Division 1 (Extra-Large Schools)
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Edina (52) Stillwater (91), Eden Prairie (135) Mounds View (143) Moorhead (166) Hopkins (196)
Top Individuals: Max Manley (Edina, 15:33), Alex Luz (Fargo North, 15:33), Willem Gokemeijer (Edina, 15:35), Austin Streit (Mounds View, 15:36), Eli Hoeft (Hopkins, 15:43), Addison Stansbury (15:46), Charlie Babcock (Forest Lake, 15:47), Jake Derouin (Eden Prairie 15:51), Lukas Hessini (Mounds View, 15:55), CJ Young (Maple Grove, 15:56)
The Skinny: With five of the top twelve ranked teams in the state racing, it'll make for an overall exciting race. Thanks to this race being on a different weekend than Griak this year, that gave a lot of teams an opportunity to race in this huge meet, adding to the excitement of an already exciting meet. Edina will definitely be the favorite to win the race, as they have surpassed Wayzata currently as the top ranked team in the state, coming off of a dominating performance at the Heartland Classic in South Dakota, beating highly-touted out-of-state teams such as Dowling Catholic and Sioux Falls Lincoln. Stillwater took 4th last weekend at the same meet, which is still impressive, considering it was a big meet. Still ranked 3rd in the state, this weekend will give another chances for the Ponies to prove they are capable of being among the best in the state. Eden Prairie and Mounds View are two other highly-ranked teams to keep an eye out for on Saturday. This will be the first race for Mounds View's varsity squad since the St. Olaf Showcase, so it will be interesting to see how they have improved since them. And of course, Eden Prairie has looked incredibly strong thus far, finishing just ten points behind Edina at the Bauman/Rovn. They hope to qualify for State this year for the first time since 2011.
As for the individual competition, with six ranked athletes, it should be incredibly competitive. Even without defending champion Acer Iverson running, ten runners come into this race with PR's under 16 minutes. Edina's Max Manley holds the fastest time going into this race (15:33.6), but not by much, as Fargo North's Alex Luz (15:33.9) will definitely want to be right up with him. Luz, the third-place finisher at North Dakota's State Championships last fall, is not a familiar face for Manley. The only time they have ever raced was at NXR Heartland two years ago. Lutz has won both his races this year, but has yet to face competition like Manley. Meanwhile, other racers such as Eli Hoeft, Addison, Stansbury, and Austin Streit have already seen some fierce competition this fall, and done really well too. Manley's teammate Willem Gokemeijer will be another name to watch who should be near the front, as he even beat Stansbury last weekend. As we are approaching mid season now, and the big meets are starting to come up, we will start to get a better idea of who the real contenders are going to be come November at the State Meet.
(written by Andrew Kempf)
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projections: Wayzata (17), Forest Lake (103), Eden Prairie (143), Stillwater (153), Andover (155), Roseville (207), Minot (253)
Top Individuals: Emma Atkinson (Wayzata, 17:15), Caroline Sassan (Wayzata, 17:17), Rhynn Paulsen (Wayzata, 17:56), Lauren McCollor (Wayzata, 18:03), Liesl Paulsen (Eden Prairie, 18:05), Avery Braunshausen (Stillwater, 18:15), Emelia Arnone (Wayzata, 18:22), Analee Weaver (Stillwater, 18:34), Morgan Dahl (Mounds View, 18:34), Bergen Haag (Roseville, 18:38)
The Skinny: The clear focal point of the D1 girls race will be the US#2 Wayzata girls, essentially creating a race for 2nd. The question is how hard the Trojans will be running with Griak the following weekend, as they appeared to be doing a workout at the Metro Invitational. Assuming an all out effort, it should not be a very close affair. As Wayzata's opening victory at the St. Olaf Showcase took place over three weeks ago, it should be interesting to see their progression at this point in the season. The top competition for the Trojans will be the 4th-ranked Stillwater girls, who will attempt defend their meet title from last year. After qualifying for State last fall, the Ponies look significantly stronger this year with the addition of 8th graders Brooke Elfert and Morgan Peterman. They're also currently undefeated this season. They'll likely be battling the Eden Prairie girls for 2nd, as the Eagles came just 7 points short of unseating Stillwater at the Rosemount Irish Invitational. At the Bauman/Rovn Invitational, Eden Prairie finished 2nd to the Edina girls, also by a 7 point margin, demonstrating how tight the top Class AA girls teams are. On paper, the 9th-ranked Forest Lake girls are extremely strong, taking 2nd in the virtually meet. However, they've gotten off to a relatively slow start. At the Cambridge Norm Ayen Bluejacket Invitational, they were upset by an impressive Andover team (now ranked 8th) that should make a splash here. And don't sleep on Minot (North Dakota) and Roseville, who went 2-3 at this meet last fall and each only lost one of their top five.
Individually, expect Wayzata's dynamic duo of 3rd-ranked Emma Atkinson and 5th-ranked Caroline Sassan to lead the way. After finishing 4th behind Emily Covert, Tierney Wolfgram, and Lexy Halladay at the St. Olaf Showcase, Atkinson established herself as one the top three runners in Class AA. Sassan never seems to be more than a few seconds behind her, so they should be attached at the hip for most of the race. 9th-ranked Liesl Paulsen has been a consistent force this season, finishing in the top 3 in all of her races, each of which were against top tier competition. Speaking of torrid starts, 7th-ranked Analee Weaver deserves a mention. After an impressive 4th place finish at the Rosemount Irish Invitational, Weaver has been a roll. In her two 5ks on the year, she has only lost to the Ping sisters and Lauren Peterson, while taking down big names including Molly Moening and Tenley Nelson. Though there are plenty of big names however, there are a few dark horses that also could make an impact. One such runner is 8th grader Abby Nechanicky, who has been Wayzata's 3rd runner this fall and was 10th at the St. Olaf Showcase. Another is Natalie Runquist of Forest Lake, who has had a phenomenal start to her rookie year of cross country, coming through as her team's top runner in every meet so far. And we can't forget about Bergen Haag of Roseville, who actually won this meet a year ago. However, after dropping out of the Metro Invitational last weekend, Haag is yet to record a mark this season. Her debut should be an exciting storyline, especially considering she missed conference, sections, and State with injury last fall.