4. Wayzata Will Take Down The All-Time 4x800 Record
It's no news to hear that Wayzata has a good distance squad this year. They are not only the two-time defending state champions in cross country, but they also have depth that makes other teams drool. As such, Wayzata has a strong history of doing well in the 4x800, even when they don't necessarily put their four best runners on it.
But what if they did? What could they be capable of?
Two years ago, Wayzata did stack their 4x800 squad with their four best runners (Khalid Hussein, Andrew Millan, Gemechu Meskele, and Tommy Leisen) in an effort to challenge the Hopkins 4x800 squad of Hunter Staack, Sam Branson, Jack Henschel, and Seth Eliason. The resulting battle at the Class AA Championships ended with both squads running top-six times in state history - 7:44.56 for Hopkins and 7:46.13 for Wayzata.
But frankly, this year's crop of 800 runners is better than two years ago for Wayzata, and it's not really even close. And you don't need to look any further than the recent Fargo Davies Indoor Invitational for the proof. Due to the combination of speed and endurance required for an 800, there is no event that it is more difficult to run great early-season times. Yet in the open 800 meter race, Wayzata claimed the top six spots, and the top four all dipped below two minutes. Those four athletes were Hussein, Anders Sonnesyn, Patrick Leonard, and Frank Fetrow. Of those four athletes, Hussein actually has the slowest open PR at 1:57.78, which he achieved in Fargo last week. Meanwhile, Sonnesyn has run 1:57.71, Fetrow 1:56.79, and Leonard has the top returning 800m time in the state at 1:55.50. Behind those four, Wayzata has even more great depth, including Liesen, Mitchell Tolander, and several others who have all run close to or under two minutes in the 800.
The 4x800 record is currently held by a quartet of Stillwater runners back from 1998. Their time was 7:41.94 (an average relay split of approximately 1:55.48). That was the same squad that was named the best XC team in the nation that fall, and consisted of two runners (Sean Graham and Luke Watson) that went on to run professionally. It was a truly legendary team, and has a good claim on the title of being the best distance squad in the history of Minnesota high school running. But should they choose to do so, and if they face good enough competition (I'm sure Stillwater's own current 4x800 squad will want in on any record-breaking that could take place), there is no reason why Wayzata's current squad cannot break that mark.