One More Massive Day - Thursday Sections

2017 Minnesota XC Meet Previews
Milesplit MN Staff

Section 5AA Championships

Location: Anoka High School

Weather: Low 50's, partly cloudy, great for running

BOYS

Season Best Projection: Mounds View (47 points), Saint Michael-Albertville (66), Maple Grove (73)

Season Average Projection: Mounds View (37), Saint Michael-Albertville (82), Centennial (89)

Top Individuals: Ben Olson (Blaine, 15:58), Austin Streit (Mounds View, 16:14), Blake Iverson (Maple Grove, 16:16), Lukas Hessini (Mounds View, 16:21), Paul Breitbach (Coon Rapids, 16:31)

The Skinny: This section has been Mounds View's to lose since the season started, but they certainly haven't been without their struggles as the season has gone on. They have persevered, however, and they come in as the overall favorite. The second spot ought to be a great battle, as STMA, Maple Grove, and Centennial have all placed within ten points of each other in previous meets that they have faced each other. In the individual competition, Ben Olson holds the top time coming in, but with two DNF's in his last three races, he hasn't been finishing the season nearly as strong as he'd have hoped to, so depending on how he elects to run this race (for the win, or for the qualifying spot), the door could be open for Iverson, Breitbach, or one of Mounds View's runner to take it (maybe even David Dahl, which would be a great cap on an otherwise tough season).

GIRLS

Season Best Projection: Saint Michael-Albertville (22 points), Maple Grove (81), Centennial (92)

Season Average Projection: Saint Michael-Albertville (23 points), Maple Grove (77), Centennial (89)

Top Individuals: Annalise Davis (STMA, 18:37), Ali Weimer (STMA, 18:40), Morgan Dahl (Mounds View, 19:00), Mia Salas (STMA, 19:22), Katie Sigerud (STMA, 19:22)

The Skinny: In comparision to their competition, STMA is so deep and so good it would be virtually impossible for them to not take first. They project four runners in the top five, and all seven of their runners are within the top 17 in terms of their season bests. This will probably be the most dominating win for any team in an section. The second spot, however, gets more interesting. Maple Grove is slightly favored in both methods of projecting, but they have split their season competitions with Centennial (who qualified as a team last year), so  either team could realistically come away with a qualification. And for the individual battle, the big question is whether or not the recently-hot Morgan Dahl can run the whole way with Annalise Davis or Ali Weimer, as she is the only girl with a realistic chance at taking the section title away from one of those two. But after that top five, the next tier of athletes is very close and very crowded, so there will almost certainly be a lot of great races for athlete's who's seasons will nevertheless end today.