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Minnesota Champion Edina Excited to Embrace New Challenge at XC Town USA Meet of Champions

Published by
DyeStat.com   Nov 10th 2020, 8:58pm
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After five consecutive trips to Nike Cross Nationals, the opportunity to compete in girls championship race at prestigious LaVern Gibson course is gratifying for Hornets, who will be reacquainted with several familiar elite programs

Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For a program that has had a clear understanding the past five years as to what the path would look like to start in Minnesota and conclude the season at a national championship race, the Edina High girls cross country team has embraced different opportunities and venues this season en route to a new destination Sunday at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind.

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Trying to navigate through a highly competitive regular season in Minnesota during the Coronavirus pandemic has only been one of the challenges for Edina, which has also seen plenty of fluctuation in its lineup as a result of injuries and scheduling conflicts.

But the Hornets, who boast the longest active streak among girls teams in the Heartland Region with five consecutive trips (2015-19) to Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, have still managed to peak in the postseason once again entering the inaugural event organized by the NSAF.

DYESTAT DISCUSSIONS WITH MACY IYER, MARY VELNER AND MAGGIE WAGNER

“I think we’re good at flipping that switch when we need to, and I think it will be good for us in Indiana,” Edina junior Macy Iyer said. “I think one of the things our team is really good at is balancing the work and the fun, because we’re such a tightly knit team. We are so close and that really plays to our strengths being able to have a lot of fun together at practice, but still being able to get the work done and then racing together.”

Edina XC Club leads a strong contingent of four Minnesota large-school programs – joining Farmington, Minnetonka and Wayzata – in the girls championship race at 2:30 p.m. EST Sunday, with juniors Maggie Wagner and Iyer guiding a group that is looking to build off its championship performance Oct. 30 at the Twin Cities Running Company XC Showcase at Island Pine Golf Course in Atwater.

“I think that all of the stuff that we’ve done has been really meticulous, and seeing it paying in the long run has been really exciting. It’s been our goal to stay healthy so that we can stay working and that we don’t have to shut down our program because someone got COVID,” Wagner said. “We’re just really thankful for people in these groups that will use all their efforts to help us have an outlet to race. I think overall we’re all really grateful for their efforts because it has not been easy this year, especially with running. When the gun goes off, you’re all together, and it’s hard to organize an event like that. We’re so grateful that they were able to pull it off and let us come.”

Edina is one of six programs that competed in December at NXN scheduled to participate Sunday in the championship race, which also features returning individual All-Americans from both Foot Locker and Nike finals. California teams Great Oak, competing as South Temecula, and Newbury Park are among the entries, along with Naperville North from Illinois, Valor Christian from Colorado and Loudoun Valley in Virginia, which is represented by The Jungle TC.

“It’s really exciting to be able to race against these people that we haven’t encountered since last December,” Iyer said. “I wouldn’t say we’ve settled with these other teams, because obviously it’s really good competition and we love racing against them, but I think it will be a newfound wakeup call just to remember there are a lot of really talented teams out there even beyond our state, which has so much talent within it. It will be really fun to see how these teams have transformed since last fall, because it’s hard to keep up with everybody in their individual states and conferences (during the season).”

Although Edina won’t have the services of sophomores Lauren Cossack (hip injury) and Mary Velner (scheduling conflict) in its lineup Sunday, the Hornets will rely on a deep roster that includes seniors Evie Hage and Emma Hudson, junior Abby Winter, in addition to freshmen Ella Hinkie and Haley Rogers.

After prevailing Oct. 14 on a sixth-runner tiebreaker against Minnetonka when the teams tied at 48 at the 6AA Sectionals, Edina produced its best performance of the season with a 38-point victory against the rival Skippers – who competed without sophomore standout Maya Mor – in the Oct. 30 rematch at the Twin Cities Running Company event that took the place this season for the MSHSL state meet.

“Obviously it’s not going to be the same without Lauren and Mary running, but it will still be very fun,” Wagner said. “It will definitely be a lot harder to pack it up in a larger field, just because we’re used to racing against two teams in the COVID situation, but I think our strength lies in our ability to find each other and race together. I think that even though it’s going to be a little harder, I still think we’ll be able to do it.

“I think it’s just the knowledge that every race we’ve improved, and how we can take the previous race and learn from it and get better from that brings a lot of confidence for us, even without two of our runners.”

Velner gives a lot of credit to veteran Edina coach Matt Gabrielson for not only helping the Hornets remain hopeful and encouraged about postseason opportunities early in the season, but also staying committed to a detailed training program since the summer, regardless of what the fall athletic schedule would look like for all Minnesota schools.

“He knows us (well) and he knows how far he can push us, even if we’re not showing it some days during workouts. He’s always pushing us to our limits that he knows will help us in our future races,” Velner said. “Even though we weren’t sure there was going to be a state meet or anything after that, we just kept the mindset that there would be, so that motivated us to keep training. I think it’s been a super cool opportunity this year that we’ve still been able to have meets and keep racing against good competition.

“I love that our team dynamic is so strong and that we teach each other so much, and I think that has helped us a lot this year because of the harder challenges that we’ve faced with everything that has happened.”

In addition to Gabrielson’s guidance, the tradition of postseason success at NXR Heartland in South Dakota and NXN in Oregon has helped prepare Edina for big moments like the Oct. 30 race in Atwater and again Sunday in Terre Haute.

“Matt has been doing this for so long, and he’s really good at making us peak at the right time … We’ve been really consistent and we’ve put in a lot of miles, especially all the way back in June, which are really carrying us right now. It’s just trusting everything that we’ve done in the past bunch of months and letting it all pay off (Sunday),” Iyer said. “I think having a lot of experience with these big races is really helpful for our confidence as an entire team, because the few of us that have been to NXN, even multiple times, we have that experience and we’re able to carry that over to our younger, newer girls that haven’t been to those higher-level meets. I feel like that makes them more confident, too, because they’re part of such a legendary team that has been really successful at the regional level and been able to go to those national meets, so I think it’s a good confidence booster.”

Despite the cancellation of NXN and all the regional meets in July, the presence of the XC Town USA Meet of Champions on its schedule for the past month has given Edina renewed focus and determination to perform well again on a national stage.

“When (NXN) was canceled, we were really disappointed, and we knew we couldn’t take anything for granted going forward,” Wagner said. “We knew we might not be able to have a national meet, so we’re really excited that we’re able to go to it. This has made (our season) a lot more gratifying.”

And even if the postseason journey hasn’t showcased the familiar settings of Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls or Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Edina knows the opportunities for new experiences and memories exist Sunday at one of the most prestigious courses in the country at LaVern Gibson, site of last year’s NCAA Division 1 championship race.

“Over the past few years our racing schedule has kind of been identical. We get used to these courses and we get good at them, which is always a plus. But this year has been fun to explore some new courses and see how we can do at different places,” Iyer said. “I think it’s so much fun that (LaVern Gibson) has so much history with all these collegiate races and it will be cool to show what we got there.”



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