It's Championships Galore On Conference Tuesday!

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews

Oct 17, 2017

The Big South Conference Championships

Weather: 73 and sunny

BOYS

Top Teams: Big Schools - Marshall (37 points), Waseca (54), Worthington (64); Small Schools - Saint James (22), Redwood Valley (70), Luverne (72)

Top Individuals: Big Schools - Brett Attenberger (Waseca, 16:44), Zach Matzner (Marshall, 16:45), Colton Halla (Waseca, 17:01), Noah Versaevel (Marshall, 17:01); Small Schools - Lukas Pierson (Saint James, 16:26), Grant Strukel (Blue Earth Area, 16:58), Troy Parulski Saint James, 17:18)

The Skinny: Split into two divisions, both the big schools and small schools appear to have a clear favorite in the team battle. For the big schools, that would be Marshall, who come into the meet owning six of the top 14 times, and while Waseca has some talent near the top, theyprobably won't have the depth to make up the difference. In the small schools, Saint James is one of the top teams in all of Class A, and should take the win easily. Same with Lukas Pierson in the individual competition for the small schools. But the individual battle for the big schools will be a lot more interesting with Marshall's Matzner and Waseca's Attenberger. In their one head-to-head matchup this year at the Hutchinson Invitational, it was Matzger overtaking Attenberger by a mere two seconds, but that wasn't a battle for first as this is expected to be.

GIRLS

Top Teams: Big Schools - Marshall (26 points), Waseca (54), Fairmont (62); Small Schools - Luverne (30), Pipestone (74), Redwood Valley (98)

Top Individuals: Big Schools - Ella Dufault (Waseca, 18:52), Abbe Dufault (Waseca, 18:54), Morgan Radel (Marshall, 19:10), Kaia Sueker (Marshall, 19:13); Small Schools - Tenley Nelson (Luverne, 18:42), Regan Feit (Luverne, 19:32), Jessica Christoffer (Jackson County Central, 20:03)

The Skinny: Last year, Marshall put down a perfect score in the team competition, in spite of the fact thay were competing dirctly against the eventual Class A State Champions from Fairmont. This year, they are not expected to repeat that extraordinary feat, as the Dufault sisters from Waseca come in with the best times in the competition, both having gone under 19 minutes (with younger sister Ella having done so twice). Nevertheless the big school division should still be dominated by Marshall thanks to having five of the top eight times. In the small schools, it is Class A's 11th-ranked Luverne as the strong favorite, including the girl who may just run the fastest time of the day in 8th-grader Tenley Nelson. Nelson has been on a remarkable string of success her last three races culminating with a victory over Murray County Central's Morgan Gehl last week at Adrian. She'll hope to continue that success here as the heavy favorite.