XC Class AAA Week in Review: Shakeups, Upsets & Contenders

Wayzata traveled to Grand Forks for the Border Battle this weekend, coming away with a 3rd place finish between South Dakota's toughtest in SF Washington and SF Lincoln. With SF Washington scoring 66 points and SF Lincoln 70, Wayzata was a distant 3rd with 106 points. Their spread (always a strength) was a minimal 33 seconds between their 1st and 5th runners. Their tight spread come the state meet will play an important factor in whether they claim another state championship. 

Stillwater did not compete in any competitions this week. They will race next at the Victoria Lions Invitational, hosted by Chaska High School on October 6. 

Blaine competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. They finished fourth under the lights as a team in the varsity race. Their first four finishers all landed within the competitive race's top-50.

Rosemount did not compete in any competitions this week. They will race next at the Osseo Invitational on October 1. 

Eastview was one of the few ranked AAA teams opting not to compete at the Roy Griak Invitational. Instead, they competed at the Rochester Mayo Invitational where they won with a score of 39 points. This week, Eastview had not competitions and will not be competing until October 1 at the New Prague Invitational. 

The fast rising Waconia boys competed at their home invitational this week. The Wildcat Invitational was hosted at Crown College, with the Waconia boys taking an impressive team win over the top ranked AA boys team from Mankato East. On a difficult course, their top 4 came in between 16:16 and 16:50 with their 5th runner crossing the line in 17:01. This team will continue to hold a spot in the coaches polls with the consistent results they continue to produce. 

Edina is a team that has seen themselves stay consistently at 8th or 9th in the coaches polls all season. This week, they made the trek to Grand Forks for the Border Battle. Ultimately, they would come away with a 5th place finish and score of 150 points between the top 2 teams in SD, Wayzata, and the top ranked team in ND. Edina has some low sticks developing, but like many teams, their 5th could be a deciding factor in how high they place come the state meet. 

Mounds View did not compete in any competitions this week. They will race next at the St. Michael-Albertville Invitational on October 30. 

Turning in what may be the most impressive performance from our ranked teams this week, Lakeville North took the win at the Farmington Cowbell Classic with a score of 65 points. With two runners under 16:10 and their 3rd runner being top 30 at the state meet in 2025, this team is putting together an impressive line-up that will likely move up in the rankings this week. Add the fact that their top 7 boys were all under 17:00 (top 5 under 16:45) this is looking like a a team that is better than their current ranking. 

Our final ranked boys team is Chanhassen. Chanhassen competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. While the race got out agressive, Chanhassen consistently moved up throughout the race on their way to securing a runner-up finish to the 2nd ranked AA team of Perham. Chanhassen has a true threat for the individual state championship in Connor Heltemes; he is also being supported by two teammates who ran under 16:15. While their top 4 were all under 16:50 their 5th runner was a bit back in 17:19. If their 5th runner can continue dropping some time, they will be a threat to improve upon their current ranking. 

Coming off their impressive runner-up finish at the Roy Griak Invitational, the Edina girls traveled to Grand Forks for the Border Battle. They would find themselves on the losing end of a tight team battle with the top ranked ND team (Bismarck Century) by a score of 48 to 49. Edina continues to show impressive strength up front, placing 3 girls under 18:40. With their 4th and 5th runners coming in under 19:15, this team continues to impress this year. 

Wayzata competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational, finishing 10th without running many of their typical varsity seven. When your JV squad can hold its own against this level of competition, that speaks volumes about your team's depth.

St. Michael-Albertville competed at the Buffalo Invitational this week. With 6th ranked Roger and 7th ranked Minnetonka in the field, it was sure to be a tough test in a smaller field for this team. In the end, St. Michael-Albertville came out with a tight victory - defeating Minnetonka by a score of 46 to 51. Buffalo is a tough course, so it is difficult to read too much into the times. That said, Mackenzie Myran continues to show she is one of the favorites for the individual state title, which will certainly help the Knights in their quest for a state championship. Add in the fact their spread from 2nd to 5th is under 1 minute and this team appears to be a contender along with Wayzata and Edina. 

Blaine competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. Continuing the build momentum off their strong showing at Griak, Blaine would go 1-2 individually, while scoring 41 points on their way to securing a victory over the top AA girls team in Northfield. This team has tremendous firepower up front and depth to back it up. Look for this team to fight for a top 3 finish come the state meet. 

Waconia competed at their home invitational this week. In a small field of 5 teams, Waconia came out victorious with a score of 22 points. On a difficult course, they put all 7 runners under 20:30 with a spread from 1st to 7th of 1:14. While they may not have the low sticks of our top teams in the coaches poll, there may not be a more quality depth 1-7 than Waconia demonstrates. This team could certainly find themselves on the podium come the state meet. 

Rogers competed at the Buffalo Invitational this week. In a tight battle with 3rd ranked St. Michael-Albertville and 7th ranked Minnetonka, Rogers would come out 3rd overall amongst the group. Cara Back continues to impress at the low stick for Rogers. Coupled with a tight back of runners making up their 2 through 7 (spread of 50 seconds), this team will be in the mix for a top 5 finish come the state meet. 

Minnetonka came out 2nd to St. Michael-Albertville at the Buffalo Invitational. Losing by a score of 46 to 51, Minnetonka is making a case as a top 5 contender come the state meet. 

Stillwater did not compete in any competitions this week. They will race next at the Victoria Lions Invitational, hosted by Chaska High School on October 6. 

Farmington competed at their home Invitational this week, the Cowbell Classic. As the only ranked AAA team in the field, Farmington came away with a convincing victory, defeating runner-up Lakeville North by a score of 50 to 153. Lauren Lansing secured the individual win in a time of 18:13, but it was the 3rd place finish of teammate Shelby Carroll that will be turning heads, clocking a time of 18:55. While their 3rd was almost a minute back, the spread between their 3rd and 5th runners is tight enough (12 seconds) for this team to place a bit higher than their current ranking come the state meet. 

Forest Lake did not compete this week. They will race next at the Norm Ayen Invitational, hosted by Cambridge-Isanti High School on September 29. 

Mounds View did not compete in any competitions this week. They will race next at the St. Michael-Albertville Invitational on October 30. 

Hopkins traveled to Wisconsin this week to compete in the Manitowoc Len Nikolai Invitational. Going up against competition from Wisconsin, Hopkins would come away with a strong 4th place finish in the field of 19 teams. Hopkins would place 4 runners in the top 20, with their 4th crossing the line in 41st place. 

As always, there will certainly be some changes in next weeks AAA coaches poll. But for the moment, it appears to be a two-team race on the boys side and three-team race on the girls side for the state championship. The team battles for 5th through 10th will be some of the most competitive we have seen in recent years. The quality and depth of programs across the state continues to grow. With a new state meet venue at Majestic Oaks Golf Course, this will be one of the more memorable AAA competitions since Minnesota moved to a 3-class system.