Hamline Elite Highlights

Maggie Ewen set the standard for the throwing events for girls at her alma mater, St. Francis HS, and the MSHSL.  This year's Hamline Elite champion  Amanda Anderson was told in grade school that she could be the next Maggie Ewen.  Anderson was in awe of her "Idol," Ewen, who continues to inspire her.

In a nice bit of timing, Ewen gave Anderson another boost on Friday.  Maggie broke her own collegiate women's hammer throw record at the Dual in the Desert meet HERE.
Another connection between Ewen and Anderson is Maggie's dad who coaches the throws at St. Frances. Anderson has been dominant in the discus, taking fourth at the 2015 MSHSL Championships and first in 2016..

Anderson, who will be going to NDSU this Fall,  hopes to repeat as champion in the discus and    break the 40 foot barrier in the shot at State. Track isn't her only sport, she  is a triple threat, also playing basketball and volleyball.


For Lance Elliott the weather for the Hamline Elite Meet was balmy.  Earlier in the day he'd placed fifth in the Masters 800 at the Drake Relays where  conditions  were much worse than at Hamline  The temperature was 34 and it was "pouring rain," Elliott said.  By the time he finished the race, changed into dry clothes and got in his truck for the ride to the Twin Cities, Elliott felt "frozen."

He cranked up the heat in the truck cab to 90 degrees, he said, but it took the full trip to thaw out. So his fingers we back to normal in time for Elliott to chronicle the meet in pictures.  HERE.

    Hopkins Seth Eliason holds off fast closing                                                                                               Matthew Wilkinson in the boy's 3200                                                                                                                                                     Photo by Gene Niemi                                                                                                                                          

The boy's 3200 finish was full of  drama as Hopkins' Seth Eliason looked in control as he ran down the final straightaway toward the finish.  He'd opened a gap and appeared to be heading for an easy victory.  That all changed as Minnetonka's Matthew Wilkinson came flying toward Eliason.  As he got to Eliason's shoulder, the Hopkins senior responded decisively, accelerating just enough to hold off Wilkenson's charge.

"Do you believe it!" yelled Wilkenson as he walked toward his teammates who were on the infield racing toward him. Even though he didn't get by Eliason, Wilkenson had the bigger smile on his face as he crossed the line. Both ran PRs, but Wilkenson's lowered his more than Eliason.

"You weren't going to lose that race?" Eliason was asked.  "No, not like that," he said about possibly being passed in the closing seconds.

 Alex Miley Wins the 1600
Photo by Gene Niemi

For the boy's 1600 winner, the appropriately named (Alex) Miley of Maple Grove doubled the 1600 and 3200 as something of a reconnaissance mission. "I don't get to run against the Region 6 guys that often," he said.  Running twice against the best was his objective.  A win(1600) and a fourth place finish(3200) were the results.  He won the 1600 comfortably, coming from behind on the last lap.  He wanted to see how he stacked up against the best and discovered that he could run with the best in the 1600.  The 3200 was to see how he could do when he wasn't fresh, get an idea of what might be his best event for the State Meet and how the competition raced.

He also wanted to see how his body reacted to the task.  How would his legs feel in the 3200 after running the 1600?  The experiment was a success.

Farmington's Anna Fenske(8) takes the lead in the Girl's 3200
Photo by Gene Niemi

Farmington's Anna Fenske completed a team sweep of the distance races taking over the 3200 in the last four laps.  She was racing the clock more than the others at that point.  Running a fast time was the objective, she said. and she got one going solo for the last half of the race.

Anna Keefer(STMA) accelerates through the field in the 100.
Photo by Gene Niemi

Eden Prairie's Denzel Brown takes command of the 100
Photo by Gene Niemi

East Ridge's Ansley Schug(5) and Irondale's Julia Hayes(6) go 1-2 in
the 100 meter hurdles
Photo by Gene Niemi

Eagan's Ryan Steger wins the 800
Photo by gene Niemi

Eagan's Ryan Steger said he was worried on the first lap of the 800 with shoe issues, but he collected himself, relaxed his upper body and went for it down the stretch to take the title.

Minnetonka's Elizabeth Halbmaier controlled the race from the front to win
the girl's 800
Photo by Gene Niemi

Farmington's Lauren Peterson takes the 1600 title over Edina's
Emily Kompelien
Photo by Gene Niemi