Conference Tuesday - The Biggest Day Of XC Of The Year

Suburban East Conference Championships

Location: Tanners Brook Golf Club, Forest Lake

Weather: High 40s, partly cloudy, decent breeze

Boys

Virtual Meet Projection: Mounds View (39), Stillwater (51), White Bear Lake (95), Forest Lake (116)

Top Individuals: Addison Stansbury (Stillwater, 15:27), Austin Streit (Mounds View, 15:36), Acer Iverson (Roseville, 15:37), Lukas Hessini (Mounds View, 16:01), Charlie Babcock (Forest Lake, 16:08), Finn Sokolowski (Mounds View, 16:16), Tryg Solberg (White Bear Lake, 16:18), Lars Dewall (Stillwater, 16:22), Yonas O'Malley (Stillwater (16:23), Will Sacay (Mounds View, 16:23), Maxwell Nelson (White Bear Lake, 16:25), Max Charlsen (Forest Lake, 16:25), Joseph Reimann (East Ridge, 16:26), Aidan Browne (Woodbury, 16:27)

The Skinny: In what has become arguably the second best conference in the state, the boys competition will be absolutely stacked. Acer Iverson returns as the defending champion, and his win last year came in impressive fashion. He led wire to wire, obliterating the field by 22 seconds. However, he'll face tougher competition this year after improvements from Addison Stansbury and Austin Streit. Stansbury is fresh off the race of his career, where he defeated both Iverson and Streit in a victory at the Alexandria Lions Meet of Champions. Stansbury ran 15:27 en route to his win, the fastest time in the state so far this season. Streit had an impressive race of his own there, finishing in 15:36, with Iverson one second back. As these three are all ranked in the top eight, this race should be a toss-up. In pursuit, Lukas Hessini and Charlie Babcock should lead the chasers. They've both had extremely strong seasons in their own right, with Babcock most recently finishing 2nd at Swain and Hessini coming on off of consecutive runs under 16:10. These five took the top five spots in 2017, setting the stage for a thrilling sequel. The rest of Mounds View and Stillwater's packs should take up many of the rest of the top positions, with the two squads ranked 3rd and 4th respectively. The Mustangs have defeated the Ponies multiple times this year, and will be favored to do so again. They'll especially be favored with just nine teams, with less people to displace their 5th runner. If Lars Dewall and/or Yonas O'Malley can have strong days to match Hessini and Finn Sokolowski, they'll have a chance at an upset. And the 8th-ranked White Bear Lake boys should round out the top three behind their power duo of Maxwell Nelson and Tryg Solberg.

Girls

Virtual Meet Projection: Stillwater (33), Forest Lake (50), White Bear Lake (78)

Top Individuals: Analee Weaver (Stillwater, 18:14), Avery Braunshausen (18:39), Halle Mestery (East Ridge, 18:54), Madeline Verkerke (White Bear Lake, 19:02), Morgan Peterman (Stillwater, 19:07), Natalie Runquist (Forest Lake, 19:13), Regan Duffy (Forest Lake, 19:14), Brooke Elfert (Stillwater, 19:15), Natalie Andres (White Bear Lake, 19:20), Jordan Parent (Forest Lake, 19:30), Morgan Dahl (Mounds View, 19:30)

The Skinny: Despite Morgan Dahl returning as the two-time defending champion, she won't be the favorite. Instead, 9th-ranked Analee Weaver's breakout campaign makes her the runner to beat on Tuesday. Weaver has been on a tear this season, and is fresh off a lifetime PR of 18:14 at Alexandria. Surprisingly, Weaver has yet to win a race this fall, as she's faced strong competition in every meet so far. She should gain some confidence heading into sections with a conference title under her belt. Weaver's teammate Avery Braunshausen currently sits 10th in the rankings, and has shown great improvement from her rookie year. Regan Duffy was the runner-up here last year, and will attempt to bring her teammate Natalie Runquist along. Halle Mestery joins the two Ponies as the only girl under 19:00 this season, and most recently won her first cross country race at the Thundering Royal Elk Invite. Madeline Verkerke has done well to lead her White Bear Lake squad, so watch out for her as well. After the top two, the field is packed, so anything can happen. Led by Weaver and Braunshausen, the 6th-ranked Ponies are joined by Brooke Elfert, Morgan Peterman, and Anne Kiolbasa to form a phenomenal core five. They should win somewhat comfortably, though the 8th-ranked Forest Lake girls are also a force to be reckoned with. The Rangers will have to displace Stillwater's 5th by enough to outweigh their lowsticks. The 11th-ranked White Bear Lake girls should round out the top three, as they've been solid all year.

(written by Sam O'Donnell-Hoff)