This years state meet will have quite the different atmosphere from last years race as the '07 class was one of the best Minnesota has ever seen. Although this year is no different from most years where we have some elite runners. On the team side, coming into the meet as the MN#1 and HL#2 is Wayzata. They are led by two junior runners of Jeremy Drenckhahn and Danny Ducharme. This is a young group who have not been to the state meet, but they have ran very well in big meets this year. Coming off of last year's second place finish is Rosemount and they enter as MN#2 and HL#6. They are returning 5 of their top 7 from last year's team and also got a nice addition from transfer Justin Sawyers who has been running in their top 5. MN#3 Stillwater resembles much like Wayzata as they both have strong packs, but how Stillwater does will depend upon their front runner Josh Kaul and how high he can place. MN#4 Eden Prairie is the dark-horse for this meet as they came on very strong at sections to overcome two teams they were ranked below entering sections. They like Stillwater have a tight pack and their success will depend on how close their pack is to the top. MN#5 and defending state champions Willmar comes into this meet rather unknown as they haven't gone against any of the top teams at full strength throughout the year. Their success will be determined by how well the #4/#5 runners run as their top 3 is one of the best in the state. Finally there is MN#6 Brainerd, who has competed very well this year and had off-races by all at their section but still got into state. The main question is will they be able to rebound in a week and run like they're capable of and have shown in previous meet wins over Willmar and Stillwater and Rosemount.
The individual race isn't as top-heavy as last year but at the top might be one of the best MN runners ever in senior Rob Finnerty from Burnsville. After taking second as a freshman, Finnerty has been hampered by injuries the past two years. He didn't run in his sophomore year and last year he took 4th while running on an injured ankle. He has been dominating the fields every race winning by margins of nearly a full minute over some of the top ranked runners in the state. Many are thinking he'll break the course record set last year by Hassan Mead of 15:10.7. Coming in at MN#2 is Mahad Hassan (2AA champion) of Willmar. He, like Finnerty, comes in undefeated to the meet. Hassan hasn't faced any of the top runners in the state, so it is uncertain of how he will fare against the other top runners. MN#4 Jordan Carlson of Rosemount is another top runner who has ran very well and placed second to Finnerty at the section 3AA meet, but coming in at MN#3 is Pieter Gagnon (6AA champion) who posted a big section win last week. Coming into this year, Tyler King (1AA champion) was expected to place high, but he has been hampered by illness throughout the whole year, but showed signs of being in top form after posting a strong win last week. The dark-horse of the meet goes to Andy Richardson of Irondale who tore up the track scene last year and decided to come out for CC for the first time. Other top runners include Joe Wells, Danny Docherty, Obai Hussein, Drew Paradis, and Travis Burkstrand.
The girls race will be the best race of the day with amazing individuals and 6 very good teams who have been swaping rankings weekly.
Coming into the state meet ranked #1 is Eden Prairie. They posted a very strong and impressive section win over then MN#3 Minnetonka. They are led by MN#2 Cassy Opitz and MN#12 Rachel Edwards. They have a strong top 5 with a spread of 50 seconds behind Opitz. Coming in at MN#2 is White Bear Lake. They as well are led by two strong front runners in MN#3 Katie Moraczewski and MN#11 Rachel Drake. At their section meet last week, they had an unprecedented team average of 14:40! A team always near the top and coming in at MN#3 is Lakeville North. They are led by last year's mile state champion and MN#7 Michelle Volz. The team has brought along two 7th graders both named Taylor and also have returning all-state runner Solange Miller. They posted the same 50 second spread that Eden Prairie did at their section meet last weekend too. Coming in at MN#4 is Prior Lake. They posted a huge win over then MN#2 Burnsville in their section meet last week. They are led by the Heuer sisters, Meghan and Sarah. The team with the tighest pack is MN#5 Burnsville. At sections they posted an amazing 16 second spread. Their success will be determined by how close the front of their pack is to the leaders. Coming in at MN#6 and the dark-horse to win is MN#6 Minnetonka. At sections they were without their #5 runner from their conference meet. Any one of these 6 teams is capable of winning the state title on any given day. It will be a great race to watch.
As will the individual race. I must start off that the state meet won't be as good as it could be as one of the top runners, senior McKenzie Melander (3rd at state last year) of Eastview did not qualify for the meet and she has been one of the top runners all year long. Coming into the her 6th and final state meet at MN#1 is senior Danielle Berndt of Bloomington Kennedy. After placing 4th last year at state, Berndt has had a successful cc season and is looking to close it on a good note. MN#2 Cassy Opitz of Eden Prairie is also one to look out for. She is coming in as the section 6AA champion. MN#3 is Katie Moraczewski (White Bear Lake) who posted a great time of 14:02 at her section meet last week. MN#4 Laura Hughes of Mankato West is the section 2AA champion and is the highest returning state runner as she placed second last year. MN#7 Michelle Volz of Lakeville North will also contend for the title as she is recovering from a sickness she had. She placed 6th last year. This year has been a year for new faces such as Centennials Kaylea Brase, Elk River's Emma Bates, Eastview's Anne Ferguson and Laura Docherty of Cretin-Derham Hall. Back for her 5th and final MN state meet is MN#9 Brooke Wyffels of Marshall. She has always been one to push the pace and it would be very surprising not to see her leading the field after the first mile as she had a 7 second lead after last years first mile. Berndt, Wyffels, Rachel Edwards and Docherty are the only 4 seniors who should be near the top. Meaning we will have great races for the next few years. This year figures to be one of the best in recent years for depth near the top for the girls.
1.) Lakeville North
2.) Eden Prairie
3.) White Bear Lake
4.) Minnetonka
5.) Burnsville
6.) Prior Lake
7.) Roseville
8.) Brainerd
9.) Moorhead
10.) Chaska
11.) Grand Rapids
12.) Winona
13.) Coon Rapids
14.) Mound Westonka
15.) Elk River
16.) Centennial
1.) Laura Hughes, Mankato West
2.) Danielle Berndt, Jefferson
3.) Michelle Volz, Lakeville North
4.) Katie Moraczewski, WBL
5.) Cassy Opitz, Eden Prairie
6.) Brooke Wyffels, Marshall
7.) Meghan Heuer, Prior Lake
8.) Anne Ferguson, Eastview
9.) Kaylea Brase, Centennial
10.) Emma Bates, Elk River
11.) Rachel Drake, WBL
12.) Laura Docherty, CDH
13.) Rachel Edwards, Eden Prarie
14.) Solange Miller, Lakeville North
15.) Taylor Perkins, Lakeville North
16.) Emily Meese, Minnetonka
17.) Catilin Hewes, Stillwater
18.) Jamie Piepenburg, Alexandria
19.) Sarah Heuer, Prior Lake
20.) Julia Harrison, Mound Westonka
21.) Jenny Rogers, Apple Valley
22.) Hannah Mcraith, Waconia
23.) Hannah Mcallister, Brainerd
24.) Heidi Peterson, Sartell
25.) Jenna Dean, Brainerd
1.) Rosemount
2.) Willmar
3.) Wayzata
4.) Stillwater
5.) Eden Prairie
6.) Brainerd
7.) White Bear Lake
8.) Eastview
9.) Moorhead
10.) Chaska
11.) Lakeville North
12.) Mounds View
13.) Andover
14.) Forest Lake
15.) Owatonna
16.) Duluth East
1.) Rob Finnerty, Burnsville
2.) Mahad Hassan, Willmar
3.) Tyler King, Lakeville North
4.) Jordan Carlson, Rosemount
5.) Pieter Gagnon, Mpls. Washburn
6.) Andy Richardson, Irondale
7.) Robel Kebede, Mpls. South
8.) Danny Docherty, CDH
9.) Joe Wells, Mpls. Southwest
10.) Travis Burkstrand, Eastview
11.) Ryan Evans, Centennial
12.) Drew Paradis, Alexandria
13.) Travis Beniak, ZMKW
14.) Andy Nicklawsky, Willmar
15.) Obai Hussein, Rosemount
16.) John Holt, Roseville
17.) Brad Lester, Armstrong
18.) Jeremy Drenckhahn, Wayzata
19.) Shane Steele, Roch. Century
20.) Kyle Schmidt, Hutchinson
21.) Matt Olson, Edina
22.) Zac Mellon, Buffalo
23.) Jon-Michael Brandt, Winona
24.) Thomas Ruttger, Brainerd
25 Mohammed Hussein, Willmar