The Skinny:
In Willmar's last meet in Rocori, they held out three of their top runners (Heidi Schmitz, Leah Hansen, and Elsie Duininck), and still won that meet handily thanks to a season-best run from Serena Monson and the first career win from Amal Dayib (who is having a huge breakout season this year after never running better than 21:35 in the past), plus some great depth. Willmar should easily win today, and may be able to even move up from their 5th-ranked position in the polls. Amazingly, according to the virtual meet, their top competition from the state of Minnesota will be Wayzata's B, which speaks to the their amazing depth. But their biggest competition will come from outside the state in the form of two Bismarck schools, Century and Legacy. Century was the third-place finisher at last year's State Championships, a mere one point behind the two teams who finished ahead of them, and everyone from that team returned and are looking strong in 2018. Legacy, meanwhile, finished 10th in the same meet and also return most of their team. On the individual side, however, it may just be the North Dakota teams that have the upper hand. 4 of the top six PRs in the field come from Minnesota's neighbor, including projected winner Meghan Ford. Ford, also a State Champion in the 1600m, is unbeaten this year and her margins of victory have not been close. This race will be her biggest challenge yet this year, however, with fellow All State runners Emily Goldade, Lindsey Werner, and Erin Palmer. Willmar's Schmitz and Hansen will almost certainly mix it up with those girls, however, as both have already run great times this fall too. And finally, keep an eye out for Sartell's Ingrid Buiceag-Arama, who just dipped below 19 minutes in her last race in Milaca and is poised to keep improving.
