It's Championships Galore On Conference Tuesday!

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews
Milesplit MN Staff

Metro East Conference Championships

Location: St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park

Weather: 69 degrees and sunny with 7 MPH wind, 48% humidity

BOYS

Top Teams: Saint Thomas Academy (42 points), Hastings (56 points), Tartan (86 points)

Top Individuals: Myles Fleming (Henry Sibley, 15:57), Ryan Tracy (St. Thomas Academy, 16:13), David Nogle (Hastings, 16:43), Luke Kolar (St. Thomas Academy, 16:56), Thomas Thurlow (Saint Thomas Academy 17:03)

The Skinny: Conditions are looking fairly solid for this afternoon as these talented athletes compete in the fairly tough Metro East Conference Championships. This course isn't particularly fast, as last season Myles Fleming won with just 16:49, his slowest time of the year other than Griak. Fleming is looking like he has a great chance to defend his title this season, as he's ran sub 16 this season, the fastest PR in the field. St. Thomas Academy's Ryan Tracy will be his biggest challenger, but even if he doesn't take down Fleming in the individual competition, he may certainly do that in the team competition. St. Thomas Academy is the fastest team going in, as they win the virtual meet with 42 points.

GIRLS

Top Teams: Henry Sibley (30 points), South Saint Paul (41 points), Mahtomedi (76 points)

Top Individuals: Amanda Kelly (South St. Paul, 19:22), Rose Dill (Henry Sibley, 19:31), Linnea Urban (Hastings, 19:36), Caroline Johnson (Henry Sibley, 19:38), Star Costa (South St. Paul, 19:48)

The Skinny: 10th-ranked in Class AA, Henry Sibley will be the team favorite heading into this race, but don't overlook South Saint Paul, a team with 2 runners under 20. However, Sibley's 47 second spread will make them very difficult to take down. As for the individual competition, it's really a wide open race. Star Costa won last season, and while she's improved over the season, she hasn't been running quite up to that level yet. We'll have to see if she can find that form again in this race. On the other hand, it's her teammate, Amanda Kelly, that has been posting the top times, putting her at the top in terms of fastest PR's in the conference with her 19:22 PR.