By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

The Prior Lake girls cross country team took fourth at the Class AA state meet last year and all seven of its runners were underclassmen.

So one could only assume the Lakers will be fully loaded this fall with expectations of competing for a state title.

Not so fast.

The Heuer sisters – Meghan and Sarah – will be running the trails in Illinois, instead of Minnesota. The family moved this past summer.

“That’s a big loss for us,” said Lakers coach Dan Saad. “We’re kind of restocking now. The Heuers have been with us since they were seventh- and eighth-graders.”

Meghan, now a junior, finished fourth overall at state last year, while Sarah, a senior, was sixth.

The good news for the Lakers is ninth-grader Taylor Scholl, juniors Paige Foster and Kalyn Casey and sophomore Grace Chandler are back from last year’s state team. Scholl was 28th overall at state last fall.

Both Laker boys and girls team open their season on Friday, Aug. 29 at the Rosemount Invitational at 9 a.m.

The girls team has won six straight Missota Conference titles and is still considered the favorite for seven in a row. The team has also been to state six of the last seven seasons.

So expectations are still high, despite the loss of the Heuers. Saad feels if his younger runners develop, the team could still defend its Section 3AA title.

Burnsville finished runner-up to the Lakers in the section last year, but went on to win the state title. The Blaze returns four of its top seven runners. Saad said Eastview and Visitation will also be strong section foes.

“I think we still have a state-quality team,” said Saad. “Without the Heuers, the pressure is sort of gone. So how much can we improve during the season, get to October and be at our best when it counts?

Battling for spots in the Lakers’ top seven will be seniors Jessica Zwanziger and Carly Probert, ninth-graders Madison Lesmeister and Lauren Bruha and eighth-graders Emily Stock and Amber Tieman. At the team’s time trials, Lesmeister and Stock were in the top five.

“These are the girls right now,” said Saad. “We’re a young team. But the goal is to get back to state. I think we can still get back there.”

Meanwhile, Saad said the Laker boys team will be improved. The team should finish higher than last year’s 13th-place showing at sections with the return four of its top-seven runners.

Senior Robert Gorycki and junior Justin Schlitz were the fastest two Lakers at the team’s time trials. Sophomore Jak Justen and junior Joe Fleck are also back.

Others expected to contribute include ninth-graders Paul Evans, Thomas Cunningham and Josh Schaffer, along with sophomore Leo Foote.

“Our section is pretty open, so state is possibility for us,” said Saad. “There are not a lot of front-running kids returning in our section. We just have to keep building. The early meets won’t matter to us as much. We want to work on running in a pack, distance and speed, so we are at our best in October.”