Huge Day With Big Meets, Talented Teams, & Great Runners

2018 Minnesota XC Meet Previews
Milesplit MN Staff

PREVIEW

Worthington Invitational 

Location: Prairie View Golf Course, Worthington, MN

Weather: Low 80's, cloudy, very windy

BOYS

Virtual Meet Projection: Saint James (39), Worthington (54), Martin County West (82)

Top Individuals: Adam Koller (Worthington, 16:14), Seth Pierson (Saint James, 17:02), Troy Parulski (Saint James, 17:03), Carson Kahler (Martin Country West, 17:10), Dalton Piotter (Mountain Lake, 17:11)

The Skinny: Carson Kahler is the top returner from last year's race, where he placed third and established his current PR. Next is Troy Parulski, who finished fourth last year, yet has the third fastest PR in this year's edition of the race. The most interesting individual to watch in this race will be Adam Koller, who has the fastest time by far in the field. However, he finished 5th at his home course last year, and will definitely look to improve on that performance. He has also raced 4 times already in this young season, so he's likely closer to reaching his peak performance than many of the other top competitors. Another top individual include Paluski's partner in crime Seth Pierson. He, along with Paluski, will strive to help his second-ranked Class A team take a win against some good competition. Worthington will hope to improve upon their second place finish at last year's event and give the home crowd something to cheer for.

GIRLS

Virtual Meet Projection: Fairmont (55), Martin County West (83), Pipestone Area (120), Southwest Minnesota Christian (131)

Top Individuals: Morgan Gehl (Murray County Central/Fulda, 18:17), Marissa Whitehead (Martin County, 18:59), Laura Thompson, (Fairmont, 19:17), Sarah Krumholz (Fairmont, 19:25)

The Skinny: The girls race will feature fourth-ranked Class A runner Morgan Gehl, last year's runner-up at this meet. She has made massive improvements since then, though, including a 4th place finish at last year's Class A State Championships. She also put together 4th place finishes in both the 1600m and 3200m in the spring. This fall she has won all 3 races she's entered in, and she ran an incredible 18:17 PR in her first race of the year. It's likely she'll take off from the gun and lead wire-to-wire, and a chase pack of Marissa Whitehead, Laura Thompson, and Sarah Krumholz will evolve behind. Whitehead was last year's champion, and finished 20th, 2nd, and 7th in the last three Class A State Cross Country Meets. Although unranked at this point and off to a relatively slow start, she has always ran her best at the end of the season, so expect her to do great at the coming meets. On the team side, Fairmont is projected to take a commanding win, putting 6 runners in the top 30. They are led by freshman Laura Thompson, who was 4th last year at this meet. Martin County West will try to stay as close as possible to frontrunner Whitehead, and put in a legitimate run for first place.

(written by Adam Wilkinson)

MORE PREVIEWS