PREVIEW
Byron Invitational
Location: Byron High School
Weather: High 70s, sunny, very windy
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Kasson-Mantorville (20), Byron (57), Stewartville (62)
Top Individuals: Isaac Threinen (Kasson-Mantorville, 16:23), Jace Minelli (Kasson-Mantorville, 16:36), George Gustafson (Kasson-Mantorville, 16:40), Nathan Jacobs (Byron, 17:58)
The Skinny: This small race (around 80 athletes) will be dominated by Kasson-Mantorville on both the individual and team side. Isaac Threinen comes in with the fastest PR at 16:23, a time which he ran at the Augie Twilight just a couple weeks ago. Jace Minelli's PR is not far behind, and he is the lone competitor who ran at the MSHSL State Meet last fall, in addition to being last year's champion. However, he did finish a minute behind his teammate Threinen at the Augie Twilight, so he'll likely have to return to last season's form if he wants to have to chance to beat his frontrunning teammate. A wide margin separates the KM trio from the rest of the field, as only one other athlete, Nathan Jacobs of Byron, has broken 18 thus far. KM is projected to put 4 in the top 5 and the 5th within the top 10, so they should run away with this one pretty handily. Stewartville, led by sophomore Jacob Ratelle, will look to narrow their 1:22 1-5 gap in order to compete with host Byron on their home course.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Stewartville (20), Byron (53), Kasson-Mantorville (58)
Top Individuals: Kailee Malone (Stewartville, 18:58), Tiana Wiebke (Kasson-Mantorville, 19:51), Laura Pedelty (Stewartville, 20:01), Isabel Field (Stewartville, 20:32), Gracie Waltman (Stewartville, 20:44)
The Skinny: Just like Kasson-Mantorville on the boys side, Stewartville should easily run away with the win. They didn't race their varsity at this meet last year, so it's possible they may not this year either. But if they do, low stick Kailee Malone is no stranger to pulling her deep team to victories. Additionally, she was All-State last fall, finishing an impressive 13th in the Class A competition as a sophomore. Byron's strength is its youth, with several underclassmen projected to make varsity scoring contributions. Grace Pereda, Lindsay Dickison, and Jordan Lujan each finished in the top then in the middle school race here in 2017. Kasson-Mantorville should put up a good fight, with four of their top five projected to come in the top 15. The success of their team will be decided by their fifth runner Madelyn Torkelson, who's just an 8th grader.
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