Minnesota Teams Rule Heartland, Led By Wayzata

By Adam Kopet of DyeStat

Girls NXR Heartland Preview

The Heartland region has been dominated by Minnesota since 2012 and no other state in the area has sent a team to NXN in the past six years. That dominance seems likely to continue with the top four preseason spots held by Minnesota teams.

Wayzata MN is expected to play a large role on the national stage. The Trojans finished seventh at NXN last year and return their top five runners.

Both Willmar MN and Edina MN will be working to book tickets to Portland. Both teams have recent NXN experience, with Edina finishing 11th last year and Willmar finishing fifth in 2016.

Looking at last year's NXR Heartland race results, it would be easy to overlook St. Michael-Albertville MN. The Knights competed with multiple squads in the Open Invitational race, but there is a strong group coming back that could could factor into the Championship race this year.

Finally, at fifth in the Heartland Region, is the first non-Minnesota team. Muskego WI did not compete last year at NXR Heartland, but it finished second at last year's Wisconsin Division 1 state championships. The Warriors return all of their varsity runners from last year and could factor into the region should they decide to compete at NXR Heartland.

1. Wayzata MN.  The Trojans return the top five runners from a seventh-place NXN team.  Their top three runners -- Emma Atkinson, Caroline Sassan and Rhynn Paulsen -- all broke 18 minutes at NXR Heartland last year to lead Wayzata to the regional title.

2. Willmar MN.  The Cardinals return a strong squad that finished sixth at NXR Heartland last year. However, a few on the team have NXN experience, finishing fifth in 2016.

3. Edina MN.  The Hornets graduated their top two runners from last year's 11th-place NXN squad. However, they remain a formidable team, led by senior Maria Rickman.

4. St. Michael-Albertville MN.  The Knights did not compete in the NXR Heartland Championship race last year, but they return their eight fastest runners from the Open Invitational race. The leader was freshman Ali Weimer, who won the open race in 17:49.

5. Muskego WI.  The Warriors did not compete at NXR Heartland last year after they finished second at the Wisconsin Division 1 state championships. They return their entire varsity squad from last year, five of whom were freshmen.

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