Top Nine Girls Teams Heading To NXR Heartland

Saint Michael-Albertville (MN)

Anyone in Minnesota who was paying attention the past year and a half knew the Knights would be very good. After a season on the national rankings bubble, STMA validated all the hype with an upset victory at State, beating perennial powers Wayzata and Edina. Even more remarkable, they did it without one of the best runners in school history. Senior Annalise Davis is a 10:49 3200m runner who was forced to cut her season short due to a stress reaction, but has been crucial to her team's rising star over the past few years. On paper, STMA has it all: a valuable lowstick in freshman Ali Weimer, dangerous #2 Katie Sigerud, and a reliable pack for their third, fourth, and fifth runners. However, the Knights have never run in the Championship race at Nike Regionals before, opting to race in the Open division last year as a kind of pressure-free practice run for 2018. That inexperience is the only disadvantage the Knights might have, but it certainly didn't hurt them at State, so don't expect it to on Sunday.