Gabe Smit, Prior Lake, Jr.
If there is a top contender among the rising junior class, Gabe Smit has to be near the top of that group. He posted the best State Meet finish among tenth graders last year using a solid 16:01.7 PR to finish 22nd in his second career appearance. He debuted at XC State with a 69th place in 2017 as a freshman. On the track he's taken his eighth grade 1600 PR near 4:30 all the way down a 4:19 and a 9th place State Meet result back last spring. Smit's 800 PR was trimmed to a 2:00.79 this season and he also has a very promising 3200m PR of 9:43.63 from his 2018 track season. While his fastest XC time is ranked 11th among returners, he has posted head-to-head wins against several of those senior athletes. Now, with four trips to state meets across his career, Smit seems poised to be a factor in this year's top ten picture at State.
2018 XC Results |
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| TIME | MEET | DATE | RESULT |
| 16:15.1 | Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regional | 11/11/18 | 1st |
| 16:01.7 | MSHSL State Cross Country Championships | 11/3/18 | 22nd |
| 16:10.2 | MSHSL Section 3AA Championships | 10/25/18 | 5th |
| 16:21.3 | South Suburban Conference Championship | 10/12/18 | 2nd |
| 16:12.9 | Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational | 10/2/18 | 3rd |
| 16:35.6 | Hutchinson Invitational | 9/13/18 | 2nd |
| 16:07.2 | Hopkins Bauman/Rovn Invitational | 9/6/18 | 6th |