PREVIEW
Location: Luther College, Decorah, IA
Weather: 65 and partly cloudy, humid
BOYS
Virtual Meet Projection: Dubuque Hempstead (IA) (42), Century (ND) (81), Austin (109)
Top Individuals: Ben Hermiston (Dubuque Hempstead, 15:53), Henry Hinchcliffe (Austin, 15:57), David Holsinger (Dubuque Hempstead, 16:05), Jack Pendergast (Prairie, 16:11), Austin Wald (Century, 16:16)
The Skinny: A dozen Minnesota teams head down to Iowa this weekend in order to face off against some regional competition. The highest ranked Minnesota team on the guys' side is Austin, which falls third in the virtual meet. Coincidentally, the top Minnesota individual also comes from Minnesota - Henry Hinchcliffe, who comes in a scant four seconds behind the Iowan leader Hermiston and is well-placed to upset him for the title. Other Minnesota talent includes Colden Longley of Bloomington Jefferson, whose time of 16:21 puts him eighth in the virtual meet, as well as Austin's second runner, Brockdon Lawhead, who falls just outside the top ten with his 16:35. Teamwise, Champlin Park and Rochester Century look prepared to finish in the top ten, with Champlin knocking on the door of the top five.
GIRLS
Virtual Meet Projection: Onalaska (WI) (57), Century (ND) (91), Dubuque Senior (IA) (142), Rochester Century (146)
Top Individuals: Emily Goldade (Century, 17:54), Cassidy Ihns (Crestwood (IA), 18:11), Kora Malecek (Onalaska, 18:17), Erin Palmer (Century, 18:35), Helen Li (Rochester Century, 18:36)
The Skinny: On the girls side, Emily Goldade of North Dakota looks ready to run away with the victory. The top Minnesotan chasing her will be Rochester Century's Helen Li, who took seventh at this meet last year. She is ranked fifth by PR and will be chasing North Dakotan Erin Palmer, as they sport nearly identical PRs. Though Rochester Century lost frontrunner Aly Welch from their third place finish in 2017, they are still in a good position to repeat that performance, as they fall only 4 points off Dubuque Senior. Other Minnesotans to watch are Austin's Abigail Lewis (18:57) and Morgan Hose (19:27), as well as Rochester Century's second, third, and fourth runners, all of whom have the potential to place in the top twenty at this impressively large meet.