PREVIEW
Dassel-Cokato Invitational
Location: Collinwood Park, Cokato
Weather: Low 50s, wet, with a 50% chance of rain
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Annandale (89), Mound-Westonka (90), Delano (93)
Top Individuals: Nels Trandahl (Rockford, 16:42), Michael Miller (Maple Lake, 16:50), Alec Van Gelder (Mound-Westonka, 16:56), Luke Swanson (Northwest Homeschool Coop, 16:58), Ben Ammermann (Litchfield, 17:15)
The Skinny: Rockford junior Nels Trandahl holds the quickest time in the field, but with a solid pack of three other guys who've run under 17 to chase him down, we could hopefully see him run even quicker. These top four have a gap of about twenty seconds on the rest of the field, so the real question won't be who the top finishers will be, but how these guys shake out. Mound-Westonka's Alec Van Gelder has the quickest track PRs in the field, so if it comes down to a sprint the edge could be his. However, Luke Swanson is only a freshman, and thus has the unpredictability factor in his side. He will likely make some huge jumps this year, especially if you take note of his sister Erika's talent. On the team side, the battle looks like it could be fierce as the top three teams are projected only 4 points apart. Delano, Westonka and Annandale are all having very similar seasons, so it's hard to tell on the outset which one of them have a distinct advantage. That said, one runner that could factor heavily into the scoring if he runs (as he has yet to run a race this season) is Mound Westonka's Charlie Reinhardt, who owns a cross country PR of 16:55. If he runs, the balance of power could swing into Mound-Westonka's favor.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (59), Annandale (72.5), Maple Lake (81), Rockford (106)
Top Individuals: Gracie Mallak (HLWW, 18:49), Emma Fashant (Annandale, 19:07), Erika Swanson (Northwest, 19:23), Ava Cusciotta (Rockford, 19:28), Gwen Helgeson (HLWW, 19:50), Malayh Metcalf (GSL, 19:56), Augustus Demarais (Maple Lake, 19:59)
The Skinny: Erika Swanson of the Northwest Homeschool Coop looks ready to have a banner senior year of cross country, as she opened her season at the Rockford Rocket Run nearly a minute faster than last year to take the win. She holds a 20-second lead over the rest of the field based on times run this season, including 2nd-projected Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted's Gracie Mallak, a fellow All-State runner. Of course, Mallak has the faster lifetime best of 18:49 and also won her season debut, but Swanson has looked stronger in 2018. The same can be said of Emma Fashant (with a lifetime best of 19:07, but a season best of 20:15) and Ava Cusciotta (lifetime best of 19:28, season best of 20:30). In the team competition, HLWW, led by Mallak, is projected to lead over Annandale and Maple Lake, and they have been having the strongest season of the three teams so far.