Section 6AA Championships
Location: Gale Woods Farm
Weather: 50 degrees, cloudy, light wind.
BOYS
Season Best Projection: Wayzata (25 points), Edina (72 points)
Season Average Projection: Wayzata (33 points), Minnetonka (67 points)
Top Individuals: Grant Price (Wayzata, 15:45.50), Khalid Hussein (Wayzata, 15:49.40), Adam Wilkinson (Minnetonka, 15:50.97), Max Manley (Edina, 15:52), Joseph Minor (Minneapolis Washburn, 15:56.6)
The Skinny: Khalid Hussein comes in as the clear favorite after continuing what seems to be a stellar season. Teammate, Grant Price has been right up there with him and will look to have a solid 1-2 punch for Wayzata. Wilkinson and Manley seem to also both be doing very well, and seem to be coming into the section meet in top form. After Manley's stellar Griak performance beating Hussein and Price, we'll see if he has the confidence to vie for the title. As for the team battle, Wayzata seems to have this competition. They have been ranked in the top of the state since the preseason, and even have ranked as high as third on the national polls. It really gets interesting in that fight for second place, and the last bid to the state meet. Although Edina is the second team supposedly based of season bests with 72 points, Minnetonka is right on their tail with 73 points. With that high of totals, the difference is miniscule. It could be the difference between one guy having a good or bad day. When looking at the scoring for both teams, they both have low cards in Wilkinson and Manley. It is also important to point out that until their 5th guys, both teams have each scorer within 2 places of the other team's respective scorer. The largest difference is that Edina has a strong 5th, 6th, and 7th as they all have faster seasonal bests than Minnetonka's 5th man. When athletes say that they do not matter being the sixth or seventh man on a team, this is a perfect example where that just is not the case. Look for this to be the biggest battle of the meet.
GIRLS
Season Best Projection: Wayzata (44 points), Edina (65 points)
Season Average Projection: Wayzata (51 points), Minnetonka (55 points)
Top Individuals: Emily Covert (Minneapolis Washburn, 17:32.00), Sophie Whicher (Minnetonka, 17:39.19), Emily Kompelien (Edina, 18:07.00), Emma Atkinson (Wayzata, 18:27.65), Caroline Sassan (Wayzata, 18:27.93)
The Skinny: Emily Covert and Sophie Whicher not only seem to be some of the favorites in the section, but in the entire state. Covert is looking to continue her best season of her career after winning The Griak Gold Race. Whicher seems to be nipping at her heels, and we all know that she will be coming into this meet quite fit. Emily Kompelien will be looking to hold off the Wayzata duo of Emma Atkinson and Carline Sassan. Eden Prairie's Liesl Paulsen will be looking to stay with that group of sophomores as well in order to be the first Eagle across the line. Again with Wayzata out front with a 21 point virtual lead, they look to take home the team title. However, the 3rd and 4th projected teams are both only 9 points behind the predicted 2nd team of Edina. Minneapolis Washburn and Minnetonka both come in with a team total of 74 points. Just like the mens side, each respective scorer for both teams seem to be very close (within one place of each other), except for Washburn's fifth scorer. In the virtual standings, she is seven places behind Edina's fifth, and also behind Edina's first pusher. Look for Anna Kelly of Washburn to try to move her team up a bit and put up a fight in the team race for the coveted top two spots.