Stars Out To Shine On Today's Big Day Of Racing

Detroit Lakes Invitational 

Location: Detroit Lakes Country Club, Detroit Lakes

Weather: Low 70s and low humidity

BOYS

Virtual Meet Projection: Shanley (40), West Central Area (46), Detroit Lakes (68)

Top Individuals: Jacob Bright (West Central, 16:10), Tanner Olson (Detroit Lakes, 16:28), Ben Asheim (Shanley, 16:55), Jack Englund (Alexandria, 17:07)

The Skinny: Jacob Bright of West Central Area will be gunning for another win today after opening his season with a win at the Morris Invitational. In his second race of the season, the Deb Christopher Memorial Meet, he finished in a disappointing fifth place behind some of his Class A opponents that were ranked behind him. He started the season being ranked fourth but has moved down to being ranked tenth after last week's results. This meet will give him a chance to reassert himself a bit. Bright had a great season last year coming away with a ninth place finish at the state championships but did not compete during the track season. Tanner Olson of Detroit Lakes will running his second race of 2018 cross country season after a track season that brought him new personal bests in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. Olson will not let Bright get the easy win as they consistently have finished near each other in previous seasons. Shanley and West Central Area are the teams to watch at this meet. Although Shanley has the projected win, West Central Area is currently ranked seventh in Class A. West Central Area is looking for their first team title of the season after coming in second in both of their meets previous meets.

GIRLS

Virtual Meet Projections: Alexandria (31), West Central Area (63)

Top Individuals: Bethany Miller (Alexandria, 19:18), Lexi Bright (West Central Area, 19:21), Aleah Miller (Alexandria, 19:21), Lily Peterson (Lake Park-Audubon, 19:28)

The Skinny: Alexandria will be hard to beat for the team title today with their top five scorers projected to finish in the top ten. They will be lead by the Miller sisters, Bethany and Aleah. The team from West Central Area, led by Lexi Bright, is currently ranked eleventh in Class A, after finishing 15th in 2017 with a very young team as only one of those top five runners this year is a senior. As this team could be together for many years, keep an eye on just how high they can climb in the Class A ranks. The Millers and Bright have very similar personal bests so the individual title may not come easy. This course in the past has not been very fast, so with the slowed times, it's possible for many more people to make their way up and change up the team and individual placements even more.