PREVIEW
Red Wing Invitational
Location: Red Wing High School, Red Wing
Weather: Mid-50s, partly cloudy
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projections: Red Wing (21), East Ridge (56)
Top Individuals: Tom Nemanich (Red Wing, 15:38), Tucker Wallin (Red Wing, 16:00), Joseph Reimann (East Ridge, 16:09), Weston Wyatt (Red Wing, 16:13), Bryan Zucker (Red Wing, 16:15)
The Skinny: With Winona holding out their top ten running Griak this weekend, that leaves Red Wing the clear winner ahead of East Ridge. Red Wing is currently ranked sixth in Class AA. Their top runner, Tom Nemanich, has had large improvements in his times at each specific course comparative to last year. He ended his regular season last year with a 65th place finish at state but with his improvements he should definitely be able to finish much higher up this year. Nemanich did not race at the New Prague Trojan Invitational, the most recent race that Red Wing attended, but the team was still able to pull off a 31 point win. Hopefully, that was just a race that he was sitting out of rather than being forced out due to injury. If Nemanich is in the race, it looks like it is his to win. The battle for second will be between Tucker Wallin, Weston Wyatt, and Joseph Reimann. Wyatt has been having an incredible season, starting with a personal best and sixth place finish at the St. Olaf Showcase at the beginning of this season. Since then, he has been finishing near his teammate Nemanich which serves well for a low team score.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projections: Red Wing (30), East Ridge (67.5)
Top Individuals: Delilah Baedke (Owatonna, 18:50), Grace Johnson (Red Wing, 18:52), Halle Mestery (East Ridge, 18:54), Ariana Mollgaard (Red Wing, 19:18), Grace Dube (Red Wing, 19:18)
The Skinny: Just like on the boys side, the team from Red Wing are the ones to beat at their home meet. They are projected to finish well ahead of East Ridge who will be their top competitor. However, it will actually be a much closer race than it looks because at their most recent matchup, Red Wing only beat East Ridge by five points at the Hastings Minneart Invitational. East Ridge started the season with an honorable mention in the rankings but have fallen completely out of the rankings with their performances so far this season. Grace Johnson won the aforementioned race ahead of Halle Mestery by 21 seconds. Johnson had an off year last year but looks to be back in her 2016 form with some good showings so far this season. Her biggest competition at today's race will come from Delilah Baedke. They are Big 9 Conference and Section 1AA rivals and Baedke was well ahead of Johnson most of last year. However, Baedke has not run yet this season so it is uncertain if she will be racing today.