Victory links seems to be the most feasible, right? Somewhat central, decent parking, a halfway decent course. The only issue is the MSHSL can't charge admission. Curious if anyone at the clinic on Monday has additional insight.
I believe one reason the MHSL left Olaf was they wanted more revenue from the college and they lacked the staff and/or ability to fence off their course to charge admission. I don't think the meet had ever made money before and they were looking for ways to substantially earn revenue. Every few years the MIAC meet and State Meet are the same weekend, so it wasn't as simple as Olaf having all their team members man all their exits. Although, if I was their coach and not competing that day, I think I'd find a way to make that work. Those athletes should be able to give up a day to serve the sport and help host the meet. It's a public relations bonanza and a chance for my program to gain state-wide recognition.
I believe one reason the MHSL left Olaf was they wanted more revenue from the college and they lacked the staff and/or ability to fence off their course to charge admission. I don't think the meet had ever made money before and they were looking for ways to substantially earn revenue. Every few years the MIAC meet and State Meet are the same weekend, so it wasn't as simple as Olaf having all their team members man all their exits. Although, if I was their coach and not competing that day, I think I'd find a way to make that work. Those athletes should be able to give up a day to serve the sport and help host the meet. It's a public relations bonanza and a chance for my program to gain state-wide recognition.
They are on the same day again this year as well. MIAC Championships Meet at Highland 9 GC in St. Paul.
Woah. That's new. Interesting choice from the MIAC in my opinion - especially with Olaf and Carleton being high caliber championship collegiate courses. Maybe Carleton can work........
Woah. That's new. Interesting choice from the MIAC in my opinion - especially with Olaf and Carleton being high caliber championship collegiate courses. Maybe Carleton can work........
The non-Northfield schools have long sought a neutral site course after losing access to Como. Many feel the Northfielders have a distinct advantage racing on courses they have daily access to.
Putting together Class AA ranks on the girl's side.
Mpls Southwest
Perham
Delano
Mankato East
St. Peter
Northfield
Mankato West
Marshall
Orono
Belle Plaine
Chisago Lakes
Waseca
Becker
Zimmerman
Faribault
Southwest and Perham are the clear 1-2 this year. Both extremely deep too.
The next tier, spanning from 3rd through 8th, is incredibly tight. I’m open to arguments about which teams belong on the higher end of that range. That Section 2AA meet is going to be phenomenal.
Delano feels like a rock-solid pick, and maybe I’m hedging a bit since they’re not in Section 2 like most of the other teams in this tier. East had four girls run 5:33 or faster on the track this spring, which is impressive. Northfield might have the deepest and most talented team based on last year’s XC results, but they didn’t perform well in track—or didn’t have many of their girls competing. St. Peter has the strongest top three in the group but likely the weakest 4–7, giving them a wide range of possible outcomes. West has a strong 1-2 punch and is overall pretty young. It’s hard to slot Marshall at #8 considering they placed 8th last year and return everyone...including a few on their 2023 state champs team.
I feel good about Orono and BP rounding out the top 10, but it’s tough seeing BP ranked 10th in the state yet only 5th in their section. Orono will also have a hard time making state with Southwest and Delano in 6AA.
Seems like Minnesota teams aren’t as strong as in the past.
Just about all of the top boys MN teams graduated a lot of people last year. And even last year, the top boys MN team finish at NXR Heartland was 6th place. In the past, Minnesota dominated this region all the time.
Wyzata is looking stronger next year even though they graduate some guys.
Right now they look to be the favorites in the state.
I wonder if any team can possibly step up and beat them. That will be tough to do.
Rosemount took second at state many times but never won a title. They return a strong top 3 but need a 4&5 to step up.
Minnetonka returns 3 guys from the state meet (including a projected state individual champ), but like Rosemount they need a 4th and 5th runner to step up. I can see them being back with a vengeance after being ranked first for most of the season just to fall to 3rd at the state meet last year
I feel good with Perham at #1. Return 5 guys who were 62nd or higher at state plus an 8th grader who went 10:05 this spring. Also the deepest team in the class and great history.
Como had a good track season with 4 guys between 4:27-4:38 / 9:38-9:46 and their 5th at 4:46/10:14. All five were top 90 at state last year.
Orono, Becker, Blake, and East are all in the next tier for me. Maybe could add Rockford in there too since their top 4 is strong, but they lack any 5th.
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Right now they look to be the favorites in the state.
I wonder if any team can possibly step up and beat them. That will be tough to do.
Rosemount took second at state many times but never won a title. They return a strong top 3 but need a 4&5 to step up.
Minnetonka returns 3 guys from the state meet (including a projected state individual champ), but like Rosemount they need a 4th and 5th runner to step up. I can see them being back with a vengeance after being ranked first for most of the season just to fall to 3rd at the state meet last year
Agreed, Wayzata has got to be the top team coming into the year and it would be surprising if they don't win the title in November (and honestly in 2026 as well). I know even before last year it was discussed how 2024 was the most vulnerable they would be during like a 8-year stretch, so good on Edina taking them down last year.
Blaine/Rosemount are the next best teams this year then it is more open after them. Tonka defs in the mix along with Roseville, Jefferson, and Duluth East among others.
Thanks for all the work you put into these rankings. I follow AA fairly closely so a few observations. Belle Plaine should be in Section 2. Section 6 is tough enough already. Should Pequot Lakes be somewhere in mix? I think Mankato West might be a little low and Rockford a little high. When you compare Rockford and Delano who race against each other quite a bit they are very close.
Thanks for all the work you put into these rankings. I follow AA fairly closely so a few observations. Belle Plaine should be in Section 2. Section 6 is tough enough already. Should Pequot Lakes be somewhere in mix? I think Mankato West might be a little low and Rockford a little high. When you compare Rockford and Delano who race against each other quite a bit they are very close.
Thanks! Yes on BP, I got so used to typing in "6" on these rankings that I mistyped ha. Sections 2AA and 6AA are probably the most competitive sections for both AA guys/girls! This isn't a new idea or anything and I have gotten some pushback in the past for bringing this up, but I wish there was an at-large bid for one team each year selected by some committee/board. The competitive section unbalance has been frustrating for years and got worse in this year's section changes too.
I'll definitely check out Pequot Lakes and relook at the other teams you mentioned!
Nevermind on Pequot. I relooked and their best times seem to be skewed by one fast or short course.
On Mankato West, Ephraim Staley ran for a North Carolina school this spring, so I am assuming he won't be running for them this fall. He was 38th at state last year, so a big loss for them. Still think they are a solid team but would have been tight to get to state even with him in the lineup.
Wayzata easy #1 with 4 returners who were top 13 last year. Forest Lake was 2nd last year and even though they lose Hushagen, all other state runners return and all finished top 90.
Next tier is STMA, Hopkins, and MV. STMA had 3 girls run 11:10 or faster this spring plus Sophie Miller who would have been top 10 at state XC last year but didn't run (hurt?). I thought Mounds View underperformed at state last year but they only lose their #4 and have a great low stick in Ousdigian. Hopkins missed state last year but brings back a lot of talent- big question for me is about Sophia Fuller who just ran RunningLane XC in December in sub 19...any chance she runs this fall?
Alexandria and Edina are in the next group for me. Alex is really deep (especially for school who was in AA last year) and had amazing track season. Halbe had a hip injury so she missed track but should be healthy for XC. Edina is tougher to rank but should be another fun battle between them and Hopkins for final 6AAA state spot (and now Mpls Southwest isn't there to compete either).
Highland Park, Duluth East, and Waconia round out my current top 10. Interested to see how HP does moving up to AAA. They lose 4 of their top 5 from last year, but still have some good returners and I am trusting they have more emerge. East really solid but no top girl which makes it tough to place much higher. Waconia missed state last year on a tiebreak, but they return everyone from that team and should be decent.
Feedback?
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Figured this might be helpful to those asking about the State Meet's future location, which, simple answer, has a long way to go to be determined. Some sites not included in the PowerPoint presented at the coach's clinic were sites that did NOT have an interest in hosting. The ones included in the PowerPoint expressed interest in hosting to some degree.
Victory Links (NSC in Blaine) does not want to host.
Carleton does not want to host on an annual basis, instead wanting to focus on their college championship events in the future.
Highland in St. Paul does not want to host. Hosts a number of other events such as Section meets and MIAC around the same time.
Como Park does not want to host.
Lastly, contrary to popular belief, St. Olaf stopped hosting because they no longer wanted to host the event. Their contract was up and they did not want to continue hosting the event.
I worked on the advisory for a number of years, including helping find the current site at the U of M. Ultimately, the MSHSL has the final say on where the state meet ends up, but they do listen to the coach's association on recommendations. I think one of the best and most important messages presented at the coach's clinic on the topic of state meet sites was this: if we had a perfect site for the state meet in the borders of MN, we'd already be having the state meet there. None of these current options (and other ideas that may surface) are perfect and there are a lot of boxes that need to be checked in finding the best possible state meet site, so it will take some time.
I think one of the best and most important messages presented at the coach's clinic on the topic of state meet sites was this: if we had a perfect site for the state meet in the borders of MN, we'd already be having the state meet there. None of these current options (and other ideas that may surface) are perfect and there are a lot of boxes that need to be checked in finding the best possible state meet site, so it will take some time.
Great post, thank you.
I love the idea of a state meet at Wirth. That atmosphere in the stadium could be pretty cool. Would be a pretty tough/fair course as well.
Olaf is a square peg. As an outsider, it appears doesn’t really want to host the event or there’d be more good faith effort/accommodations. What about one of the 20+ golf courses in the metro that a.) has parking, b.) has hotel accommodations, c.) is closer to 50% of the teams competing? Olaf is history, leave it there.