The St. Olaf Showcase had a blue-chip entry list on the girls side and two nationally ranked teams.
It also got the ball rolling on Thursday in Northfield, Minnesota at St. Olaf College.
But the national-caliber meet did not disappoint, as the Wayzata girls, who opened the season at No. 2 on the MileSplit50 team rankings, cruised to a 46-point win over a talented field on Minnesota's state course.
With over 600 girls in the elite field, Wayzata junior Emma Atkinson was fourth (18:26.20) and Trojans sophomore Caroline Sassan (18:32.80) was sixth as the squad displaced well en route to a 46-second spread. Wayzata's top five finished in the top 13 places and its seventh was in by the 26th runner. The team's top five runners were speed-rated at 113 or higher, with Atkinson the highest at 127.
The performance only reinforced what we believed of Wayzata.
Interestingly enough, another team on the rise in Minnesota, Saint Michael-Albertville (MN), was second overall with 72 points, while Mountain View (ID), ranked No. 23 on the preseason MileSplit50, was third with 124 points.
Albertville was led by freshman Ali Weimer, who was fifth in 18:30.50 with a speed rating of 126. Mountain View indicated a solid start to the season with only room to grow. Team leader Lexy Halladay was third overall in 18:21.6, registering a 129 speed rating.
On the individual front, Minneapolis Washburn's Emily Covert, the defending Class AA champion in Minnesota, picked up where she left off last year, winning the race in a time and US No. 4 time of 17:07.9, just ahead of returning Class A champ, Tierney Wolfgram, who was second in a US No. 6 effort of 17:28.3.
Covert was rated impressively at 157, while Wolfgram was at 147. From a progressive standpoint, Covert is approximately 40 seconds faster than she was at this point last season, while Wolfgram is about 36 seconds ahead of her pace in 2017.
For all your coverage of the St. Olaf Showcase, check the links below.
Photo by Neil Vanderbosch
Related Links:
Stories:
- Page 1: The St. Olaf Showcase Gets The Ball Rolling On Thursday
- Page 2: Great Oak opens its season with a solid showing at Seaside
- Page 3: Graydon Morris with a big win, and Flower Mound dominates at Marcus I
- Page 4: Tight Battles At Memphis Twilight
- Page 5: Recapping Performances From Around The Nation