coming off races on Saturday where they probably didn't do as well as they hoped, but both have two victories this year, and Runck has six total top-two finishes. The battle for the win should be between those two, with the rest of the pack fighting for 2nd

GIRLS

Top Teams: Marshall (22 points), Luverne (93), Canby/Minneota (126)

Top Individuals: Morgan Gehl (Murray County Central, 19:10), Morgan Radel (Marshall, 19:10), Kaia Sueker (Marshall, 19:15), Tenley Nelson (Luverne, 19:31), Regan Feit (Luverne, 19:32)

The Skinny: Perhaps the most inconsistent thing about Morgan Gehl this year has been where she's ranked in the Class A Coaches Poll. Everything else she has done has been textbook quality with four wins and six top-three finishes all between 19:50 and 19:10. She'll be challenged by at least one Marshall runner in this race, probably multiple, but should be able to hold them off. Class AA 8th-ranked Marshall will win the team battle, and it won't be close, but Class A 11th-ranked Luverne will made a strong showing too, and past seasons have indicated that right around this point in the season is when they start really taking off.