West Central Area (2)
Based on the raw times of returning runners, the only team that appears to be a serious challenge to prevent a three-peat for Perham is last year's runners-up from West Central Area. The top six runners from that squad all return, a group that contains two seniors, a junior and three sophomores, all of which have run under 18 minutes and four of which have gone under 17. As he has been since he was a freshman, Jacob Bright will return as WCA's low stick, and he's coming off his best track season yet (albeit one where he was barely eclipsed for a journey to State) to give him some momentum and motivation for his senior season. Behind him figure to be the trio of Jack Van Kemper, Kade Runge, and Kyle Schill who each traded off with one another as WCA's next tier last year and never ran slower than 17:44 as a collective. Where WCA hurts in comparison to Perham, however, is their depth. Outside of the six returners from State, only one other WCA runner has gone under 20 minutes, giving the team very little room for error if injuries or slumps become an issue at any point this year.
RETURNING TIMES/TEAM AVERAGES
| 1) Jacob Bright | 16:02.6 | |
| 2) Jack Van Kempen | 16:36.8 | |
| 3) Kade Runge | 16:37.5 | |
| 4) Kyle Schill | 16:48.5 | |
| 5) Alex Salwasser | 17:20.1 | |
| Average Time: 16:41.10 Total Time: 1:23:25.50 1-5 Split: 1:17.50 | ||
| 6) Reuben Swanson | 17:52.7 | |
| 7) Shad Swanson | 19:48.2 |