A Look Ahead At The Class AAA True Team State Championships


AAA Girls

Section I - Lakeville South - Andrew Hilliard (HC)

Section II - Eagan - Rob Graham (HC)

Section III - Rosemount - Sara Hatleli (HC)

Section IV - Elk River - Russ Gnan (HC)

Section V - White Bear Lake - Patti Percival/ Tyler McCormick (HCs)

Section VI - Roseville Area - Greg Ueland (HC)

Section VII - Wayzata - Alicia Pierskalla (HC)

Section VIII - Alexandria - Meghan Orgeman-Crumb (HC)

Wild Card - Minnetonka- John Steffen (HC)

Wild Card - Hopkins - Andrea Yesnes (HC)

Wild Card - Eden Prairie - Jummy Barlass (HC)

Wild Card - Saint Michael-Albertville - Jason Massmann (HC)

Virtual Meet

The FavoritesAlthough a different gender, Wayzata could a similar outcome on the girls side. Minnetonka's squad, which is the defending champions (and the top wild card qualifier, having taken second to Wayzata at Sections), seems to be the other team upfront in the team battle, and these two teams look to be a cut ahead of everyone else. Like the boys, Wayzata's distance potential is virtually untouchable, and they arguably have the top sprint crew in the field as well. They are led by the trio of Caroline Sassan, Emma Atkinson, and Madeline Tapper.  Meanwhile, Minnetonka will look to their strong duo of Faith Robinson and Olivia O'Brien to lead their jumpers, and Libby Halbmaier to headline their premier mid-distance crew. But in order for Minnetonka to repeat as champions, they will need to well-outdo their projected point totals for throws and for hurdles. Interestingly enough, both teams have very strong relays and in the True Team format, relays can account for a majority of your overall team score.

The ChallengersTeams fighting for the podium in addition to Wayzata and Minnetonka include Rosemount, Eden Prairie, Lakeville South, and White Bear Lake. Adding Hopkins into the mix as well gives this competition a total of four Lake Conference teams (all coming from Section 7AAA), something that would never have been possible before the expansion to a twelve-team field. Some of these names may sound familiar as they are also battling on the men's side. Rosemount is led by defending State Champion hurdler Shae Buchman as she can do it all in the hurdles, jumps, sprints, and even relays. Eden Prairie also has very strong relays, and they must do well for them to finish up high in the team standings. Additionally, Lakeville South will need the depth of their team to score points as they do not have any one or two outliers scoring a majority of the points for their team.

Watch Out ForLooking at some of the strongest individuals across a number of events include Jailyn Robinson and Natalie Windels of Eagan, Alayna Contreras of Hopkins, Kaye Paschka of Alexandria, and the previously mentioned ladies.