Mankato East should be able to take the crown and I'll predict Belle Plain in 2nd. Marshall could steal that second place, if not they have the potential to grab 4 spots for individual qualifiers.
This race will show how overrated Worthington has been all season. They have been sitting at #1 for so much of the season in the coach’s polls. Running on fast or short courses will do that. Their 1-3 are solid but the rest of the lineup is shaky. So no they aren’t making state from this section.
Also only 6 individuals will make state. Not 8.
Did it used to be 8 or did I just make that up? Back in the day just flat out top 10 whether they were on a top 2 team or not.
I might recognize a name or two, but probably not. Would my name be recognized? Maybe by a few coaches, but time flies...
I can almost guarantee that some of you know who some of you are, but it is fine to just keep it a mystery. It really is a fascinating thread to have so many who care and are knowledgeable about this.
This race will show how overrated Worthington has been all season. They have been sitting at #1 for so much of the season in the coach’s polls. Running on fast or short courses will do that. Their 1-3 are solid but the rest of the lineup is shaky. So no they aren’t making state from this section.
Also only 6 individuals will make state. Not 8.
Did it used to be 8 or did I just make that up? Back in the day just flat out top 10 whether they were on a top 2 team or not.
Yes it used to be top 8 on teams that don’t make it since 2012. Last year was the first time it went from 8 to 6. Same time as when another class was added
Freshman boys race: Hopkins wins as a team based on team results. Could qualify as a team from 6aaa once guys like Sam Scott and Aidan Jones leave. Individual results are an absolute mess.
Shame that senior Zak Hussein who scored for them last year at RunningLane didn’t do XC this year. He was on the same level as their 6th.
Another thing is that he has 2 brothers that are current or former Gopher runners - Shuayb and Khalid Hussein. His performance at RunningLane last year showed that he could be the 3rd guy in his family to compete for the gophers if he kept up with guys like Hamza and McCollor Too bad that after his exit from the team, 2 dreams were crushed: - 3 guys from the same family to compete in XC for umn - 7 Wayzata all-state guys
From my knowledge, the course this year was around 30 seconds slow, so those 2 Sophomores breaking 17 is very impressive. Maybe they will find a spot on their respective state teams?
Another thing, was Downin injured, his progression over the past few races hints at the fact he may have been injured and is coming back from it? I don’t know. Also the EP so. Squad looked great today.
I don’t know if Downin is injured. All I know is that he went out real hard at conference and then died down.
Tonka/EP/Edina all have solid 9/10 squads But sadly only 2 of those teams go to state. 4 sophs and 1 freshman is running at sections for Edina. So not much can be found at Lefty wright here. Youngest sections lineup I’ve ever seen on the Edina boys team. Jefferson’s 9/10 squad is solid too. But all those guys are on varsity so not much can be found at Lefty Wright for this team. Wayzata is gonna have 3 juniors on varsity next year. They will just need 2 more guys for 2024. I’m sure a couple will step up. So this team should never be counted out.
Another thing, was Downin injured, his progression over the past few races hints at the fact he may have been injured and is coming back from it? I don’t know. Also the EP so. Squad looked great today.
EP also has 2 sophs on varsity. One made state as an individual last year, and another ran a 16:33
Winners of each Lefty Wright race Junior / senior boys- Edina (over EP in a tiebreak). Wayzata 3rd by 2 points. Fellner of Minnetonka
Jr Sr girls Wayzata Reese Anderson of Wayzata
Soph boys EP Laninga of Minnetonka Thomas of EP close second Both broke 17.
Soph and under girls Wayzata Malherek-Ozario of Wayzata
Freshman and under boys Hopkins (over Wayzata by 3 points) Viera of Wayzata
So….
Wayzata won all the girls races. In 0 races Wayzata boys teams won. Wonder how this bodes for Wayzata boys team’s future. They were missing Haag (a sophomore fighting for the 7th spot) and Stroup (one of their top seniors). Neither are in the top 9 for the section roster. Must have been done for the season early or something. Same goes for Defor of Edina.
But Wayzata won all the middle school races except the girls 6th/7th grade one. so Wayzata has something going for their future.
Marshall has always had really good girls teams. They always made state the last years they were in the same class as Wayzata/Minnetonka/Chanhassen/etc.
I don’t see these teams beating East on the boys side though
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