PREVIEW
Lake City Invite
Location: Hok-Si-La Park, Lake City
Weather: Cloudy, low 70s, humid
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Austin (31), Kasson-Mantorville/Triton (64), Plainview-Elgin-Millville (88), La Crescent-Hokah (98)
Top Individuals: Henry Hinchcliffe (Austin, 15:57), Isaac Threinen (Kasson-Manterville, 16:23), Brockdon Lawhead (Austin, 16:35), Jace Minelli (Kasson-Manterville, 16:36), George Gustafson (Kasson-Manterville, 16:40)
The Skinny: Class A and AA talent will collide under nearly perfect conditions at Hok-Si-La Park on Tuesday. AA Austin is projected to take a commanding win over a ranked talent with 31 points. They are led by senior Henry Hinchcliffe, who has the fastest PR in the field. He has yet to turn on the jets this year, running 17:19 and 17:41 in his two meets thus far. Last season he crossed his first two courses in 17:37 and 17:32, while eventually running 15:57 at the end of the year, and he is the top returner from this meet last year. So stay patient and expect big things out of him in the coming races. Next up is Kasson-Mantorville/Triton, another AA team, projected to finish runner-up. Their frontrunner, junior Isaac Threinen, is also projected to be runner-up, and he has ran the fastest time this season out of anyone in the field. This came as a 16:23 effort at the Augie Twilight that placed him 16th. Teammates Jace Minelli and George Gustafson will try to follow closely behind, as those they all hold similar PRs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville, re-entering the rankings at #12 this week, will also be gunning for a podium spot, and they are projected to be in solid contention for third. Samson Hagen, Griffin Doughty, and Austin Dawley all hold PRs within 17 seconds of each other. La Crescent also received votes in last weeks poll, but is not in the top 12 this week. They will have a good shot to be the top A team, as they are projected to put their first 4 in the top 20 finishers. They'll rely on Jake Boudreau to step up and score low points for a chance at upsetting PEM.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Stewartville (55), Austin (57), Lake City (65), Dover-Eyota (91)
Top Individuals: Abigail Lewis (Austin, 18:57), Kailee Malone (Stewartville, 19:58), Morgan Hose (Austin, 19:27), Jacey Majerus (Lake City, 19:51)
The Skinny: Abigail Lewis and Kailee Malone should have an exhilarating matchup up front, as they both have sub-19 PRs, and only 1 second separates the two of them. Both have ran similarly thus far in the season, each with two races over 20 minutes (Malone has ran 3 races, the third being a 19:47). Malone finds herself still receiving votes for the top Class A girls, despite moving down from a ranking of 12th last week. Also keep an eye out for Morgan Hose, Jacey Majerus, Tiana Wiebke (Kasson-Manterville), and Vaughn Nadia (Austin), as they all have ran under 20 minutes in the past. On the team side, 6th-ranked Stewartville is projected to edge out Class AA Austin by just two points. If Stewartville can pull this off, they will likely see a boost in the rankings once again next week. 8th-ranked Lake City will look to prove themselves as well, as they've stayed at that 8th ranking for the entirety of the season. Dover-Eyota is projected to finish in a nearby 4th place. They are currently unranked, but a solid performance on Tuesday could easily change that.