Mora And Norwood Are Sites Of Big Invitationals Today

PREVIEW

Mora Invite

Location: Spring Brook Golf Course, Mora

Weather: High 70s, sunny, strong winds

BOYS

Virtual Meet Projection: Mora (53), Heritage Christian Academy (82), Spectrum (135)

Top Individuals: Cooper Lennox (Mora, 16:16), Nathan Williams (Mora, 16:50), Jake Andres (Pierz, 16:54), Tommy Ryan (Pine City, 16:55), Luke Swanson (Northwest Homeschool Co-op, 17:00)

The Skinny: Cooper Lennox headlines the individual race with his current ranking of fifth in Class A.  He has proven to be a great runner with two eighth place finishes at State last year in cross country and the 3200m.  He has competed against some tough Class AA competition already this year and has even come away with a win so he looks primed to run a great race today. The battle behind him will be very tight, however, as the next six-fastest runners all have PRs within 15 second of each other. The team from Mora is ranked tenth in Class A after two decent showings so far, neither of which, however, are close to where they hope and expect to be by season's end. They will be looking to continue their winning streak after winning this meet the past two consecutive years. Their biggest competition will be their fellow Section 5A competitor and surprise State qualifier last year, Heritage Christian Academy. But it is the individual battles that will likely be the most interesting thing to watch.

GIRLS

Virtual Meet ProjectionHoward Lake-Waverly-Winsted (53), Providence Academy (67), Mora (91)

Top Individuals: Gracie Mallak (Howard Lake-Waverly-Winstead, 18:49), Erika Swanson (Northwest Homeschool Co-op, 19:23), Cheresa Bouley (Zimmerman (19:25), Madeline Kelly (Providence Academy, 19:42)

The Skinny: The team from Howard-Lake Waverly-Winstead is ranked sixth in Class A and is lead by Gracie Mallak who is ranked ninth in Class A. Mallak won the Maple Lake Invitational earlier this season but finished 19th at the Tri-City United Gerry Smith Invitational behind many of her Class A competitors. She will have a challenger in Erika Swanson who has proven herself as a top Class A name with an 18th place and 20th place finish at the 2016 and 2017 state championships. She started her season off with a win at the Rockford Rocket Run and will be in the hunt to add more wins to her season. Cheresa Bouley is a Class AA runner from Zimmerman that has not raced yet this season but should be able to stay in the mix for the individual title as a state meet participant herself (assuming she runs). Madeline Kelly will also be in the mix for her second race of the season.  Howard Lake-Waverly-Winstead is projected to finish with three in the top ten which bodes well with a winning team score. They had an early season win at the Maple Lake Invitational and look to add another one to their season. However, neither Providence or Mora entered the season ranked, but impressive opening performances from put have put them in that position now, so they'll certainly be competitive as well.

(written by Emma Benner)