Official Minnesota HS Track 2024 Thread

For boys AAA 3200 I think it will be a solid battle between Sam Scott and Robert Mechura. Same thing in the 1600

Those feel like fairly safe bets. Did any of the distance runners compete at indoor meets this winter? I know a number of them participate in Nordic Skiing and their state championship is this week.

I can't wait to see how much under 9 they get this year. Elliot Heath's 8:43c state record is probably a tough ask, but I think sub-8:50 is definitely reasonable, especially if they run more national level races

I will predict that both Scott and Mechura will not win the 1600m. These guys are endurance beasts, but don’t have the raw speed. Not sure yet, but I predict someone moving up from the 800m will win. Like Bryce from Lakeville North last year kicking down Brecker.

Some indoor results

results.wayzatatiming.com

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Link:results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/29459/...

results.wayzatatiming.com

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Link:results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/30009/...

Mechura was the top nonsenior in the 1600 at the state meet last year.

Scott wasn’t in that event at the state meet because he didn’t qualify for it. His section was tough. He finished third behind Breker and Jones at sections.

Alright. An obvious option would be Sanvik from Osseo who is running very fast 800s this winter.

The issue I see with that - Mechura beat him in every race last fall, and the idea Mechura doesn't have raw speed might not be right (what was his NXR pace?) I also think he ran around a :50 4 x 400 anchor leg at True Team Sections last year after breaking the 1600 Section record.

I think it's more likely that Mechura qualifies for the 800, 1600 and 3200 for State, than anyone beats him for the 1600 title.

Others to consider? Sutter, a number of guys from Minnetonka, Moundsview and Wayzata, and Salas (STMA) / Santiago (Blaine) / Williams (WBL).

Also Hootie Hage (used to be at the top in his class but had many injuries last year but still ended up in the top 10 at the state meet)

I thought there wasn’t much snow this winter. So can do they it without snow? Or they have snow somewhere?

They race at locations that make snow for the course.

I agree Mechura should be the favorite for the 1600. Sanvik definitely should contend and I saw Williams ran a 2:01 800 this Winter, he will likely be tough in the 1600 also.

Mechura is a great runner, but no way does he have 50sec 400 speed. No chance- maybe a 53 or 54 in an open 400m.

Sanvik ran a 51.xx 400 last outdoor season. I've seen enough from Mechura the past 14 months to say he could at least match Sanvik in an open 400.

This is a terrible take. 51-52 maybe, 53-54 is pretty slow for a 4:16 guy. This is anecdotal but pretty much everyone in distance on my HS track team could run 56 or better and we were all like 17:30-18:30 5kers and 4:45-5:00 milers. With a running start in the relay I think 50.xx is definitely possible.

For AAA girls 3200
I think Norah Hushagen will win. She won the XC state meet by over 30 seconds.
Gullickson won the 3200 last year but she missed the entire XC season

Indoor results today

results.wayzatatiming.com

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Link:results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/30175/...

Looking at results from last year and XC, there a few girls who stand out for the AAA 3200:

Hushagen - by far the strongest this XC season, won state and NXR

Drevlow - didn't look her best during XC, but still a top contender

Gullickson - a big question mark after winnning last year then missing XC

Hoffman - 2nd at state XC, 3rd in the 3200 last year

A few others who were a bit far (or not in the race) last year but seem to have improved a lot:

Malec - 4th in the 1600 as an 8th grader but then ran 4:48 a week later, 8th at state XC, 9th at NXR

Osanai - seemed to have a big breakthrough during XC, 11th at NXR

Malherek-Osorio - also seemed to have a big breakthrough during XC, 12th at NXR

Some random Wayzata girl we haven't heard of yet.

The 800 will be interesting. Top 5 in the AAA girls 800 graduated, and Downin (9th) moved out of state, leaving only 3 finalists returning.

Another 3200 competitor to consider is Ousdigian. She did very well in fall XC and just won a nordic ski state title so her endurance continues to improve.

As for the 800, I will mention Kleyman (Wayzata), Graham (Minnetonka) and Kath (Mounds View) to watch, since they're all at powerhouse programs that will allow them to avoid over-racing.