Conference Tuesday - The Biggest Day Of XC Of The Year

The Big South Conference Meet

Location: Redwood Valley High School, Redwood Falls

Weather: mid-50's mostly sunny

BOYS

Big School Projection: Marshall (46), Worthington (46), Waseca (77)

Small School Projection: Saint James (30), Redwood Valley (53), Luverne (54)

Top Individuals: Zach Matzner (Marshall, 16:22), Adam Koller (Worthington, 16:32), Grant Strukel (Blue Earth Area, 16:52), Troy Parulski (Saint James, 16:56), Jayson Peyrel (Redwood Valley 16:56),  Seth Pierson (Saint James, 16:57), Bailey More (Saint Peter, 16:57), Mohammed Yaya (Saint Peter, 16:59)

The Skinny: Both Marshall and Saint James come into today's meet as defending champions and in an excellent position to defend their titles. However, Marshall in particular may have a challenging time defending as they sit in an exact tie with Worthington in the virtual meet. Both teams have had very similar seasons and have very similarly-structured teams, and in their one matchup this year back in mid-September, Worthington came out on top by nine points. Saint James has a bit more cushion in the small-school division, but they almost certainly won't approach the margin of victory they did last year as both Luverne and Redwood Valley are potential state qualifiers as well. 

GIRLS

Big School Projection: Marshall (30), Waseca (35), Fairmont (71)

Small School Projection: Luverne (30), Redwood Valley (68), Pipestone (76)

Top Individuals: Tenley Nelson (Luverne, 18:21), Ella Dufault (Waseca, 18:31), Regan Feit (Luverne, 19:03), Natalee Sample (Marshall, 19:04), Jersey Leyson (Marshall, 19:05), Ana Mccabe (Waseca, 19:07), Abbe Dufault (Waseca, 19:19), Catherine Buffie (Redwood Valley, 19:37)

The Skinny: Marshall's stronghold on the big school section of the Big South could be slipping as Waseca has been looking increasingly impressive this year, and finished just six points behind them in their only matchup this year at the Hutchinson Invitational. The matchup has some serious State implications as well as one of these two teams will likely be the runner up in the Section 2AA meet. Fairmont finds themselves in a distant third in the big school projection, but they shouldn't count themselves out entirely as they've had a solid season as well and are likely en route to a state qualification of the own in Class A. Meanwhile, third-ranked Luverne is projected to earn a very comfortable victory in the small schools, just as their top runner Tenley Nelson is espected to do in the individual battle. It's a pity that the meet's top two runners (Nelson and Waseca's Ella Dufault) will not get a chance to race directly against each other as it likely could have been one of the best battles of the day across the whole state.

(written by Mark Rice)