PREVIEW
STMA Invite
Location: St. Michael Recreation Center, St. Michael
Weather: 56, mostly cloudy
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Rogers (56), Saint Michael-Albertville (65), Maple Grove (65)
Top Individuals: Carter Knaus (STMA, 16:19), Patrick Mclean (Maple Grove, 16:26), Ethan Anderson (Rogers, 16:29), CJ Young (Maple Grove, 16:35), Alexander Heidorn (Rogers, 16:37)
The Skinny: Just like on the girls' side, the team battle on Tuesday will be fierce and very exciting. In a very narrow virtual projection, Rogers comes out nine points ahead of the Saint Michael-Albertville and Maple Grove boys, who sit tied with 65 points (perhaps due to the influence of a quick course in Big Lake two weeks ago). Projected to take the win individually is the Knights' Carter Knaus, a senior, who comes in with the fastest time of the season. Right behind him, however, will be a solid pack of Maple Grove and Rogers guys who have run right around 16:30. As the STMA and Maple Grove boys are likely a little beaten up from running Griak over the weekend, this could be anyone's race. The STMA home course looks to be relatively quick, and with excellent weather conditions for a race and October settling it, it will be interesting to see how things shake up as we get closer and closer to Conference time.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Saint Michael-Albertville (27), Andover (34), Maple Grove (131)
Top Individuals: Ali Weimer (STMA, 18:27), Alexa Havon (Andover, 18:35), Katie Sigerud (STMA, 19:03), Alyssa Gerth (Andover, 19:03), Mia Salas (STMA, 19:11)
The Skinny: Thanks to Andover's top duo of senior Alexa Havon and sophomore Alyssa Gerth, this race will not be as much of an STMA sweep as it was last year. In fact, the scores are projected to come out very close between Class AA's newly-minted 2nd- and 8th-ranked teams. Andover may even have an edge over the Knights on their home course, as St. Michael-Albertville is fresh off a fifth place finish at the historic Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, where they edged out Class AA's long-reigning 2nd-ranked team, Edina. Such quick turnaround may leave the Knights a little weary, giving the momentum-wielding Andover girls an opening to take the win. Still, STMA's greatest hope in maintaining their home invite title lies in the hands of their fifth runner, a spot several of their girls have cycled through this season. Class AA's 5th-place finisher in the 3200 this past track season, Annalise Davis, currently has the fifth-fastest 5K on her team, but look for the All-State runner to find her footing here and help the Knights grab the win by a wider margin.
OTHER MEETS