PREVIEW
MSHSL Section 4AA Championships
Location: Les Bolstad Golf Course, Falcon Heights
Weather: 50 degrees, 7 MPH winds
BOYS
Season Best Projection: Stillwater (45), Saint Paul Highland Park (72), White Bear Lake (72), Roseville (87), Saint Paul Central (113)
Season Average Projection: Stillwater (35), Saint Paul Highland Park (68), White Bear Lake (86), Roseville (95), Saint Paul Central (113)
Top Individuals: Addison Stansbury (Stillwater, 15:27), Acer Iverson (Roseville, 15:27) Oliver Paleen (St. Paul Highland Park, 15:57), Calvin Boone (St. Paul Highland Park, 16:07), Mickies Kiros (St. Paul Central, 16:09), Max Nelson (White Bear Lake, 16:11), Yonas O'Malley (Stillwater, 16:16), Tryg Solberg (White Bear Lake, 16:17), Lars Dewall (Stillwater, 16:22), Aidan Browne (Woodbury, 16:22)
The Skinny: The Section 4AA boys race is going to be very unpredictable, and very exciting for the spectators. This section is historically one of the tougher sections in the state, and will provide high quality running for everyone around. We should see some really fast times in this race even on the challenging course, as the ground will be nice and hard, and there will be perfect weather. Although the Les Bolstad course is historically considered a hard course, the course is different at the section meet and has less hills, which is why it produced some extremely fast times last year at this meet, where there were sixteen runners under 16:30. In the individual race, it's a toss up between 3rd ranked Addison Stansbury, and 6th ranked Acer Iverson, the two top returners from last season's race, which Iverson won in a 15:31. Stansbury and Iverson have the two of the three fastest times in the state, both with 15:27 season best PR's and each have at last one win over the other. This race has a good chance of coming down to a kick between Stansbury and Iverson, which Stansbury would probably like a lot due to his 1:55 800 speed, but Acer also has good foot speed with a 4:17 1600 PR. Also, don't count out Highland Park's Oliver Paleen, who has been able to stay healthy this season and put together a very solid season up to this point, ranked 11th in the state, with a 15:57 PR.
As for the team competition, Stillwater looks like they are in good control of this section with a season best projection of 45 points, clearly ahead of the next team. Stillwater certainly has high goals of finishing on at least the podium this season, but they will need Stansbury to stay up near the top for that to happen, along with bringing up the rest of their pack as much as possible. Stillwater was 3rd at the Milaca Mega Meet earlier this season, and not too far off top ranked teams in Edina and Mounds View (only 14 points off Mounds View, and 21 off Edina) which isn't that much for as big of a field as Milaca is. As for the 2nd qualifying state spot, it'll come down to the final points between 7th-ranked Highland Park, and 8th-ranked White Bear Lake. When they raced at the Alexandria Lions Meet of Champions, Highland Park had the upper hand. However, if White Bear Lake can bring up their 3-5 runners closer, that'll give them a chance to take down Highland Park, as that's what hurt them in that meet. For Highland Park, the key for them is how well their 4 and 5 runners run, especially their 5th runner. Overall, Highland Park has had a very impressive season this year, despite the graduation of senior captain Sid Gross, they have competed very well and are in great position to make a run to the state meet. If Highland Park could make the state meet, it would be their first appearance there since 1973, which would be a historic feat, especially since Stillwater and White Bear have been the two teams running at state in nine of the last eleven seasons. However, White Bear Lake has looked very strong as of late, due to the emergence of Max Nelson who ran a solid 16:11 last week at the conference meet. Roseville also isn't too far behind, only 15 points behind White Bear and Highland Park in the season best projections.
GIRLS
Season Best Projection: Stillwater (52), White Bear Lake (50.5), Saint Paul Highland Park (86.5), Roseville (95), Woodbury (115)
Season Average Projection: Stillwater (26), White Bear Lake (51), Saint Paul Highland Park (75), Roseville (97), Woodbury (137)
Top Individuals: Analee Weaver (Stillwater, 17:52), Molly Moening (Saint Paul Highland Park, 18:11), Avery Braunshausen (Stillwater, 18:39), Delia Johnson (Saint Paul Highland Park, 19:02), Madeline Verkerke (White Bear Lake, 19:02), Morgan Peterman (19:07, Stillwater), Brooke Elfert (Stillwater, 19:13), Natalie Andres (White Bear Lake, 19:20), Elinor Handlin (White Bear Lake, 19:23), Maggie Blanding (White Bear Lake, 19:31)
The Skinny: The girls race will also be an exciting one to watch, as the spectators will be exposed to two ranked teams in the state, along with two ranked individuals. The 6th ranked Stillwater girls look like they are in great position to clinch a state berth on Wednesday, as the virtual meet has them not only comfortably qualifying, but looking like they'll be in very good position to win the meet, with an extremely stellar 1-2 punch in Analee Weaver and Avery Braunshausen. As for the second qualifying spot, White Bear Lake, who is ranked 11th in the state, seems to have a very good chance of getting that bid, due to the overall depth of their team, with all 7 runners having run under 20 minutes this season, as no other team other than Stillwater has more than three girls under 20 minutes. The teams behind them consist of Saint Paul Highland Park, Roseville, and Woodbury.
Individually, Analee Weaver is the favorite, with the only time in the field under 18 (17:52) Weaver just won the Suburban East Conference Championship by nearly a minute over the next competitor, who was her teammate Avery Braunshausen. Ranked 9th in the state, Weaver has burst onto the scene as someone who is definitely worth looking out for come November. Braunshausen took 2nd in this meat last year as just an 8th grader, and has a good chance of finishing 2nd again, if she can outrun Molly Moening of Highland Park, another young runner who already has a history of success, finishing 3rd at this meet last year. Maggie Blanding of White Bear Lake is the returning champion from this meet, but hasn't quite reached her times from last year yet, but she definitely has the talent to be up there with individuals such as Weaver, Moening and Braunshausen. Other individuals to look out for are Delia Johnson of Highland Park, Madeline Verkerke of White Bear Lake, and Morgan Peterman of Stillwater. An interesting fact worth noting is that the top ten PR's in this race are individuals from Stillwater, White Bear Lake, and Highland Park.