Boys AAA teams-
1. Lakeville North. Very senior-heavy team. Scoring 5 are all seniors, and this varsity team has been the same since 2020 basically, which enhances the team chemistry. Top MN team at Griak
2. Wayzata. Young team. Good depth and pack. Lone senior is their front runner, something they did not have last year.
3. Rosemount. Good pack of 5 (4 seniors) but lacks a front guy to bring the score down in championship races.
4. Minnetonka. Not at full strength at Griak, but could challenge for the podium once everyone is healthy. Also a very young, mostly sophomore-built, deep team.
5. Mounds View. Deep team, but front runner needs to be back to where he was last year. And the 2-5 gap needs to be closed better also. Very young, mostly junior-built team.
6. MPLS Washburn. Has one of the fastest guys in the Heartland region, but needs a fifth man to punch a ticket to state.
7. MPLS Southwest. Has the best junior in the state. Also solid at positions 2-6. Young team but needs a number five for next year to take this team to the next level.
8. Bloomington Jefferson (I moved this team up here because they have a solid front runner and a 5th runner. Neither of which we see from Eden Prairie right now). Stillwater has a good top 5 as well, but Jefferson has a better #1 guy. This is also only the beginning of their success with only 1 senior and 2 juniors on this team.
9. Stillwater. Solid top 5. #1 guy is always the same. Reloaded very nicely from last year when pretty much all of their top guys were seniors.
10. Eden Prairie. No low stick. Also needs a 5th man ready to go for sections.
Individuals
1. Noah Breker. Won Griak.
2. Sam Scott. Second MN runner at Griak
3. Andrew Casey. Third MN runner at Griak. Putting him here for taking down Sam Scott in a race once. Looking to lead his senior-laden team to a state title.
4. Nick Gilles. Off day at Griak. But he has done better in previous races.
5. Aidan Jones. Almost beat Andrew Casey at Griak. Also, looking to lead his team to possibly make state out of a very rigorous section.
6. Adam Lueth (for taking down Kifle who beat Hamza at Griak). Seems like he was the only one who raced this week.
7. Hamza Mohamed. As I mentioned before, last year there was no front runner at Wayzata. This seemed to have changed this year. 5th MN finisher at Griak.
8. Nolan Sutter. Won the Maroon race
9. Bryce Stachewicz. Scored for his team as an 8th grader and is now having a great senior season, looking to help his team win their first state title ever. 6th MN AAA finisher in the Gold race at Griak
10. Hootie Hage. Did not race at Griak but won the race he did run.
Best 2 teams in each section in boys AAA
1- Lakeville North and South
2- Minnetonka and Eden Prairie
3- Rosemount and Bloomington Jefferson
4- Stillwater and Woodbury
5- Mounds View and Roseville
6- Wayzata and Minneapolis Washburn
7- Centennial and Blaine
8- Buffalo and Bemidji