Brianna Haller, Fatima, will look take down her course record at the Linn Invitational this Saturday.
While a lot of attention is on the Forest Park XC Festival this weekend, the Linn Invitational will be something to watch for fans of the smaller classes. The meet has attracted 38 schools in Class 1 through 3. Meet director, Tim Bower takes pride in his event. "I think we offer a competitive field and a challenging course for a low entry cost, which lures many schools to come back to Linn year after year" Course records held by Brianna Haller, 19:46.12, and Hunter Hennier, 17:03.46, will look to go down as both record holders are slated to compete this weekend.
Others to watch out for on the individual side include Jason Otto of Blair Oaks. Otto, second at the Linn Invitational in 2014, went on to finish 10th at the Class 2 State Meet in 2014, only one place behind Hennier. On the girl's side, 800m and 1600m Class 3 State Champ, Parker Fane, looks to be a serious threat to Brianna Haller, Class 3 3200m Champ, as she looks to defend her title.
As for the teams, look out for Fatima on both the guys and girls side. The Girls are the defending Class 2 State Champs while the boys finished 4th a year ago. Both squads return a core of their team including much of their top five.
Linn Invitational Virtual Meets
Boys - Based On : Last Year (Returners) | This Year
Girls - Based On : Last Year (Returners) | This Year
Top Returning Individuals
Girls
Brianna Haller - Fatima - 1st, Class 2
Madison Day - Fatima - 4th, Class 2
Harley Nale - Linn - 17th, Class 2
Leslie Perona - St. James - 19th Class 3
Hanna Kloeepel - Fatima - 22nd Class 2
Boys
Hunter Hennier - Fatima - 9th, Class 2
Jason Otto - Blair Oaks - 10th, Class 2
Adam Burkett - California - 19th, Class 2
Carter Brocato - Owensville - 13th, Class 3
Maguire Scheer - Southern Boone - 24th , Class 3
Top Returning Teams
Girls
Fatima - 1st, Class 2
Blair Oaks - 5th, Class 2
New Haven - 10th, Class 1
Vienna - 15th Class 1
Boys
Owensville - 6th, Class 3
Fatima - 4th, Class 2
Linn - 7th, Class 2
New Haven - 4th, Class 1
Vienna - 16th, Class 1