PREVIEW
Location: Mankato Loyola/Good Counsel Campus
Weather: Sunny, mid 70s with about 15 mph wind
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Mankato Loyola/Cleveland (35 points), Tri-City United (44 points), LeSueur-Henderson (46 points)
Top Individuals: Mitch Johnstone (Mankato Loyola/Cleveland, 16:33), Lane Schwarz (LeSueur-Henderson, 16:41), Hugo Ruiz (Tri-City United, 16:42), Jerrett Peterson (Mankato Loyola/Cleveland, 16:59)
The Skinny: Despite there only being a handful of relatively small teams attending this meet, there is some legit talent, especially on the boys side. The Mankato Loyola/Cleveland boys are currently ranked 3rd in Class A, the same place they finished at State last season. Though on paper it looks like Tri-City United and LeSueur-Henderson are fairly close, that's largely due to the small size of this meet. Expect the home team to have no issues taking the win here. They should be led by 6th ranked Mitch Johnstone, but he'll have to defend his home turf against fellow ranked runner Hugo Ruiz, who sits at 9th in the polls. Lane Schwarz and Jerett Peterson have also cracked 17:00, so expect them in the mix in a meet in which only 7 boys dipped under 18:00 last season.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: LeSueur-Henderson (28 points), Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (45 points)
Top Individuals: Victoria Flores (LeSueur-Henderson, 19:46), Grace Feder (Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, 20:06), Lauran Dimler (WEM/JEP, 20:18)
The Skinny: On the girls side, expect dominance from the LeSueur-Henderson squad. Victoria Flores should lead them to a fairly comfortable win, and Arlett Rios will provide solid support as a very strong second runner. Flores is also the only girl in the field who has broken 20:00. Lauran Dimler will look to lead her WEM squad to 2nd, and she owns the 3rd fastest PB in the field. Right in front of Dimler is Grace Feder, who qualified for State in the 1600m this spring, eventually taking 10th. If that fitness carries over, Feder may challenge Flores for the individual crown.