PREVIEW
MSHSL Section 6A Championships
Location: Little Crow Golf Course, Spicer
Weather: High 40's, main expected
Season Best Projection: West Central Area (51), Staples-Motley (68), Paynesville (158), Melrose (168), Holdingford (169.5)
Season Average Projection: West Central Area (50), Staples-Motley (76), Melrose (145), Holdingford (149), Paynesville (187)
Top Individuals: Emmet Anderson (Staples-Motley, 15:45), Jacob Bright (West Central, 16:15), Zach Haire (Breckinridge/Wahpeton, 16:15), Hunter Klimek (Staples-Motley, 16:21), Noah Stewart (MACA, 16:25), Kade Runge (West Central, 16:48), Kyle Schill (West Central, 16:48) Jack Van Kempen (West Central, 16:49)
The Skinny: Last year at this time, Staples-Motley had the upper hand in a very close battle between them and West Central. This year might be very different, between two of the top three teams in the state. Although Staples-Motley won by 4 points last year, West Central is absolutely loaded this year. With four runners projected to be in the top ten of this race, it'll be hard for Staples-Motley to take them down. That said, West Central will need to make sure they don't let their 5th runner get too far back from the pack, or else they could let SM upset them. These two teams are almost certainly going to be the two teams to qualify out of this section, unless something very surprising happens. Paynesville is projected to be the 3rd place team in the section in the Season Average projection, which would be very impressive considering they took 12th last season.
Individually, Emmett Anderson of Staples-Motley is the clear front runner, ranked 3rd in the state. Anderson is just a sophomore, and has shown that he is an absolute stud. With a 15:45 PR, this race will just be a stepping stone for Anderson as he chases a potential top three finish in the state this year, or maybe something even better, such as a state championship. After Anderson comes a slew of different runners who are 30 seconds behind him, including West Central's top runner Jacob Bright, Breckinridge's Zach Haire, and Anderson's teammate Hunter Klimek. Last season Anderson and Bright were the only two runners to finish under 17, but with the race being run at the Little Crow course in Spicer this year, we should be able to expect some very fast times and perhaps a boatload of PRs.
GIRLS
Season Average Projection: Staples-Motley (69), West Central Area (77), Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball (94), Albany (111), Sauk Centre (188)
Top Individuals: Kira Sweeney (Staples-Motley, 19:24), Kristine Kalthoff (Albany, 19:25), Kyanna Burton (Staples-Motley, 19:44), Rachel Neu (Albany, 19:47), Lexi Bright (West Central, 19:56) Teagen Nelson (West Central Area, 19:56), Erin Borash (Royalton, 20:07), Sophia Kluber (Sauk Centre, 20:09)
The Skinny: The girls race will be quite different from the boys race, as it's much harder to predict. 10th ranked Staples-Motley is the favorite to make it out of the section, but nothing is for sure. Staples-Motley took 5th last season, but has been having a very impressive season so thanks to the emergence of a fith runner that kept them competetive with the best in Class A, so they are in a great position come Thursday. West Central Area is projected to finish 2nd based off the virtual meet, but Eden Valley-Watkins is only 20 points behind and has one head-to-head win over them early in the season (though they have lost the head-to-head matchups since then). Eden Valley lacks a frontrunner, but makes up for it with a ferocious pack that could potentially move up far enough to catch West Central, especially if the pack works hard together to push each other. Especially since Eden Valley won the section last season, they're going to do everything it takes to make it back to the State Meet this season.
Individually, it's going to be a very exciting race. Kira Sweeney of Staples-Motley and Kristine Kalthoff of Albany are within a second at 19:24, and 19:25 respectively with their season best times. Sweeney is the defending section champion, and has a lifetime PR of 18:44. Kalthoff took 3rd in the section last season, and has a long history of great performances on a big stage, which makes beating Sweeney definitely an attainable task. Considering that both of these runners are just sophomores, this is definitely a rivalry to look out for in the upcoming years as well. Behind Sweeney and Kalthoff stand Sweeney's teammate, Kyanna Burton, Rachel Neu of Albany, and Lexi Bright of West Central, a runner who took 2nd in the section last season. The top ten runners in this race from last year are all returners, so individually this is going to be a very competitive and exciting race to watch all around.