PREVIEW
Luverne Bruce Gulf Classic
Location: Luverne HS, Luverne
Weather: 70 and sunny
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Sioux City North (44), Beresford (66), Martin County West (82), Luverne (87)
Top Individuals: Alec Atwood (Beresford, 15:58), Deven Pace (Sioux City North, 16:26), Jaysen Bouwers (Sioux City North, 16:30), Jackson Wilson (Douglas, 16:35)
The Skinny: There will be a match-up of teams from South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota at today's race. Competing for the title, it is projected to be down to Sioux City North High School from Iowa and Beresford High School from South Dakota. Sioux City North already defeated Beresford at the Augie Twilight by 78 points. The top two Minnesota teams in this race are Luverne and Martin County West. Alec Atwood is the top name in this field and has already raced three times this season, two of which he won by a large margin. He was the 2017 runner up at the South Dakota State Championships in Class A. He is the top returner this season but it will be a very close race for the state title. Jaysen Bouwers started his season as the top runner for Sioux City at the Augie Twilight where he finished only seven seconds off of his personal best.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projections: Luverne (42), Beresford (85)
Top Individuals: Tenley Nelson (Luverne, 18:35), Marissa Whitehead (Martin County, 18:49), Alissa Wieman (Douglas, 19:08), Regan Feit (Luverne, 19:18)
The Skinny: Tenley Nelson is off to a great start to her season, already running to a 15-second personal best at the Mountain Lake Paul Metcalfe Invite where she finished behind Morgan Gehl (who is ranked one spot above her in the Class A rankings). Nelson is currently ranked fifth which she has proven to be her spot after fifth place finishes at state in both cross country and the 3200m last year. Marissa Whitehead finished close behind Nelson at the 2017 state meet, coming in seventh. However, she has had a few off performances to start her season. She finished almost two minutes behind Nelson at the Mountain Lake Paul Metcalfe Invite. Closing the gap between her and Nelson is crucial for her to reassert herself in the top rankings of Class A. The team from Luverne has won both of the varsity meets that they have attended this year and look to continue that winning streak at today's race. Their biggest competitor would be the team from South Dakota in Beresford but they should have them beat by a good margin.