As the season goes on, cross country keeps on getting bigger. While the Roy Griak Invitational and the Milaca Mega Meet loom on the horizon, this week Minnesota distance fans will get to witness the enormous Rochester Mayo Invitational. 28 teams are penciled to run, stacking the field with some of the best talent in the state, in both Class A and Class AA. Nearing half a century in age, the 48th edition of the Mayo Invite will kick off at 3:30pm this afternoon. The race will take place at Eastwood Golf Course in Rochester, and it consists of two 2.5k loops winding throughout the golf course. Though this meet has historically witnessed fast times, results in 2016 were relatively slower, a trend that may continue this year given the brutal conditions. It's projected to be in the mid-80s and partly cloudy, but with about 10mph wind. The heat and the breeze should test how tough the racers are. With so many tantalizing matchups, we can't wait for racing to get underway.
Last season, only three girls broke 20 minutes on the day. However, with so much talent expected to run, there's no chance of the same thing happening this year. Headlining the field is Cotter's Grace Ping, who currently holds the 6th position in the Flo50 national rankings. She impressed in her first race back in Minnesota at the St. Olaf High School Showcase, winning convincingly over last year's Class A State champion, Tierney Wolfgram. While Grace enters as the favorite, her little sister Lauren stands as the closest challenger. Ranked 3rd in Class A, the younger Ping had a stellar debut, running 18:21 on the State course at St. Olaf. Behind those two are a slew of other quality runners. Kendall Pfrimmer is running on her home course and enters as the defending champion to this meet. Aly Welch of Rochester Century should be a part of the front pack, as she took 19th at State last season and holds a 5k PR of 18:39. Her teammate Jiayi Li has finished right on her heels in both of Century's races this year, so look for her to do the same this afternoon. Another runner who should be in contention is Red Wing's Grace Johnson, who earned All-State honors in 2015, consistently broke 19:00 last season, and has looked good in her two races this year. Don't forget to keep an eye out for Faribault teammates Madelyn Skjeveland and Ruby Gernandt, who have both broken 19:00 as well. And representing Class A, Stewartville's dynamic duo of Kailee Malone and Abby Orvis should also make a splash. On the team side, 11th-ranked Red Wing is projected to emerge victorious in MileSplit's virtual meet with 68 points, but that hinges largely on the performance of Jasmyn Armstrong, who clocked 18:50 last season but hasn't yet performed at that level in 2017. Perhaps this will be the race that she finds her form. Right behind Red Wing is 12th-ranked Rosemount with 131 points. Their insanely low projected 1-5 spread of 15.60 seconds should be a huge asset in such a large race, though they may be hurt by essentially not having a true lowstick. Rochester Century is predicted to finish next with 139 points, and the Stewartville girls squad is currently ranked 5th in Class A, so they'll also be in the mix.
Though the girls race is completely loaded, the boys race might be just as stacked. The individual battle is expected to be a fight between one of the top runners from both Class A and Class AA. Up front, Addison Stansbury of Stillwater and Matt Steiger of La Crescent are expected to have an epic duel for the victory. Stansbury was impressive in 2016, his rookie year, but he's stepped it up a notch in 2017. At the Columbus Catholic Invitational, Stansbury set a PR in his first race of the season in 15:50.60. That performance resulted in him shooting up to 3rd in the coaches rankings. However, Steiger, last year's Class A State runner-up, has looked equally strong this year. He also opened his season with a PR, running 15:53.20 at the Stewartville Bill Glomski Invitational, defeating 6th-ranked Owen Keiser by a whopping 37 seconds. Class AA's 8th-ranked Luke Labatte of Rosemount has also demonstrated his fitness, running 9:42.80 for two miles at the Irish Invitational, which was good for 2nd in a stacked field. Stansbury's teammates, Joe Hesse-Withbroe, Jacob Ring, and Jack Degonda have all gone sub-16:30, so they'll likely be in hot pursuit of the leaders. Red Wing teammates Tom Nemanich and Asa Beckner have broken that mark as well, as has Class A's 10th-ranked Nick Meyer of Wabasha-Kellogg. La Crosse Logan's Evan Schultz will look to represent Wisconsin, while Spencer Moore will look to run well on his home course, so watch out for these two as well. In the team standings, 3rd-ranked Stillwater is projected to win handily with a virtual meet score of 32 points, followed by 12th-ranked Red Wing's 84 points and 9th-ranked Rosemount's 127. Stillwater has 9 guys who have run under 17:00 in the 5k, so that incredible depth should lead them to victory even if some of their runners have off days. That sets up an intriguing race for 2nd. Red Wing has run well, but hasn't quite matched up with some expectations on paper. Will Red Wing have their breakout race, or will Rosemount nab second? No matter what happens, this race will surely shake up the rankings.