Maggie Ewen of St. Francis looks to capture her 4th state discus title and 3rd shot put title this weekend at Hamline. The state meet at Hamline university is a facility Ewen is familiar with, dating back to her third place finish in the discus as an 8th grader. Ewen has a chance to move into the top 10 all-time in high school if she tops 181-11 in discus Friday morning. The only other Minnesotan to break the top 10 list in an event group is Rob Finnerty of Burnsville in 2008. Maggie Ewen finished the 2012 season 2nd nationally, and looks to break her own Minnesota State Meet record in discus and set a new record in shot put. Ewen is coming off an indoor national title in the shot put (54-1). She has yet to match her indoor mark in an outdoor season that has provided few meets where the weather cooperated for big marks. If weather cooperates, look for Liz Podominick's record to be in jeopardy.
Chasing Ewen will be a trio of juniors consisting of Kasie Vollmer of Prior Lake, Claire Ziegler of Mankato East, and Molli Detloff of Elk River. The battle for second place in the shot put should be close as well, lead by familiar foes in Jordyn Thorton and Shaina Burns of Lakeville South and Courtney Pasiowitz of Coon Rapids.
On the boys side, North Dakota State bound Ben Krynski (Lakeville North) is peaking at the right time. Ben is the #1 seed in both events hitting his season best marks of 57-3.5 and 171-11 at sections. Shot put on Friday morning consists of a deep field. Tony Yost (Eden Prairie) has shown significant progress in the last month capped off by a #2 seed in the boys shot put with his section mark of 56-10. Joe Stevens (Champlin Park) has experience at Hamline having won the Hamline Elite meet earlier this season and having the season best mark in the event of 57-9. It wouldn't be a state meet without a standout from Owatonna, and Andrew Stelter looks to continue the tradition of great throwers at the 2013 state meet.
Discus may be the most "up for grabs" event competition at the state meet this year. Krynski, Ian Collins (Edina), Nate Bird (Stillwater), and Payton Otterdahl (Rosemount) have been consistent through the season. There are 8+ participants who could win the event depending on weather conditions and if the dreaded right sector cage at Hamline claims competitors like in years past.
Sam Udermann (Foley), Dustin Gill (LeSueur), and Steffan Stroh (Ottertail) lead Class A. The trio took the top 3 spots in the discus at the Hamline Elite meet earlier this season . Gill comes in with the top mark in the state at 172-8.
Best of luck to all the competitors in the field this weekend at Hamline!
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