Conference Tuesday - The Biggest Day Of XC Of The Year

Location: Boulder Ridge Golf Club. St. Cloud

Weather: 50 degrees, cloudy

BOYS

Virtual Meet Projection: Sartell-Saint Stephen (34), Willmar (46), Saint Cloud Apollo (90)

Top Individuals: Samuel Ringger (SRR, 16:10), Lieban Mohamed (Apollo, 16:35), Mitiku Nies (Sartell, 16:41), Fuad Bashir (Willmar, 16:48), Zach Nemeth (Sartell, 16:50), Mason Wendt (Willmar, 16:53), Nicholas Buiceag-Arama (Sartell, 16:55)

The Skinny: Sam Ringger has had an excellent career and racked up a lot of individual wins, but he has yet to pick up that one signature win to really make a name for himself. He could do that today as he owns the best time if the field by 25 seconds at the Central Lakes Conference, and it would be his fifth win the the season if her is able to pull it off. His biggest competition will be probably come from Apollo's breakout star Lieban Mohamed, who has run under 17 minutes in all but one of his races this year, highlighted by a stellar runner-up performance at the Milaca Mega Meet. Sartell's Niew and Nemeth will be also factors near the front, but the biggest wild cards are Willmar's trio of Fuad Bashir, Mason Wendt, and Hudeife Mire. I can be easy to forget the Mire was last year's runner-up at the CLC and finished the season with a sub-sixteen performance at Nike Heartland, so if he's sufficiently recovered from injury, he could easily challenge for the win. The same goes in the team battle, where Sartell and Willmar will be in a tough battle for the team win just like they were last year when Sartell came out on top. Again, Mire could be the biggest factor here, as a great run from him could turn the tide in Willmar's favor, but as things stand, Sartell may be expected to sucessfully defend.

GIRLS

Virtual Meet Projection: Willmar (21), Alexandria (62), Sartell-Saint Stephen (85)

Top Individuals: Heidi Schmitz (Willmar, 18:45), Leah Hansen (Willmar, 18:57), Amel Dayib (Willmar, 18:57), Ingrid Buiceag-Arama (Sartell, 18:59), Serena Monson (Willmar, 19:04), Emily Nuss (Fergus Falls, 19:33), Aspen Rohde (Fergus Falls, 19:38), Jaelyn Miller (Alexandria, 19:38)

The Skinny: After Willmar inexplicably fell off clean off the Class AA rankings after down showing in Alexandria at least partially affected by injuries, the perennial powerhouse finds themselves in an unfamiliar unranked (underdog?) position heading into their conference championships. While it was clear in their last race in St. Cloud (which was run on the same course as today will be) that some of the injuries that hampered them in Alexandria were still relevant (Sophie Schmitz ended up sitting St. Cloud out after attempting to run in Alexandria, and her status is also in question today), they should have no problem at all defending their conference title. Sartell and Alexandria also have excellent teams and could make it to State out of Section 8AA, so it will be interesting to see how that battle turns out. Amel Dayib is the conference's breakout star as a senior, and could earn an individual championship if she can hold off her senior teammates Schmitz, Leah Hansen, and Serena Monson, as well as Sartell's talented sophomore Ingrid Buiceag-Arama. But if Schmitz and Hanson are healthy, they'll be tough to beat.

(written by Mark Rice)