Girls Distance
800m
While Ava Hill, two-time Class A 800m champion and the top returner from Hamline last year, will not be returning in 2019, four others will be will be coming back from last year's race including Lauren Peterson. Though most have gotten used to seeing Peterson in the orange of Farmington, after moving, Peterson will be representing Rosemount for the duration of the outdoor season. Syd Kretlow, Alexis O'Malley, and Lexi Herman all also will return, but the meet's three top seeds are all newcomers to the event. Alexa Havon enters as the top overall seed after breaking out with a huge PR at last year's 800m State Championship and following that up with an outstanding cross country season. The other runner to break 2:20 at Hamline is the sophomore Emilie Meyer who may have found a new primary event after previously focusing on the longer 1600m and 3200m race in previous years. But despite this race's depth, one can only imagine that this race will be Emma Atkinson's to lose. Last year, Atkinson ran 2:11.91 in this event, and between her outstanding performances both on the track and in cross country at both the state and national levels, she has proven herself to be one of the state's most elite runners.
1600m
As the owner of the only sub-5:00 performance this season, Lauren Peterson should have no problem collecting her second Hamline Elite Meet title after earning the 1600m crown in 2017. Lauren Ping's best time outdoors is 5:07, but she ran 5:05 indoors at the MSU-Mankato Showcase. Ping is also slated to race the 3200m later in the evening, so it will certainly be of interest to see her approach to this race. Fourth-seeded Morgan Gehl finds herself in the same boat, and given Gehl almost never has competition to run with, she may be in much better shape than her 5:10 indicates. Katie Sigerud of St. Michael-Albertville developed into a formidable second runner on the Class AA State-winning team in cross country, and that fitness has carried over to track, where she's run 5:08 on the year. Ana Weaver of Stillwater will look to continue her breakout 2018-2019. Weaver ran 5:13 indoors, and could lower her 5:11 outdoor best by a significant margin. Lastly, watch out for seventh grade phenom Daisy Islas, who could surprise against some of her much more experienced peers.
3200m
With both Emily Covert and Anna Fenske sidelined so far this spring, Lauren Ping of Cotter enters as the odds on favorite, considering that she has run 10:36 already this year, a good 16 seconds in front of the next best time (belonging to her sister Grace). However, it's much too soon to just hand Ping the title, because she will be attempting the ambitious 1600-3200 double. On the other hand, Grace Ping will be fresh, and she owns the only other sub-11:00 time in the field, as Natasha Sortland has elected to not run this race. On paper, it looks like a race for third. Red Wing's Grace Johnson is in prime position to break 11:00 after she ran 11:01 in a race where she won by almost two minutes. Freshmen Ali Weimer and Molly Moening are two of the more consistently strong performers, and should be pushing the chase pack. Morgan Gehl has dark horse potential, as shown by a phenomenal cross country season that culminated in an eight place finish at NXR Heartland. However, like Ping, she will be running on tired legs after doubling back from the 1600. And Iowa State commit Grace Dickel dipped under 10:50 last spring, so expect to see her right in the mix of things as well.
4x800
No other school has managed to come close to matching both the amount and the length of success seen by a single school in a single event as Minnetonka in the 4x800m relay, coming in as the defending Elite Meet champions. It is thus no surprise that the Skippers are one of the top seeds and a serious threat to take the Elite Meet championship yet again. But with the graduation of Libby Halbmaier, they won't have quite the star power as pervious years, which could open the door to teams like last year's' 3rd-place finisher STMA and runner up Wayzata. After shocking many by taking home the Class AA cross country championship as a team last fall, it's no surprise that St. Michael-Albertville has put together a 4x800 relay with a strong shot of winning, and they come in with the meet's top seed time of 9:30.87 with a team that returns all four runners from last year. Wayzata, the team they beat out in XC (and who went on to finish third at Nike Cross Nationals) will also field one of the top 4x800 relays even while holding out Emma Atkinson for the open 800m and the 4x400. But while one of those three teams will likely come out on top, several other teams like Forest Lake, Edina, and Marshall - all of whom have also seen recent success in the event - will give them a solid push.