MileSplit50 Girls Team Rankings Countdown

21. 

Team: Farmington (MN)

Analysis: If there's a year to capitalize off the rookie experience, this is it for Farmington. The team returns all seven runners who competed at NXR Heartland, including a group of five sophomores. Here's the thing, though. Youth isn't everything, especially considering Farmington was seventh at Heartland and sixth at its Class AA state meet. But there's no doubt the team has talent. The program's top two runners, sophomore Anna Fenske and senior Lauren Peterson, both qualified for NXN--and Fenske was an All-American who owns a PR of 17:05.14; Peterson ran 17:26.18 at her best in 2017.

The real question will be just how quickly the team behind these two star athletes will develop. A year ago, Farmington's top six runners at Heartland finished within the top 202 places. That stark gap between its top and bottom runners won't be enough to secure a national appearance, especially considering the time differential between its 1-through-5 is about 2:15.59 based on last year's PRs. But if nothing else, we're banking on the potential here.