PREVIEW
Burnsville Blaze Invitational
Location: Nicollet Junior High School, Burnsville
Weather: High 60s, thunderstorms, windy (chance of getting cancelled)
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Prior Lake (35), Irondale (69), Lakeville South (74), Waseca (91)
Top Individuals: Gabe Smit (Prior Lake, 16:07), Jack Otterson (Lakeville South, 16:20), Jeffrey Sandkuhler (Irondale, 16:46), Kyle Nordling (Prior Lake, 16:50), Colton Halla (Waseca, 17:01)
The Skinny: Rosemount, Eastview, Forest Lake, and Minnetonka will not be running their Varsity to save their athletes for Griak next weekend, and it should be a good move as the weather today is not forecasted to be ideal. If the race isn't cancelled, sophomore phenom Gabe Smit will likely have to brave the elements up front alone. He has made an incredible impact for Prior Lake in his young career, and he should lead his squad to a dominant victory over Irondale and Lakeville South, the other projected podium finishers. Although slightly hilly and awkward, the Burnsville Blaze course tends to be a solid PR generate, so watch for Kyle Nordling and/or Colton Halla to break 17 for the first time this fall.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Minnetonka (48), Lakeville South (72), Waseca (81)
Top Individuals: Brianne Brewster (Lakeville South, 17:39), Morgan Dahl (Mounds View, 18:34), Mallory Stach (18:40), Annalise Johnson (18:41), Ella Dufault (Waseca, 18:44), Abbe Dufault (Waseca, 18:54)
The Skinny: A lot of elite teams and individuals on the brink of being ranked will square off on the girl's side. Brianne Brewster is always a force to be reckoned with, and has shown significant improvement throughout each season of her running career. Behind her should be middle schooler Ella Dufault, frontrunner of one of this week's honorable mentions in the poll, Waseca. Mounds View's Morgan Dahl, Prior Lake's Mallory Stach (if she runs), and Minnetonka's Annalise Johnson will be in the mix too. The chase pack will likely consist of Dufault's sister, Abbe, Elizabeth VanLoob, and Nicole Kelly, as they have all ran strikingly similar times this season. On the team side, pay attention to Minnetonka if they run their Varsity, as they were ranked highly in the early season polls and definitely have the talent to move back up once the pieces fall into place.