PREVIEW
MSHSL Section 7A Championships
Location: Cloquet Country Club, Cloquet
Weather: Cloudy, rainy, high of 46.
BOYS
Season Best Projections: Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (64), North Shore (Cook County/Two Harbors) (101), International Falls (138), Ely (145) Cromwell/Floodwood (186)
Season Average Projections: Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (64), North Shore (121), Ely (123), International Falls (148)
Top Individuals: Geno Uhrbom (GNK, 15:48), Cameron Stocke (Virginia, 16:15), Luke Olson (Ely, 16:20), Taran Howard (Deer River/Northland, 17:00). Wyatt Rauvola (Cromwell/Floodwood, 17:02), Spencer Engel (GNK, 17:06), Sam Rengo (Esko, 17:07), Will Surbaugh (North Shore, 17:09), Jake Erickson (International Falls, 17:10)
The Skinny: The 7A guys race looks to be an exciting one with some powerhouse runners in the lineup, led by Geno Uhrbom, who has been having a phenomenal XC season, and it isn't likely to stop yet. With first place finishes virtually across the board, it is quite likely that he will add the 7A Championships to the list. Last year Uhrbom had an equally impressive season with a win in the 7A Championships to cap off an undefeated XC regular season, as well as a PR of 15:36 at Nike Cross National Heartland Regionals last November. Geno has consistently run impressive races this season, with sub 17 minutes in each of his 5000 meter runs with an average time of 16:12. He most recently ran a 15:58 at the Iron Range Conference Championships. One of his most notable wins was at the Milaca Mega Meet where he finished 1st with a 15:48, over 30 second ahead of the second place runner, Brandon O'Hara. One of the other runners in that race was Cameron Stocke, as he finished 3rd at Milaca and will likely be Geno's main competition in Thursday's 7A race. Stocke also just recently had a PR of 16:15, finishing 2nd behind Geno in the Iron Range Conference Championships. Just an 8th grader, Stocke is will on hi way to having an historic career. Another top athlete who could give both Geno and Cameron a run for their money is Luke Olson (Ely), who started off the year with a 16:20 PR at the Virginia Invite.
The team favorite and projected winner is Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin, and they have a comfortable margin in both versions of the virtual meet. Of course, having Geno Uhrbom helps, but they've also maan able to grow some great depth behind then, and they were still an excellent team even when their returning #2 runner Greg Peterson was out with injury. The next projected team is the defending champions from North Shore. With James Schwinghamer (Ely) out for the season due to an injury, this North Shore has an advantage both on paper and in head-to-head matchups despite a minute-plus gap between their fourth and fifth runner. That gap could potentially prove costly, as the season-average projection puts Ely just two points behind them even without Schwinghamer. Of course, North Shore has also yet to run at a meet with both a favorable course and favorable conditions (and their home course in the Pincushion mountains is one of Minnesota's most challenging, which they ran two meets at), so their advantage may be bigger than the virtual meet indicates. International Falls also looks like they have a shot at qualifying if North Shore and Ely both falter, and they even have some head-to-head wins over Ely this year too.
GIRLS
Season Best Projections: Mesabi East (100), Proctor (118), North Shore (Cook County/Two Harbors) (132), Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (150), Moose Lake/Willow River (154)
Season Average Projections: Mesabi East (90), Proctor (117), North Shore (136), Marshall School - Duluth (145), Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (152)
Top Individuals: Ava Hill (Mesabi East, 18:44), Sydney Binsfield (Proctor, 19:21), Ashlee Siegle (Marshall, 19:35), Natalie Fultz (Eveleth-Gilbert, 19:45), Ryan Ford (International Falls, 19:46), Bella Thomas (Mesabi East, 19:55), Lydia Skelton (Mesabi East, 20:03), Emma Stattelman (Marshall, 20:16), Zoe Devine (Ely, 20:28), Avery Sivonen (International Falls, 20:31)
The Skinny: The race should be equally as exciting on the girls side of the 7A Championships, much like last year when a tiebreaker was needed to determine which team would go to State. Ava Hill looks like the runner who will lead the pack in the individual time and help Mesabi take home the win on Thursday. With a 2nd place finish at Griak with a time of 19:14, an impressive 2nd place 18:44 finish at Milaca Mega Meet, and most recently a 19:13 win at the Iron Range Conference Championships, it should be no wonder that she is the likely favorite to win the 7A Championships. She has an average time of 19:32 this season which is about 20 seconds ahead of her top competitor Sydney Binsfield (Proctor). Sydney has also had a great XC season with a 3rd place finish at the Milaca Mega Meet with a time of 19:21 which was also a PR, and most recently a win at the Lake Superior Conference Championships with a time of 19:32. With just 32 points separating the top three teams, it could be a bit of a competition for the top team on Thursday. It will be interesting to see what Ashlee Siegle brings to the table as she recently ran a 19:49 at the Proctor Lions Invite over 20 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, and All-State hurdler Natalie Fultz will be another interesting name to watch.
Mesabi looks to come away with around 100 points, with Proctor coming in at 118 and Cook County with 132 in the season-best projection. Last year, it came down to a matter of two points and a sixth-runner between those three teams before it was determined that Mesabi East would be staying home. This year, while Mesabi looks to be the top team on paper, it's still pretty close to call, and they don't have much depth behind their top five girls. Proctor has much better depth and have qualified for State the last two years (and they didn't even have Binsfield when they qualified last year). And like the boys, North Shore's girls projections could be brought down by the fact that they simply have not run any fast meets with a full and healthy lineup, so the gap between them and Mesabi East may be smaller in reality than the virtual meets indicate.
(written by Austin Meilke)