Tomorrow's Alexandria Lions Meet of Champions marks the 50th running of the historic meet where 25 teams will come together to vie for the Meet of Champions titles! Teams from all classes around Minnesota and one from South Dakota will come together in a crucial early October meet ahead of conference next week.
Here we preview the boy's and girl's race for the 2023 Alexandria Lions Meet of Champions.
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Boys Individual Preview
Five of Minnesota's top runners and some of the best nationally will clash at Alexandria in one of the top individual races in Minnesota this season. Robert Mechura, Bjorn Anderson, Nolan Sutter, Eli Hall, and Sully Anez are the only boys in the field to own season-best times under 16 minutes this season and the highest of those times is Anez at 15:23.
| Rank | Runner | Time | MN Season Rank |
| 1 | 15:04.20 | #2 | |
| 2 | 15:10.70 | #3 | |
| 3 | 15:17.71 | #5 | |
| 4 | 15:19.70 | #6 | |
| 5 | 15:23.40 | #7 |
There is no telling who might win this race with five of Minnesota's elite runners all in the same field. The meet record of 15:27.20 held by Addison Stansbury in 2018 might be in jeopardy with all five boys above having a season-best time under the meet record.
Related: Poll: Minnesota Boys Runner of the Week (September 24-30)
Boys Team Preview
Perham previews as the clear favorite in our virtual meet, with a projection of 69 points over Edina's 123 points. It should project to be closer than that with many of the top teams at Alexandria all previously competing against each other at the Roy Griak Invitational with varying results.
| Rank | Team | Projected Alexandria Score | Roy Griak Team Finish | Roy Griak Average 5K Time |
| 1 | Perham | 69 | 23rd | 17:18 |
| 2 | Edina | 123 | 5th | 16:53 |
| 3 | Stillwater | 148 | NA | NA |
| 4 | Marshall | 174 | 18th | 17:24 |
| 5 | Mounds View | 198 | 12th | 17:16 |
Though Perham appears to be the favorite and has one of the top runners at the meet, Edina would probably be the favorite here after a 5th-place finish at Roy Griak, but Perham does have the 4th-best 5K average in Minnesota at 16:12 overall. A dark horse could be the Stillwater boys who are coming off a dominant victory at this week's Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational.
Related: Poll: Minnesota Girls Runner of the Week (September 24-30)
Girls Individual Preview
There seem to be about a dozen girls runners that could be a candidate to win the Alexandria girl's title this year in what is a loaded field.
| Rank | Runner | Time |
| 1 | 18:09.50 | |
| 2 | 18:11.20 | |
| 3 | 18:15.70 | |
| 4 | 18:19.20 | |
| 5 | 18:35.00 | |
| 6 | 18:38.60 | |
| 7 | 18:46.40 | |
| 8 | 18:48.32 | |
| 9 | 18:49.90 | |
| 10 | 18:50.03 | |
| 11 | 18:52.00 | |
| 12 | 18:59.10 | |
| 13 | 19:15.70 | |
| 14 | 19:16.10 |
Half of last year's top ten finishers return this year and that could be six if defending champion Luna Scorzelli returns from injury. Brownell is is the midst of a breakout season with the #7 time in Minnesota this season, Long is coming off a big meet victory at the Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational, Ousidigian is a rising star who has run 17:43 on the track for the 5K, and Burton owns the #13 time in Minnesota this season. Also, Emily Mehta returns as the 2022 JV champion and is a runner who was formerly as 17:55 5K runner in 2021.
It's a who's who of top runners from around Minnesota at the meet this year, and all of them have remarkable accomplishments and are having remarkable season's this year that could end up with them being the 2023 Alexandria champion.
Girls Team Preview
Much like the girl's individual race, the girl's team race is loaded with quality teams that could win the team title this year. Six coaches-ranked teams will come together at the meet to vie for the title in what will be a hotly contested meet ahead of the conference championships.
| Rank | Team | Projected Score |
| 1 | St. Paul Highland Park | 101 |
| 2 | Alexandria | 137 |
| 3 | Perham | 140 |
| 4 | Mounds View | 154.5 |
| 5 | Marshall | 156.5 |
| 6 | Edina | 186 |
| 7 | Willmar | 194.5 |
The St. Paul Highland Park girls are the projected champions and are having a strong season as the #1 ranked team in Class AA. They are coming off an 8th-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational where they finished as the #3 Minnesota team behind Wayzata and Prior Lake.
At Roy Griak, the Highland Park girls beat out the fellow competition at this meet in Marshall (11th), Edina (15th), Perham (19th), and Mounds View (25th).
Right behind them, the hometeam in Alexandria is projected to finish second. They are undefeated on the season in six meets and have often won them in dominant fashion. Narrowly behind them is the Class AA newcomers in Perham who rank as the #3 team in Class AA, Mounds View who have three of the meets top runners, and Marshall who rank as the #5 team in Class AA.
It will be a hotly contested race between some of the best teams in the state, and who ends up on top is anyone's guess.
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Related:
- Through the Lens at the 2023 STMA Invitational
- Through the Lens at the 2023 Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational
- Watch Race Video from the 2023 Chaska Victoria Lions Invitational
- Week 6: Coaches Association Class AAA XC Rankings
- Week 6: Coaches Association Class AA XC Rankings
- Week 6: Coaches Association Class A XC Rankings