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New faces on the trail

By Tom Schardin, 08/25/14, 9:45AM CDT

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The Prior Lake girls cross country team has begun a youth movement.

Last year, the Lakers' string of 10 straight Class AA state berths was snapped after a fifth-place finish in the Section 3AA meet. The team also failed to get an individual state qualifier.

Just two runners are back for Prior Lake who ran at sections - sophomores Madi Scholl and Gabrielle Brinkley.

"We're young," said Lakers coach Dan Saad. "Our No. 1 runner could be a seventh-grader. But we'll be competitive. A lot depends on how fast our front two runners are compared to other teams."

Scholl is entering her fourth varsity season. She was 16th at sections last year, four spots shy of an individual state berth. Brinkley was 38th.

Saad has high hopes for seventh-grader Mallory Stach. He said she's already shown the ability to run under 15 minutes for 4,000 meters. 

"She has a lot of potential," said Saad. "We'll have Madi who can run up there.  We're excited about our new start."

Along with Brinkley, junior Olivia Thielen and sophomores Grace Jondal and Tia Peterson are expected to be in the mix, along with eighth-grader Kate Hager.

"We have 47 kids out - three seniors and three seventh-graders," said Saad. "We're are hoping there are some surprises in the group.

"We need to pace ourselves better and run smarter in races this year," added Saad. "We didn't always do that last year."

There are no ranked teams in Section 3AA, but Eagan is expected to be the team to beat again. Burnsville returns five of its top seven runners from its runner-up section finish last year.

Second-ranked Lakeville South is the team to beat in the South Suburban Conference, along with No. 9 Lakeville North and Eagan.

"We are going to be competitive," said Saad. "Hopefully, we've reloaded and we can start the (state) streak over. But nobody is going to hand it to us. They have to work for it. It should be an exciting year."

The Lakers open the season at the Irish Invitational in Rosemount Aug. 29 at 10:30 a.m. Prior Lake will compete in the Lakeville Applejack Invitational Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m.

In Prior Lake’s 11 state appearances since 2001, the team’s best finish was in 2009 when it took second. The program was fourth twice (2005 and 2007).

Other finishes: fifth (2006), ninth (2010), 10th (2001, 2004, 2008), 11th (2012), 13th (2011) and 15th (2003). The Lakers also ran at state in 1989 (7th) and 1993 (10th).