PREVIEW
Anoka Rum River Invitational
The Rum River Invite gives runners a chance to run fast, as it's a pretty fast course with two loops and not many hills. However, this particular meet has recently thrown people off due to the extreme weather. In 2015, and 2016 there was a thunderstorm going on during the races, which slowed down times a little bit, and last year there was a heat wave going on, with temperatures in the 90s, which kept runners from putting up anything crazy fast. Today doesn't look too promising for weather either, as we have 80+ projected temperatures, and high winds up near the 20s. The great competition should still be able to push each other to a competitive race tomorrow, despite the projected bad weather.
Location: Anoka High School, Anoka
Weather: 81 degrees, 17 MPH winds
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Mounds View (37), Saint Paul Highland Park (62), Saint Michael-Albertville (77), Robbinsdale Armstrong (90)
Top Individuals: Austin Streit (Mounds View 15:36), Lukas Hessini (Mounds View 15:55), Carter Knaus (Saint Michael Albertville, 15:57), Jonah Breuer (Saint Michael Albertville, 16:08), Will Sacay (Mounds View, 16:12)
The Skinny: Mounds View is definitely the favorite going into this race, with a projected team score of 37. They will be tough to beat, as they have six runners holding PR's under 17 minutes, an advantage that few other teams in the state can say they have. Counting out St. Paul Highland Park would be a mistake though, as they are a team that is on the upswing with a strong top three in Conor Gregg Escalante, Oliver Paleen, and Calvin Boone, with PR's ranging from 16:17-16:27. Saint Michael-Albertville isn't too far behind either, especially with their dynamic 1-2 punch of Carter Knaus and Jonah Breuer. The individual race has a clear favorite as well, as Austin Streit will be racing, a strong runner who is currently ranked 12th in the state, holds a PR of 15:36, and has already put up a time of 16:09 this year on the tough St. Olaf course. His teammate Lukas Hessini shouldn't be too far behind, as he holds a 15:55 PR, and is coming off a strong track season, where he put up a 4:27 1600. Overall, this should be a competitive race and it cools down a little bit by race time, we should still be able to see plenty of low 16s, or sub 16 performances.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Saint Michael-Albertville (32), Minnetonka (82), Saint Paul Highland Park (97), White Bear Lake (99)
Top Individuals: Ali Weimer (STMA, 17:49) Molly Moening (St. Paul Highland Park, 18:09), Maggie Blanding (White Bear Lake, 18:12), Morgan Dahl (Mounds View, 18:34) Annalise Davis (STMA, 18:37)
The Skinny: Third-ranked Saint Michael-Albertville is definitely on a quest to compete for a State title and national berth this year, and there is no doubt they will be the team to take down in this meet. The Knights have looked already looked very dominant so far this season, and were only 27 points behind Wayzata at the St. Olaf Showcase, and then put 6 runners in the top 8 the next week at the Monticello Invitational. This will be another good stepping stone for them going forward. Minnetonka is currently ranked 12th in the state, and for a program that has traditionally been one of the better teams in the Heartland region, I'm sure they are looking to continue to improve, and find a way to still succeed without their great runners Sophie Whicher and Libby Halbmaier, whom they lost due to graduation. Annalise Johnson will be their frontrunner this season, as she holds an 18:41 PR, the 6th-best PR in this field. STMA's Ali Weimer is just a freshman, but she has proven to be one of the top runners in the state, as she is currently ranked 4th individually. Fresh off a victory at the Monticello Invitational, Weimer is looking like she is in great shape, and ready to have a great season. Highland Park's Molly Moening will be her biggest challenger, another freshman who has a PR of 18:09, and is coming off a track season where she put up a 5:07 1600 as an 8th grader. Another notable individual will be Maggie Blanding out of White Bear Lake, who has a PR only three seconds behind Moening at 18:12.
(written by Andrew Kempf)