Way too early boys AAA Predictions for 2023: 1- Wayzata - this team has only been getting stronger the last couple of years. Only losing Hussein. Very difficult to beat this team. Looking to be deep. Should be in contention at NXN with a senior-heavy squad but needs to develop a low stick.
AA boys and teams is getting really interesting. Here's what I have for AA Boys individual;
1.Emmett Gerres 12 Belle Plain 2.Salvador Wirth 10 Annadale 3.Owen Layton 11 Big Lake 4.Sulley Anez 10 Willmar 5.Charlie Power-Theisen 12 St. Paul Como Park 6.Noah Mahoney 12 Monticello 7.Kade Layton 12 Big Lake 8.Harris Gulbransen 12 Breck 9.Isaiah Anderson 11 Mankato East 10.Cameron Stocke 12 Rock Ridge 11.Alden Keller 12 Breck 12.Soren Bortnem 12 Dassel-Cokato
I don't think Alden Keller has enough time to win state again, he very well could, but I think he'll be top 4. Soren Bortnem hasn't raced since the 27th of September where he only lost to Wirth by 3 seconds. Section 6AA will produce some very fast times this year at the Litchfield golf course, I predict the winner will be around 15:29 if the weather is good.
1.Emmett Gerres 12 Belle Plain 2.Sulley Anez 10 Willmar 3.Salvador Wirth 10 Annadale 4.Owen Layton 11 Big Lake 5.Noah Mahoney 12 Monticello 6.Kade Layton 12 Big Lake 7.Harris Gulbransen 12 Breck 8.Charlie Power-Theisen 12 St. Paul Como Park 9.Isaiah Anderson 11 Mankato East 10.Cameron Stocke 12 Rock Ridge 11.Alden Keller 12 Breck 12.Soren Bortnem 12 Dassel-Cokato
Moved Charlie down a few spots and moved up Sulley Anez. Sully beat Noah Mahoney by 27 seconds this month at Alexandria.
I'm not putting Sulley ahead of Owen, Owen beat him by 21 seconds at Rocori a couple weeks ago.
Way too early boys AAA Predictions for 2023: 7- Eden Prairie. Loses 4 varsity seniors but still has enough depth to make up for the losses. Looking to challenge Edina for a state berth.
Agree with you here. They have depth, but I don't see this exceptional depth that has minny champ rating them as #4. I see them losing 4 of their top 7
1.Emmett Gerres 12 Belle Plain 2.Sulley Anez 10 Willmar 3.Salvador Wirth 10 Annadale 4.Owen Layton 11 Big Lake 5.Noah Mahoney 12 Monticello 6.Kade Layton 12 Big Lake 7.Harris Gulbransen 12 Breck 8.Charlie Power-Theisen 12 St. Paul Como Park 9.Isaiah Anderson 11 Mankato East 10.Cameron Stocke 12 Rock Ridge 11.Alden Keller 12 Breck 12.Soren Bortnem 12 Dassel-Cokato
Moved Charlie down a few spots and moved up Sulley Anez. Sully beat Noah Mahoney by 27 seconds this month at Alexandria.
I'm not putting Sulley ahead of Owen, Owen beat him by 21 seconds at Rocori a couple weeks ago.
Good call, I need to dig deeper and make some notes if I'm really gonna geek this. Work has been slow so I started diving into this.
Way too early boys AAA Predictions for 2023: 1- Wayzata - this team has only been getting stronger the last couple of years. Only losing Hussein. Very difficult to beat this team. Looking to be deep. Should be in contention at NXN with a senior-heavy squad but needs to develop a low stick. 2- Minnetonka - deepest squad in state this year. Losing Gilles/Westerlund, but they have enough depth to make up for this. Both Fries brothers need to be healthy to challenge Wayzata. 3- Mounds View - losing McArthur/Lelinga but they do have enough depth to make up for that. Should be 7-deep next year and senior heavy. They are a solid program, have a good coach and are looking to bounce back after a mediocre season (for them). Looking to have a new low stick in Kalmes. 4- Minneapolis Southwest - good team this year already and returns 4 of their top 5, but needs to find a fifth man. Has a low stick in Sam Scott (projected state champ and NXN qualifier). If they find a 5th they should contend for a state title and an NXN berth. 5- Bloomington Jefferson. Young and improving team that should start contending for state titles and NXN berths in a couple of years. But they do lose Lueth, so to podium at state, they need to develop a new low stick, and like Southwest, they will need to find a 5th man. 6- Edina. Good program and coach. This year is a young, rebuilding year for them, and without Defor, they have a solid 1-3 in Haerter, Ohe, and Danielson, all of whom are returning for 2023, and even 2024 which will help them challenge for the state title in 2024. They also return some nice depth behind the trio. 7- Eden Prairie. Loses 4 varsity seniors but still has enough depth to make up for the losses. Looking to challenge Edina for a state berth. 8- Lakeville South. Very strong, reloading team that now only has 2 seniors and should challenge for a conference and section title after a bunch of Rosemount and North guys graduate. 9- East Ridge. Solid program that always reloads. Not a single person is graduating this year. Also has a low stick in Schultz. Looking to qualify for state after seeing Rosemount graduate a lot of people. 10- White Bear Lake. Great, well-coached program. Not looking to go to state this year unless they close the 4-5 gap, but this is a young, rebuilding year for them. They return a solid top 3 in Williams (who could contend for a state podium spot), Larson and kolstad. After not making state this year, next year they will come back with a chip on their shoulder and qualify. They will need to find a 4/5 for next year though.
Is this for real? You are predicting high school sport a year in advance? You guys are a bit different. You really care about this.
MileSplit just came out with their new national weekly individual rankings. Abbey Nechanicky moved from #3 last week to #1 (Yes: Number ONE) now. Holy cow!
Breker and his team wins what looks to be Armstrong’s last win of the season. Armstrong’s 3rd went from JV last year to close to Omodt who got 10th at state last year. Looks like Blaine and Centennial are best 2 teams in section 7AAA now.
Washburn was dominating SW through 3 guys then the next 5 SW guys came in. First guy not from SW or WB came in 15th. If Just is with Washburn’s 2-4 like at Griak, they could go to state, maybe without even needing a 5th to go with that group. But here, Southwest wins in a close race
Southwest’s 7th man was right with their 6th at mile 1 (which made it look like they pretty much found a 5th for next year), then he dropped many places
Minneapolis conference will also be held today. Should give us a better idea on which team is looking to get the second spot in section 6aaa behind Wayzata
East slightly edges out Jefferson. Great race by both teams. Jefferson’s 4 and 5 were further behind the rest of the scoring group than they were in the previous meets.
1. Nick Gilles. Should contend for a second spot behind Breker at state if healthy
2. Hamza Mohamed. Low stick on the team that is now the favorite to win state. Should challenge for a top 10 spot at state his final year of hs XC
3. Suhayb Ali. 9:32 at the Hopkins Hoka 2 mile
4. Max Westerlund. 9:44 in the Hoka 2 mile. At Griak he has shown that he has an outside shot to get top 15 at state in his last state race.
5. Daniel McCollor. At STMA he was able to make a gap between him and Hamza a bit smaller.
6. Will Weber. Closed the gap on McCollor at STMA, and also not far behind Westerlund at Griak.
7. Landon Hering. 2-mile time at Hoka was not his best. Looking to bounce back after a solid race at Willmar
8. Tyler Kissell. Broke out at the STMA invite and showed that he can keep up with teammate Weber.
9. Hayes MacMillan. Did not run at STMA, but should be able to stick with his nonsenior teammates like at Griak
10. Jace Haerter. This Edina sophomore phenom is looking to bounce back after not doing as well at Alexandria as at Griak and other races. Looking to split up the Hopkins trio (which he did at Griak) after finding out that Edina’s co-#1 guy Defor isn’t racing here.
11. Sean Fries. With his brother not racing, he is looking to do very well at conference. Constant scorer for the team. Was able to close the gap on his brother earlier this season.
12. Logan Drevlow. This 8th grader has shown that he can keep up with his teammate Hering.
13. Andrew MacHeel. This guy has been on varsity for Buffalo since 9th grade. Now that he is a senior, he should be able to snag the last all-conference spot in his final conference meet. He also beat Drevlow earlier this season.
14. Jackson Downin. Great race at Hoka. Sub-10. With the older Fries not racing, he should be able to step up for the team and make up for his absence.
15. Nolan Bakken. Finished as Eden Prairie’s #1 man last meet. Doesn’t seem like he is guaranteed to stay as their #1 for the rest of the season.
Watchlist - James Thomas (Minnetonka), Parker Dietrick (Wayzata), Tyler Vos (Minnetonka), Wesley Wistrom (Buffalo), Will Ross (Eden Prairie)
I think Sam Scott needs to change his racing plan. He goes out so hard in every race, and on multiple occasions his fast start and consistent need to be in the lead has backfired(Applejack and Conference). I think he should at least test a more sit and kick strategy and see how that works for him. He looked so out last mile at Gale Woods today.
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