PREVIEW
Melrose Invitational
Location: Meadowlark Country Club, Melrose
Weather: 60s, mostly cloudy, could see some rain
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: West Central Area (23), Saint Cloud Cathedral (86), Melrose (88)
Top Individuals: Jacob Bright (WCA, 16:10), Jack Van Kempen (WCA, 16:50), Kyle Schill (WCA, 16:51), Kade Runge (WCA, 17:03), Preston Poepping (Melrose, 17:07), Rishi Gulati (SCC, 17:14)
The Skinny: It is all about the fourth-ranked West Central Area in Melrose, as they look to score a miniscule 23 points with a team that has mostly already PRed this season. Those fast times in Moorhead two weeks ago have been justified by even better runs in Spicer last week, so clearly this team is legit, and a real contender for a podium spot at State. Saint Cloud Cathedral (who saved their varsity for today's race after only running their JV team yesterday) and Melrose both have also had solid seasons, and will battle for second. Individually, there is little to stand in the way of a win for Jacob Bright, unless one of his teammates decides to give him a challenge (though it's not expected).
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: West Central Area (23), Sauk Centre (86), Paynesville (92)
Top Individuals: Lexi Bright (WCA, 19:21), Sophia Kluber (Sauk Centre, 20:09), Bryn Fernholz (WCA, 20:17), Teagen Nelson (WCA, 20:17), Ella Vankempen (WCA, 20:22), Macy Carlson (Paynesville, 20:25)
The Skinny: The West Central Area girls, bouncing on and off the Class A rankings at various times this season, are projected to mirror exactly the 23 points of the boys, and are just as strong of favorites as the boys. Granted, the reason WCA fell off the rankings was due to their lack of depth that allowed them to lose a few winnable meets, but that likely won't happen here, although Sauk Centre has definitely looked good too, and could make it close. Interestingly, the individual favorite (in light of Lexi Bright's consistant runs of high-twenty-minutes, well under her PR of 19:21) is Sauk Center's Kluber, who has been in the top three in all four of her races, including one win, and just ran her lifetime best last week. Macy Carlson has looked solid too. But you cannot count out any of WCA's runners based on their history.