13 Meet Records are Broken at Hamline Elite Meet

As the sun slowly set in the West, leaving behind a warm, dry temperature and light winds from the Northwest meet records began to fall at the eighth Hamline Elite Meet at Klas Field Friday night like snowflakes in Northern Minnesota.  Thirteen meet records were set, primarily in the sprints, relays, and jumps due to some degree to the near ideal weather.  "You gotta love it," said one of the meet's standouts, Lakeville South's Shaina Burns after setting a meet record of 14.60 in the 100 meter hurdles.  "You don't get many days like this in Minnesota."

Shaina Burns(left in red and white) and Rachel Schow(right with flowing hair)
on the curve in the 300 hurdles. Photo by Jim Ferstle

Mia Barron sets a meet record
in the Triple Jump. Photo by
Jim Ferstle

In addition to the weather, the competition was also conducive to record setting performances as illustrated by the fact that the runner-up to Burns in the 100 hurdles , Michaela Preahchuk from Lakeville North, was a blink of an eye behind and also broke the former meet record in a time of 14.62. While Burns triumphed in the short hurdle race, she also broke the meet record in the 300 meter hurdles, running 44.29, which was only good for second behind Rosemount's Rachel Schow who ran  43.87 to grab the win and the event record

Burns was also part of the runner-up team in the 4 by 400 relay that--you guessed it--broke the meet record by running 4:00.90, but could not claim an event best because Minnetonka ran 4:56.30 to grab the record and the win.  But Burns wasn't finished there.  She also won the shot put, heaving the iron ball 44'6".  Minnetonka's Mia Barron, noting that while neither was a personal best, was still satisfied to have set two meet records in the jumps--triple(39'1.5") and long jump(19' 2.75").

Barron also ran the anchor leg on Minnetonka's runner-up 4 by 100 relay.  Not to be outdone, Eagan's Jacob Gourley didn't break any individual records, but he did come away with three emphatic victories.  He opened by winning the 100 in 10.66, and followed that with a come from behind win running the anchor leg of the 4 by 200 relay by catching and pulling away from the rest of the field down the homestretch to set Eagan's meet record in the event of 1:29.07.  Then he delivered a similar dominating performance in the open 200 beating the field by nearly half a second in 21.60.

Minnetonka's Mia Barron(all black) is interviewed after her double jump
record wins, while 800 record setter Bloomington Jefferson's Matthew Rosen
waits for his interview and T-shirt toss to the crowd.  Each event winner
was introduced to the crowd and given a T-shirt to throw up into the stands.
Rosen has the shirt in his right hand next to his hip.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

Gourley's success was almost copied by his sister, Maggie, who finished runner-up in the girl's 100(12.27 to Cretin Derham Hall's Brieasha Hunter's meet record 12.17) and 200(25.79 to winner Centennial's Jedah Caldwell's 25.22). Jacob said his performances were the result of an intense summer rehab and workout regimen to recover from a shin stress fracture that hampered his efforts in 2013.  A football player, as well as a track athlete, he says that track is his best sport and that the hard work over the summer has paid off.

Wayzata's Anthony Clarke(yellow singlet, blue shorts) has the lead at the
last baton exchange of the 4 by 200 relay with Eagan's Jacob Gourley(blue
singlet with black tights and white shoes in the middle of the picture).
Photo by Jim Ferstle

Rosemount's Payton Otterdahl was the meets only other multiple winner, taking both the shot(58'.75") and discus(167'9") titles.  Minnetonka dominated the women's relays winning the 4 by 400 and 4 by 800, and second in the 4 by 100.  Wayzata won the boy's 4 by 400 and 4 by 100 while staking second in the 4 by 200 and ninth in the 4 by 800.

The distance events were highly competitive and fast with event records falling in the 800 as defending Class AA champ, Bloomington Jefferson' Matthew Rosen, led from the gun and held off Eden Prairie's Cal Lawton to win in 1:52.75.  Lawton also broke the prior meet record, running 1:54.75.  Rosen, who was the captain of the Jefferson basketball team, said he was able to do some running during basketball season and still considers track his main sport.  He said his early season track results convinced him he was ready to run fast on Friday.

Defending Class AA 3200 champion Obsa Ali also played another sport, wrestling, during the winter, so he wasn't in top shape for the 1600 as Farmington's Justin Hyytinen ran him down with a 59.2 last lap to set a meet record of 4:14.05 to Ali's 4:14.66.  Ali said that he wasn't concerned because last year he hadn't been able to break 4:30 at this stage of the season.  Eli Krahn, who was entered in the 1600, scratched because of a cold he picked up last weekend.  He opted not to run the elite meet to give himself time to recover, he said, because the big races will be in June, not April.

Ali leads the field on lap 2 of the 1600. Hyytinen is in the black and red
and you can see his head and shoulders over Ali's left shoulder.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

He and Ali had been talking about working together in the Elite Meet to run a fast time, but neither were in form for that sort of performance yet.  Ali's coach Marty Huberty said one of Ali's goals is to break Steve Holman's Richfield school record, which would require a 4:07 mile or better.

Wayzata's Anna French broke open a battle of the "three juniors," herself, defending Class AA 1600 champion Jenna Truedson, and St Michael Albertville's Rachel King.  French broke away from the field on the third lap and had a comfortable lead going into the last 200, but Truedson's signature last lap kick brought her to French's shoulder down the homestretch, where French had enough left to hold her off.

Anna French(3), Rachel King(1), and Jenna Truedson
(behind King) at the front of the pack in  the 1600
Photo by Jim Ferstle

The boy's 3200 lacked the front running of Stillwater grad Eric Colvin, as first defending Class A 3200 and XC champ, Keegan Hurley of Perham, then Connor Olson of Wayzata took the pace at the front of the pack, but they passed the mile in 4:38, ten seconds slower than Colvin led them through in last year's classic MSHSL Class AA race.  With two laps to go Hurley again moved into the lead and put in a big surge down the backstretch of the last lap in an attempt to 'break" Chaska's Joey Duerr, who was the only runner going with him.  With a 59.8 last lap, Duerr took the lead in the final 50 meters of the race to win his second straight Elite Meet 3200 title in 9:06.54 to Hurley's 9:07.66.

The runners are a blur at the start of the boy's 3200. Photo by Jim Ferstle

The girl's 3200 was a three person battle led most of the way by Chanhassan's Emily Castinias. Castinias broke away in the second mile and opened up a two second gap on the Hasz twins, Megan and Bethany. She held that lead until two laps to go when Megan caught, then passed her and began her drive for the finish.  Castinias was able to hold on for second and Megan won in 10:32.63, Emily ran 10:35.33, and Bethany 10:40.59.

Emily Castinias is beginning to be reeled in by Megan
Hasz with a little over three laps to go in the 3200.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

In the girl's 800 it came down to a battle between Eden Prairie's Olivia Dengel and Shakopee's Tess Misgen.  Misgen led through the first lap, but the pair exchanged the lead during the final lap with Misgen regaining the lead down the homestretch and holding onto it to the finish in 2:14.57 to 2:14.60 for Dengel.

Tess Misgen(left) and Olivia Dengel battle to the end of the 800.
Photo by Jim Ferstle

"I've been taking second for a long time now," said Misgen of her battles with Shakopee grad Maria Hauger last year.  "I though maybe today was going to be my day."  Another tight race was in the girl's 400 where defending Class AA MSHSL 400 champ Megan Linder of Cretin Derham Hall led coming off the final turn and just held on for the win in 56.83 to 56.85 to fast closing Elizabth Endy of Minnetonka.  "I could feel her coming," said Linder of her stretch run.  "I just concentrated on getting to the finish, getting the win."

That single-minded conviction also helped girl's Elite Meet high jump champion Taylor Wiebke of Kasson-Mantorville who needed a jump off to defeat Katie Lindquist of Mahtomedi.  Wiebke cleared 5' 5" in the jump off, a height she had cleared before this year as her PR is 5'8".  "I just tried to keep it simple," Wiebke said.  "I told myself: 'I've made this height before.  I can do it again.'" The competition was just as tight in the boy's high jump where the contest between Nevis' Jordan Feder and Caledonia's West Spier came down to fewer misses as both cleared 6'6".

Jordan Feder bends over the bar. Photo by Jim Ferstle

Feder's mother watched anxiously as the competition came down to the final jumps.  She noted that Nevis doesn't have a track where the athletes can practice.  Nor are there synthetic surfaced floors where he can 

practice jumping.  "He said: 'This surface is really nice.'" she said of his assessment of the Hamline jumping area.  She watched as he did exercises to mimic his back bend to curl over the bar in his Fosbury Flop between jumps to stretch his muscles and get ready for his next attempt. While he may not have the facilities, he demonstrated at Hamline that he has the talent to go higher.

Next to the high jump pit was the pole vault area where a three man competition unfolded.  By clearing 15' Worthington's Will Dudley won the title over Tyler Tappe of Pequot Lakes(14'6") and Wayzata's Ben Yost(14').

Will Dudley flys over the bar. Photo by Jim Ferstle

Other individual Elite Meet records were set by Wayzata's Mike Smith who won the 400 in 48.18(he also ran the anchor on Wayzata's winning 4 by 400 relay).  St. Croix Lutheran's Jon Tollefson(38.73) finished second to Hasting's Clayton Johnson(38.66) in the 300 hurdles, and set the Elite meet record of 14.22 to win the 110 Meter hurdles.

Jon Tollefson(wearing black socks in the red and black) leads Clayton Johnson
(yellow and blue in the middle of the photo) in the 300 hurdles curve.
Photo by Jim Ferstle