Great Meets In Perham And Owatonna Highligh Another Big Day

PREVIEW

Waseca Invitational

Location: Lakeside Golf Course, Waseca

Weather: Mid-40's, potential rain

BOYS

Virtual Meet Projection: Waseca (45), Faribault (50), Tri-City United (60), Jordan (67)

Top Individuals: Hugo Ruiz (Tri-City United, 16:37), Colton Halla (Waseca, 17:06), Mitchell Hanson (Faribault, 17:20), William Stahl (Waseca, 17:27), Griffin Malecha (Faribault, 17:28)

The Skinny: On paper, the team battle will be fairly close. Waseca and Faribault will be fighting for the top spot, and with each having a 1-5 split under a minute, all of the runners on these teams should be quite close. It should be a toss up, though keep an eye out for Tri-City United to sneak into the mix. They're almost guaranteed the top spot in the race thanks to 10th-ranked Hugo Ruiz. Ruiz is the only athlete in the field who has broken 17:00 this year, and his season best is roughly 30 seconds ahead of anybody else in the field. Colton Halla looks likes a good bet for 2nd after winning the ZM/KW Invitational last week, so he should be leading the pursuit of Ruiz. Behind those two, there should be a fairly tight pack formed. One dark horse to watch out for is Symon Keiser of Jordan. He was All-State and ran 16:43 last year, but has been in the high 17s so far this year. If he runs closer to his 2017 shape, he will be in contention for the win.

GIRLS

Virtual Meet Projection: Waseca (32), Faribault (50), Jordan (65)

Top Individuals: Ella Dufault (Waseca, 18:31), Ana Mccabe (Waseca, 19:07), Abbe Dufault (Waseca, 19:19), Madelyn Skjeveland (Faribault, 19:27), Ruby Gernandt (Faribault, 19:38), Basia Babcock (Jordan, 20:00), Addison Peed (WEM/JWP, 20:10)

The Skinny: The Waseca girls have been a pleasant surprise this season, and have earned votes in the coaches' poll for much of the year. They'll look to take down Faribault and Jordan, and should win by a fairly comfortable margin. They're projected to take the top three individual spots. Faribault's duo of Madelyn Skjeveland and Ruby Gernandt should be enough to push them to 2nd. Individually. Ella Dufault has become a star in her 8th grade season, and like her team, has garnered votes in the coaches' rankings throughout most of the year. She's broken 19:00 twice, most recently running her PR of 18:31 at the ZM/KW Invitational. In that race, Dufault took down Natasha Sortland by 19 seconds, demonstrating her shape. Expect her to run away from the field. Her closest competition will likely be her teammates Ana Mccabe and Abbe Dufault, who have made a formidable trio for Waseca. Madelyn Skjeveland and Ruby Gernandt have also broken 20:00 this season.

(written by Sam O'Donnell-Hoff)