Class A Boys
Twitter: @MandiKjelshus
Every year since 2002, the boys team from Perham High School has finished as one of the meet's top four teams. Five times, they have won State. And in 2016, they enter as the favorite after finishing second last year. Six of their seven runners from 2015 return, led by seniors Hunter Kjelshus and Jacob Dickerson. Perham has not yet lost to Class A competition, and has been very competitive against some of Class AA's top teams as well. But standing in Perham's way is a stout Mora team gunning to win their third consecutive State title. Seniors Michael and John Schwinghamer and Alan Sanbeck lead a resilient team that graduated two of their top five last year. Mora has raced Perham twice this year and lost both times, but the point differences have been slim (4 points at Milaca and 21 points at Swain). At Sections, Mora placed five in the top ten and they all ran 17:09 or better. With a total of nine seniors between these two teams, could this be the last great shot at a team title for either team for a couple years? We'll see.
Twitter: @moracctf
However, the team from La Crescent hopes that they can make the job for Perham and Mora a lot more difficult. Junior Matt Steiger and last year's individual champion Zach Emery head the team that is undefeated against Class A competition this year, and feature what is possibly the best one-two punch of any boys team in any class. If any team can break the stranglehold Perham and Mora have, it is likely them. Also looking to put up a strong fight is West Central Area, led by last year's eighth-place finisher Ryley Nelson and freshman standout Jacob Bright. Greenway High School also showed they could also make a play for the podium after great team performance in their section, including a season-best run from talented eigth grader Geno Uhrbom. Windom Area, Mankato Loyola, and G-F-W can all make a strong play for the podium as well.
Declan Dalhberg from Mounds Park Academy appears to be the runner to beat in Class A this year on the individual side. The junior is undefeated against Class A competition this year and has been the top-ranked runner most of the season. But Dalhberg does not have the fastest time of the year in Class A. That honor belongs to Lake City's Carl Kozlowski. Last year's third-place finisher ran 15:29 back in September at the Dover-Eyota Invitational. But Kozlowski only finished third in his own section meet behind La Crescent's Steiger and Emery. Emery will be defending his 2015 individual championship, while Steiger definitely aims to improve his seventeenth-place finish. The Schwinghamers and Sanbeck from Mora all could be in competition, as could former top-10 finishers Ryley Nelson from West Central and Michael Mitchell from The Blake School. Nova Classical Academy's Lucas Mueller has been battling injuries recently, but is still also a force to be reckoned with. But perhaps the most interesting name, and a real wild card candidate, is Willmar Community Christian's senior Matthew Van Eps, the one of the state's top returning 400 meter runners in track, and a cross country rookie who won his section meet in 16:19.