NXR Heartland Predictions 2023

Wow, crazier than Mechura running in the open race last year. Especially since Scott is a senior.

There are also 10 people on Scott’s Killer Beez team

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Meet results and team scores.

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His Killer Beez team in section 5 is also missing their #3 runner (Batalden) and also a freshman Schultz who would be scoring for them.

Jaden Merrick should be in the watchlist for individuals too.

If Sam Scott is really not doing the NXR Championship race, I think Ethan Zuber will take that other NXN qualifying spot.

Chapman, Anderson, Wirth.

These guys all have faster speed ratings than Merrick.l

Agree 100% percent

I agree that Zuber will qualify. I don't agree that Merrick is in the running because there are a handful of guys with faster speed ratings who are not in the watch list.

Well watch list was just by a poster, why put kifle on it when he wasn’t close to Merrick or Zuber at state? To Take speed ratings with a grain of salt. No one knows what races kids were truly getting ready for. Some maybe doing more taper for nxr then they did all season. Really comes down to same course same day.

So how many sub 15’s will we see?

I can only assume he wants to put his full energy into the XC ski season. In MN, Nordic starts on 11/13, and if he made it to NXN that's pushing back ski training almost a month. Plus, if he's doing the Junior Nationals Qualifying circuit (he's also highly ranked in skiing), the first race for that is 12/9 so there would be no break between XC and skiing. Not to say it hasn't been done before, but still is less than optimal. It definitely still seems weird to not even run the championship race and just decline a NXN spot if he makes it though, maybe they thought they'd get into the champs for sure? Idk

This also isn’t the first time that a senior who’s among the best in the nation is not trying to make nationals.

Last year, Carson Noecker ran a sub-14 3-mile by himself at the Woodbridge CA meet and chose to do no national meets at all.

Also, Wyatt Haughton seemed like a shoe-in to qualify last year but in the end he didn’t qualify. So no spot is a guarantee to anyone.

And even without Carson Noecker, 3 Heartland boys placed in the top 10 at NXN. Showed how strong the region still was even without Noecker

A few strong runners doesn't make a region strong. 100 boys in the midwest region could have placed top 25 in heartland.

8 boys will break 15.

I was between 7-10 myself

Ankeny with 2 individuals in the Championship race but no team

Sam Scott is in box 30 of the Championship Race. They must have tried to get the team into that race, didn't make it and Sam got moved into the Championship Race.

nxrhl.runnerspace.com

NXR Heartland Regional - News - 2023 Entries / Box Assignments - NXR Heartland Regional

Community race entries not included. Boys Championship Box #Team Name/Last NameFirstStateEvent2Kato Cougars MNBoys Champ3Cedar Falls XC IABoys Champ4Eden Prairie MNBoys Champ5Ad Astra KSBoys Champ6KellerBryantIABoys Champ6Ble...

Link:nxrhl.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?eve...

Boys team predictions

1. Stevens Point WI. Won Griak and put 6 guys under 16:15 at the state meet.

2. Dowling Catholic IA. Took second at Griak. Top 5 were under 16:03 with a 29 second spread at the state meet. None of their scorers can have an off race to qualify, since their 6th guy is far back.

3. Wayzata MN. Has a solid top 4, but their 5th runner is far behind them, which could be an issue on a big field like NXR. If their 5th man somehow closes the gap, they can autoqualify.

4. Cedar Falls IA. Was only 12 points behind Dowling Catholic at the state meet.

5. Cedar Rapids Kennedy IA. 4th place at the IA state meet.

6. Minnetonka MN. Took second at the state meet.

7. Mounds View MN. Made the podium at the state meet. Also their 16:00 transfer is now eligible to race with the varsity.

8. Hudson WI. They had a great season so far. They took second at the WI state meet and 7th at Griak.

9. Bismarck ND. Won the ND state meet. Returned everyone from last year except for their #1. Very deep team.

10. Edina MN. This team always seems to do well in the post-season. They took 5th place at Griak and took 4th at the state meet.

Girls Top 5 Contenders (in tiers, but otherwise no particular order):

Most Likely:

Katelyn Rupe - KS

Norah Hushagen - MN

Libby Castelli - SD

Likely:

Nora Gremban - WI

Addi Dorenkamp - IA

Sydney Drevlow - MN

Anjali Hocker Singh - KS

Less Likely:

Evie Malec - MN

Mia Hoffman - MN

Isabelle Bloker -SD

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I’m thinking on this course, some combination of these girls will comprise the top 5 individual spots. Thoughts?