MN XC 2025 thread

Love this battle! We'll get to see them face off again at coference and sections too. LARPH closed a lot of gaps vs Cotter from Griak. They have also been missing their #5 the last 2 races, so with him they would have had 5 under 17:00.

It will get mixed up more in a larger meet, but both better than Redwood right now.

Shoutout to LA/RP/H #6 getting in front of Cotter's #5.

Wayzata won both the boys and girls races at the Lake Conference

Minnetonka has 3 in the Top 6 of the boys race, but Wayzata has 6 in the top 12! Fries running 14:50 at Gale Woods has to be the course record.

Washburn will struggle to beat Edina without him now. Edina was able to find 5 guys under 17.

Washburn’s 5th runner is at 17:45, which is detrimental to their chances of getting top 2 at sections.

I don't think this is necessarily true. The small size of the meet will really diminish the negative impact of Washburn's 5th (who has been running 17:45ish). I think both are very good teams and it will be an extremely tight and exciting matchup for the 2nd spot behind Wayzata.

Lake Conference thoughts...

Team-wise, nothing too surprising. Wayzata is the team to beat. Tonka has an elite top 3,
but still need a 4/5 to emerge for them to be legitimate contenders. Edina impressed me and is the favorite over Washburn now. STMA an afterthought but this is their first time not getting last here since joining in 2018- so big race for them in 4th! Great race individually by Buffalo’s Tristan Lenton getting 2nd in 15:46. Rough one for MG’s Capistrant fading to 17th. Fries with the course record…wow...we need to appreciate greatness when it is before us!

On girl's side, Edina beating Hopkins makes them the favorite in 2 weeks, but it’ll be close. Runners matched up well but Edina’s #5 was about 16 seconds ahead of Hopkin’s #5 which was the difference today. STMA’s Myran beating Golomb was a bit of an upset. The battle for 2nd behind Gullickson at state should be entertaining.

NWSC Conference was tonight as well. Blaine crushed with 4 under 16:30 and Flippen wins individually in 15:48.

It has been reported that Fries' time was the course record. Pretty amazing effort.

Minnetonka was first at the mile and was only 3 points from Wayzata at the finish with 4 runners scored (29-32). if they get their 4-5 to run 16:20-30s at the state meet they could threaten to win.

Edina and Wayzata both have a tendency to start conservative in races and finish strong as opposed to Minnetonka has more often gotten out harder and tried to hold it. Obviously the goal for Tonka will be to not fade late, which is certainty possible and would give them a chance to win it. I would not be suprised if Tonka is 1st/2nd at state through the mile though.

Rosemount also gets out more conservatively as well while Stillwater is usually more aggressive. This is all based on what I have seen watching the races and looking back on state splits the past couple of years.

The race strategy part is what makes this all fun especially on a tougher state course that is often wetter, but we still have a few weeks until the big dance so I am getting ahead of myself here.

I think he beat Noah Breker's 14:57 or so

I was at the NWSC meet at Elk River. Blaine guys and girls looked dominant. Am guessing both are state podium contenders? Flippen started extremely conservative and ran the last km hard to increase his lead by a lot.

Breker got 2nd at FL and 7th(?) at NXN in 2022. Most competitive field individually ever so a good sign for Fries.

Stuwe with a big victory, 16:04 on that course is a great time. Merrel over Goodwin in a true photo finish. Goodwin covered a sizeable gap over the final 100 meters. Rosemount with an easy win. North 2nd, Farmington 3rd. Owen Sampson who is usually in Eastview's strong top 3, was 4th, guess the young 800m specialist had a rough experience his first time on the tough Eagan SSC course. Eagan in 5th lurking very close to Eastview though, they could take the second 3AAA spot.

On the girls side LaMotte with an easy win followed by Lansing then Gastony. Prior Lake wins with Farmington a bit behind.

Blake boys team won the IMAC by 1 point.
Brinda is back and was #4 on the team here, whereas last year he was #2. Lots of time before sections / state though.

None of Blake’s top 5 were seniors

athletic.net

Track & Field, Cross Country Results, Statistics

Meet results and team scores.

Link:www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/260...

Minnetonka’s regular 3rd or 4th guy was last on the team at conference.

But even if he does run at state, they still have a lot of ground to make up to beat Wayzata

Bloomington Jefferson wins Mankato East Invitational

athletic.net

Track & Field, Cross Country Results, Statistics

Meet results and team scores.

Link:www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/268...

Thoughts and Reactions to Lake Conference Championhsips and new Coaches Rankings.

1) Fries course record in 14:50, with 2nd place being slightly less than a minute behind. Incredibily impressive given the previous record was held at 14:57 by Noah Breker, who went on to place 2nd at footlocker and 7th at NXN, I think this shows that Fries has the talent and ability to contend for a national title on both fronts and solidify himself as the greatest Minnesota High School XC Runner ever.

2) Fascinating team battle. Minnetonka with 3 in the top 6 but Wayzata depth with 6 in the top 12. Massive shoutout to Tristan Lenton who demolished his PR with a blistering home stretch kick, getting Minnetonka standout Ben Kraus at the end. Wayzata beats Minnetonka by 21 points, but one has to wonder how this will translate to the state meet. Minnetonka's 10th place runner here had run a 10:07 3200 a week prior and has been their 5th for a while, so an off day here could suggest promise for the future. If he can perform to his potential and be close with Tonka's 4th in Christian Bach, the team title will be extremely close, as Tonka was still close despite their 5th running a 17:08. One also has to wonder how the field size will dilute Wayzata's middle pack scoring and benefit Tonka's low stick elite 3, but the lagging 4 and 5 could also amount a higher score hurting their overall points. Kudos has to go out to Ben Kraus who placed 3rd ahead of some very notable and previously higher ranked opposition in Berndt (who's been fantastic as a sophomore), Ohe, and Nordstrom.

3) Other things to note are Ben Donaldson running a 16:53 as an 8th grader. For comparison, Fries ran a 16:56 at the same age at the same meet. Super promising from the Eden Prairie talent who comes from a lineage of running success. Disappointing result from Capistrant fading to a 16:34. I heard rumors that he was dealing with illness and was considering not even racing so I'm confident this was just an outlier and he'll be back to his best come state. Edina running surprisingly well after losing 6/7 of their team last year, only 19 points behind Minnetonka here with a couple of great showing from sophomores Schadow and Hawthorne.

Rankings these week seem really reasonable. One could argue that Kraus should be ahead of Heltemes based on recent head to head and general performance record, but apart from that not many gripes with it. Will be interesting to see the Washburn vs Edina battle at sections given Washburns elite talent vs Edina's consistent pack, something akin to the general battle at state between Wayzata Minnetonka Rosemount and Blaine.

Moorhead beat Bemidji at the Bemidji invitational.

This match up is crucial for the section 8AAA battle for a state meet spot.