ROY GRIAK PREVIEW: 9 Nationally Ranked Teams, Kate Murphy Debuts, Pendergast, Carpenter & More!

Roy Griak Invitational
Johanna Gretschel

A Battle Between 9 Ranked & Previously Ranked Teams


GIRLS - BOYS

Let's just get it out of the way... the state of Minnesota is absolutely stacked. From the Pre-Season Rankings to the most recent update, the Land of 1,000 Lakes has racked up eight squads on the Saucony Flo50 National Rankings, including both boys and girls.

Like many things in high school, team cross country rankings are absolutely unpredictable - and especially so in the early portion of the season. An invitational this large is sure to shake up the rankings... yet again.

GIRLS

MINNESOTA


It's hard to tell much about Wayzata right now. They took the No. 10 spot in the Saucony Flo50 Pre-Season National XC Team Rankings due to returning six of their top seven after finishing sixth at NXN in 2014. The Trojans easily won their first race at the Colombus Catholic Invitational with a nice 22-second spread and 20:03 average on a fairly challenging course.

But in their most recent performance, the Hutchinson Invitational, the Trojans finished just fourth behind unranked Marshall and Flo50 No. 19 Minnetonka while missing two of their top five (1:50 spread/20:24 5k average).

Minnetonka was missing their No. 2 runner at that meet in Elizabeth Halbemaier, though still boasted a 1:36 top five spread and 19:30 average over 5k. No. 1 runner Sophie Whicher is undefeated this fall and will likely keep pace with the big dogs Judy Pendergast, Aubrey Roberts and Kate Murphy, though we're not sure she's ready to contend for a win here.

The unranked Marshall seems to have gotten lucky at Hutchinson with the other squads missing top runners, though a 1:46 spread and 19:33 5k average isn't shabby.

No. 21 Edina boasted a 41-second top five spread to win the Lakeville Applejack Invitational last weekend, averaging 19:25 for 5k.

OUT OF STATE

Lake Braddock makes their full varsity debut with Pre-Season No. 9 ranked Kate Murphy at the helm. The Bruins won Monroe Parker with a 47-second top 4 spread and all between 18:12-18:59 on 2.89 mile course. Murphy is taking a slower start to the season after a track season that extended into August and culminated with a gold medal at the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships 1500m. She was an NXN All-American but really broke out during track season, when she scored a runner-up finish at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Two Mile and victory at Penn Relays 3k before an outstanding 1500m win at the USATF Junior Nationals.

She may not be as cross country fit and race-ready yet as individual leaders Pendergast and Roberts, but don't expect her to hold back!

Naperville North is, like Wayzata and Minnetonka, another question mark team with two of their top five individuals missing from their most recent race. The absence of top runners culminated in a third-place finish at First to the Finish and drop down to Flo50 No. 24, even with Pendergast's 16:18 individual win. Her outstanding time brought the team average down to 17:38 for 3 miles with a 1:43 top five spread.

BOYS

Edina and Wayzata will likely be the two top teams in the mix here for both regional and national pride. Edina entered the Pre-Season ranked No. 4 before news of the transfer of top five runner Jonathan Shirley and have dropped since then,

Both the Hornets and the Trojans are on the cusp of national recognition, with the Trojans boasting a solid low stick runner in Flo50 No. 13 ranked Jaret Carpenter, who will contend for the individual win here after finishing 16th last fall.

Bubble team Lake Braddock of Virginia is not quite as loaded as their girls squad. They lost a big No. 1 in Alex Corbett, an All-American now at UVA. However, they are the best team in Virginia right now, which is no small feat. They are coming off a win at the Monroe Parker Invitational.

Of note: No. 14 Hopkins is not racing, though they may be the best team in Minnesota. They currently own the state's fastest top five 5k average (16:10).