Wayzata senior Abbey Nechanicky cruised to victory at the recent St. Olaf Showcase cross-country meet, a who's-who collection of top teams and individuals. Down the stretch, there was Nechanicky, the John Deere Gator vehicle with race marshals ahead and no runner in sight behind.
Cross-country 2022: Wayzata teams make clear it's both a team and individual sport
The Trojans' Abbey Nechanicky won the St. Olaf Showcase by more than a minute; the boys' team strives to win as a pack.
September 7, 2022 at 11:28PM
Nechanicky's winning time of 17:08.9 bested second-place Sydney Drevlow of Hopkins by more than a minute. Nechanicky and the Trojans also sapped the suspense from the team competition by placing four runners in the top 19, two better than any other team.
The next time runners will toe the starting line at the same 5,000-meter course will be in November at the Minnesota State High School League state championship meet. Coaches expect Nechanicky and her teammates to make the return trip. She was the top-ranked runner on the top-ranked team in the preseason poll.
Making good on their promising start will require a breakthrough for Nechanicky and her teammates. Injuries kept her out of the championship meet last season. And Edina kept Wayzata second in the Class 3A team standings.
"Just having the teammates that I have motivates me to do my best for them," Nechanicky said. "Us four seniors have been running together since eighth grade. It's been five years of training to get where we are today."
Edina, one of four teams ranked in the top 10 that did not compete at St. Olaf, isn't ready to concede. Matt Gabrielson, a recent inductee into the Minnesota High School Cross Country Coaches' Association Hall of Fame, said, "Our girls know Wayzata has earned the spot, but I don't know if being No. 1 right now is what we're worried about."
The Hornets got a boost before the season when freshman Abby Downin, a strong runner for Minnetonka in 2021-22, open-enrolled at Edina.
On the boys' side
Wayzata is the defending Class 3A state champion. The Trojans are believed to be the first team to win without a finisher among the top 25.
"We have a big belief in our depth," senior Hamza Mohamed said. "Last year we had five guys who could've finished in the top 25, but we put that aside because we wanted the team win and that's more important to us."
The individual title presents the most intriguing possibilities. Defending champion Nick Gilles of Minnetonka was ranked second in the preseason poll behind Armstrong's Noah Breker. Sam Scott of Minneapolis Southwest was third on paper and at the showcase.
Breker built himself through 70-mile weeks in the summer. Despite running at St. Olaf just days after tough weightlifting, he won the race and finished only one second off his 2021 state championship pace.
Becoming a champion in November, Breker said, will come down to "whoever can time their peak best."
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
