BOYS VIRTUAL MEET
TEAMS TO WATCH: West Central Area, Staples-Motley, Albany, Litchfield
INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH: Emmet Anderson (Staples-Motley, 15:09.4), Jacob Bright (West Central, 15:25.3), Hunter Klimek (Staples-Motley, 15:29.9), Jack Van Kempen (West Central. 16:08.4), Noah Stewart (Morris/Chokio-Alberta, 16:18.4), Kade Runge (West Central 16:26), Grant Mayers (Albany, 16:26.3), Alex Salwasser (West Central, 16:27.3), Tanner Robben (Staples-Motley, 16:57.6), Kyle Schill (West Central, 17:00)
THE SKINNY: West Central and Staples-Motley are a clear cut favorite to go 1-2 in section 6A. It is possible the no. 2 and no. 6 ranked teams in the state respectively will claim eight of the top ten individual spots between them leaving little chance anyone else gets single digit numbers in their scoring five. West Central defeated Staples-Motley in both their head to head meetings this season but the second time at Pierz it was by a narrow two point margin. The difference in the teams comes in at the final two scoring spots where S-M would need to find improvements to match their edge in the first three spots where they have two of the top three ranked individuals in class A.
Individually, the favorite in section 6A is also likely the favorite for the state title in Staples Motley no. 1 ranked junior Emmet Anderson. He's averaged a 16:00.9 this season in nine races with his slowest coming in at 16:47 in winning the Midstates Conference title. Even with his state leading 15:09 on an exceptionally fast Moorhead course, he would have a 16:07 average. West Central senior Jacob Bright was runner-up to Anderson at the section meet the last two years and was also runner-up in 2016 when he finished three spots of a then eighth grader Anderson. He has not beat Anderson head to head since the 2016 state meet, a run of 12 straight races. S-M senior Hunter Klimek is the no. 3 ranked runner in class A, a star in his own right that has been close on the heels of Bright but has lost 12 of 13 head to head races including all three meetings this year. After going 1-2-4 at sections last year Anderosn, Bright and Klimek went on to run 3-8-17 at state. The top individual outside the team favorites is Morris/Chokio-Alberta senior Noah Stewart who has the fifth best result this season. Stewart has won his last three races and is no. 7 ranked in class A. Albany sophomore Grant Mayers and Litchfield senior Ben Ammermann lead the pack of individuals looking to get a state meet qualification spot.
GIRLS VIRTUAL MEET
TEAMS TO WATCH: Albany, Staples-Motley, West Central Area, Eden Valley-Watkins-Kimball
INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH: Kristine Kalthoff (Albany, 18:55.6), Kyanna Burton (Staples-Motley, 19:01.7), Olivia Goebel (Albany, 19:06.6), Rachel Neu (19:19.9), Aften Robinson (Staples-Motley, 19:30.9), Caroline Kuehne (Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, 19:53.9), Lexi Bright (West Central, 19:57.9), Teagan Nelson (West Central, 20:00.7), Cailyn Kuechle (Eden Valley-Watkins-Kimball), Brookelyn Kuechle (EV-W-K, 20:04.2)
THE SKINNY: Our projects are as tight as possible with Albany and Staples-Motley tied for the section title. Albany has an advantage in the front three but Staples-Motley has a stronger fifth runner that evens things out in our season best numbers. S-M is the no. 2 ranked team in class A while Albany has risen to seventh recently. S-M defeated Albany by 44 points in their only head to head race of the season at Pierz in mid-September and are the reigning section champs. West Central look to have the best chance to challenge the top two favorites with talent at the front but need improvement from both the fourth and fifth position if they want to find a team path to state. If both S-M and Albany are near their best it will be difficult for any of the current challengers to catch up.
The top two contenders for the section 6A individual title are no. 6 ranked S-M eighth grader Kyanna Burton and Albany junior Kristine Kalthoff. The two have split their four career meetings with Burton finishing ahead of Kalthoff in the section meet last year. Kalthoff has a faster season best but Burton has averaged a better time over her nine 5k races this year. Albany senior Rachel Neu is next line followed closely by Staples-Motley freshman Aften Robinson in the top five projections with Robinson having defeated Neu in their only meeting of the season. West Central sophomore Lexi Bright and senior Teagan Nelson must hold their spots in the top ten if their team has any hope of getting a state berth. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle eighth grader Caroline Kuehne and EV-W-K senior and eighth gradfer Brookelyn Kuechlea are leading the charge among individuals trying claim state meet tickets.