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

In the most recent MN Cross Country Coaches poll published on September 21, there were quite a few shakeups following the 40th annual Roy Griak Invitational and Lucky Lindy Invitational. Let's take a look at how our ranked teams fared in their competitions this week.

Mankato East competed at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Waconia. Going up again the 8th ranked AAA boys teams, Mankato East would come out with a runner-finish in the four team field. On a tough course, Mankato East showed the ability to keep their spread tight, demonstrating they have depth to go along with their pair of front runners in Nathan Esler and Eli Batty. With a spread of 16:32 to 17:05 between their scoring 5, this team continues to show they are a threat to reclaim their 3rd state title in the last four years. 

Perham made the drive to the Twin Cities metro for the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. The drive was worth it as Perham came away with a convincing victory over a couple of ranked AAA teams. Perham would place their scoring 5 in the top 35, with all coming in under 16:40. Given their performance this weekend, it appears to be a two-team race for the state championship come November. 

St. Paul Como Park competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. They would come away with a 5th place finish, only 38 points out of 2nd. With two runners under 16:00 and four under 17:00, the depth up front is there for this team, but they are lacking a strong enough 5th to truly compete with Mankato East and Perham at the moment. 

Delano did not compete this week. 

Minneapolis Southwest competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. They would come away with a 12th place finish in a crowded field, almost 90 points back of 3rd ranked St. Paul Como Park. 

Willmar competed at the Rocori Invitational this week. Despite an individual championship from Zach Engstrom and another top 5 finish from his teammate, Willmar would finish a distant runner-up to AAA rival Alexandria by a score of 33 to 86. 

Minnehaha Academy competed at the Farmington Cowbell Classic this week. In a large field, they came away with a 4th place finish as the top AA team. Minnehaha Academy would place 3 runners in the top 8 (all under 16:10), but the gap to their 4th runner was over a minute. While this team has possibly the best top 3 in class AA, the lack of a competitive 4th and 5th runner will it tough for them to compete with the top teams in AA. That said, look for this team to be in the mix for a top 5 finish. 

Orono competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. They would come away with a 6th place finish, only 6 points behind 3rd ranked St. Paul Como Park. All of Orono's top 5 scores came in under 17:00. With Eddie Loberg being a top threat individually, and a spread of only 5 seconds between their 2nd and 5th runners, this team is a threat for a top 5 finish at the state meet. Look for Orono to move their way up in the rankings due to their performance this weekend. 

Stewartville competed at the Lake City Invitational. They would come away with a team victory in a tight race with Austin Pacelli by a score of 39 to 45. Stewartville would place four runners in the top 10 (all under 16:50) and their fifth in the top 15. 

Mankato West did not compete this week. They will compete next at their home invitational on September 29. 

Chisago Lakes competed at their home invitational this week, coming away as the runner-up to St. Paul Central. 

Annandale competed at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. They would come away with a 15th place finish in the crowded field (5th amongst ranked AA teams). 

Northfield came away from the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational with a runner-up finish to the 4th ranked AAA team of Blaine. While they did not come away with top team honors, they continued to solidify they are the top AA girls team in the state. Competing again 2nd ranked Minneapolis Southwest and 3rd ranked Perham, Northfield would finish over 100 points ahead of both programs. Unless anything dramatic changes, this appears to be the year Northfield claims their first state title. 

Minneapolis Southwest has gotten used to finishing behind Northfield this year. At the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational, they again would finish behind their rivals, only this time, 3rd ranked Perham was also in the field. Ultimately, Minneapolis Southwest would finish 7th on the evening (3rd amongst AA teams). 

Perham made the drive to the Twin Cities metro and demonstrated they are once again looking for a podium finish at the state meet. While catching Northfield appears to be a tall task, they demonstrated they are a top 2 team in AA, despite not being at full-strength this season. In a competitive field, Perham would come away with a 5th place finish at the Eden Prairie Metro Under the Lights Invitational. 

Byron competed at the Pine Island Invitational this week, placing four runners in the top 5 and their fifth runner in 10th place. This team is a real threat to make the podium this fall. With four runners under 20:00 and a 5th runner under 20:30, this team is the real deal. 

Orono did not compete this week. 

Marshall did not compete this week. They will compete next at the Redwood Valley Invitational on October 1. 

The Westonka girls competed at the Caty Delwiche Invitational hosted by Glencoe-Silver Lake. They would come in 2nd to Blake by a score of 45 to 63, while also barely edging out Dassel-Cokato who scored 64 points. 

Delano did not compete this week. 

Becker competed at the Border Battle in Grand Forks. Competing in a tough AA race, Becker would come out with a 13th place finish. While Becker has no clear front-runner, they continue to demonstrate the ability to pack their runners well. With no underclassmen in the their current top 7, this is a team that will continue to be competitive for the foreseeable future. 

Rocori competed at their home invitational this week. Competing against some of the top teams in their region/section, Rocori came out with the victory scoring 56 points. On a notoriously difficult course, Rocori had two girls in the top 5, both under 19:40. With three other girls between 20:15 and 21:00, this team is running well right now. In a tough 8AA section, they appear the team to beat behind Perham for the 2nd spot and state berth. 

Little Falls has shown tremendous growth the past 2 years. Unfortunately, they happen to be in one of the toughtest AA sections in the state on the girls side. Going up against section foe Rocori once again, a similar narrative unfolded with Rocori defeating Little Falls by a score of 56 to 70. While Little Falls placed three runners in the top 15, they were beaten at every scoring spot by the Rocori Spartans. Little Falls continues to demonstrate they are deserving of a ranking in the weekly coaches polls and will make the 8AA section meet one of the most competitive in the state. 

St. Peter traveled to Jackson County Central this week for the JCC Tri for Health Meet. The St. Peter girls would come out a distant 3rd on the day behind Luverne and Fairmont. 

As always, there will certainly be some changes in next weeks AA coaches poll. But for the moment, it appears to be a two-team race on the boys side between Perham and Mankato East. On the girls side, it appears to be Northfield's race to lose given how handily they have defeated other AA competition this fall. The battle for the final podium spot on the boys side got more interesting with Orono's performance this weekend. On the girls side, Minneapolis Southwest and Perham appear to be in the driver's seat for the additional podium spots behind Northfield. That said, Byron looks dangerous this year, while Orono and Marshall did not compete this week. With only a month to go until section races, things will continue to become more clear by the week.