Anna Fenske and Farmington are among a few favorites opening their race season this week.
Early season meets mean different things to different programs but, regardless, it gets the excitement ramped up as we will have actual results to look at for the first time in 2019. For our first installment of previews we'll look at five meets, four traditional early season events and a brand new meet created by Perham to honor Yellow Jacket alum, Golden Gopher star and US National Champ Gabriele Grunewald.
We'll have more previews early next week. Let's take a look at what's on tap this week!
Lester Park Invitational (Thu. 8/22)
Location: Lester Park, Duluth
Weather: 60s and partly cloudy
BOYS:
Virtual Meet Projection: Farmington High School (19), Duluth East High School (58), Duluth Denfeld High School (85)
Individuals to watch: Aaron Kruse (Farmington, 16:01), Noah Revels (Farmington, 16:04), Isaac Fink (Duluth Denfeld, 17:00)
The Skinny: The boys from Farmington look to put on a good show on Thursday. They will be lead by two standout runners, Aaron Kruse and Noah Revels. Revels and Kruse are both seniors so they will be looking to start their final season off strong. They had great showings in 2018 at the state cross country meet coming in 44th and 48th, respectively. Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld will make for an interesting team battle for second and third, although Duluth East looks to have the edge with stronger three through five runners.
GIRLS:
Virtual Meet Projection: Farmington High School (15), Duluth East High School (64), Hibbing High School (77)
Individuals to watch: Anna Fenske (Farmington, 17:31), Mariah Fenske (Farmington, 18:34), Laura McGregor (Farmington, 19:01), Marianah Scott (Farmington, 19:04)
The Skinny: Last year, the Farmington girls swept the meet taking the top six individual spots. They could repeat history today as their rankings have them with the top six individuals. Farmington will be lead by their standout runner, Anna Fenske who finished third at the 2018 cross country state meet. Behind her will be her teammates Mariah Fenske, Laura McGregor, and Marianah Scott. The Farmington team will be opening up their season as they look to be a top team in the state this year. The big thing to watch is where their fifth runner falls as that will be key to bringing them to the top of the rankings. Duluth East and Hibbing will challenge each other for the second and third finishing positions.