PREVIEW
Delano Invitational
Location: Lake Rebecca State Park
Weather: 80, some clouds, lots of wind
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Delano (33), Southwest Christian (66)
Top Individuals: Nels Trandahl (Rockford, 16:42), Michael Miller (Maple Lake, 16:50), Jack Balsiger (Delano, 18:01)
The Skinny: With Rockford and SW Christian both having just run on at the YNA Lions meet on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see how they approach this much smaller one, especially Rockford's top runner Nels Trandahl. If they race tough, he could get the win, and if not, it'll likely got to Maple Lake's Michael Miller. Either Way, Delano is expected to run away with this one on their home turf, more due to their depth than their top-end talent (only two runners in the field have run under 18 minutes).
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Maple Lake (31), Rockford (42)
Top Individuals: Ava Cusciotta (Rockford, 19:28), Augustus Demarais (Maple Lake, 19:59), Sophie Pribyl (Maple Lake, 20:01), Mary Miller (Maple Lake, 20:03), Grace Jostock (Delano, 20:06)
The Skinny: The girls side certainly has more top-end ability than the boys side, with a ranked team and some excellent individuals competing. Again, with Rockford running on Tuesday, we're not sure how they plan to approach the meet, so Ava Cusciotta may not be running for the win (but she'll be the favorite is she does). But the biggest thing to watch will be the team performance of Maple Lake, one of a stunning five girls squads from Section 5A that are currently ranked (and Rockford doesn't look all that far from Maple Lake themselves).
(written by Mark Rice)