MSHSL State Meet Class AA Coverage ...

That concludes today's "live" coverage of the Class AA preliminary session of the MSHSL State Meet. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more "live" coverage of the Class AA action ... starting at 9:00 a.m.

Find complete Class AA session results HERE (boys) and HERE (girls).

Class A preliminary session results are HERE (boys) and HERE (girls).

Until tomorrow, so long from Klas Field at Hamline University!

Boys' 4 x 400m Relays Results ... Heat 1: 1. Austin 3:20.17 ... 2. White Bear Lake 3:20.55 ... Eden Prairie 3:22.52

Heat 2: 1. Stillwater 3:20.17 ... 2. Armstrong 3:20.75 ... 3. Maple Grove 3:20.96

Girls' 4 x 400m Relay Results ... Heat 1: 1. Prior Lake 3:54.62 ... 2. Hopkins 3:55.94 ... 3. Rosemount 3:56.88

Heat 2: 1. Mounds View 3:55.42 ... 2. Stillwater 3:55.73 ... 3. Roseville 3:57.60

Boys' 200m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Gustafson (Faribault) 22.40 ... 2. Holewa (Maple Grove) 22.41 ... 3. Hester (Tartan) 22.52

Heat 2: 1. Crawford-Tufts (Edina) 21.51 ... 2. Oseko (Hopkins) 21.89 ... Gearman (Burnsville) 22.33

Heat 3: 1. Lewis (St. Paul Central) 21.84 ... 2. Vickstrom (Alexandria) 22.27 ... 3. Mendin (Blaine) 22.41

Heat 4: 1. Wihite (Cooper) 22.20 ... 2. Riegel (Lakeville South) 22.23 ... 3. Schroeder (Totino Grace) 22.53

Girls' 200m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Anderson (Hopkins) 24.91 ... 2. Browning (Apple Valley) 25.02 ... 3. Erickson (Alexandria) 25.34

Heat 2: 1. Davis (Park Center) 24.44 ... 2t. Thompson (Armstrong) 25.75 ... 2t. Taylor (Mayo) 25.75

Heat 3: 1. Okonkwo (Osseo) 25.18 ... 2. Omeogo (Irondale) 25.55 ... 3. Dombro (Highland Park) 25.60

Boys 800m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Miner (Winona) 1:54.13 ... 2. Gilkerson (Park Center) 1:54.48 ... 3. Gooley (Osseo) 1:54.84

Heat 2: 1. Fenstermacher (Hibbing) 1:56.06 ... 2. Platner (Eden Prairie) 1:56.36 ... 3. Gebeke (WBL) 1:56.73

Girls' 800m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Carruth (Minnetonka) 2:12.73 ... 2. Krause (Wayzata) 2;13.86 ... 3. McSherry (Totino Grace) 2:15.31

Heat 2: 1. Zenner (Fergus Falls) 2;14.06 .... 2. Lucken (Roseville) 2:14.38 .. 3. Garrity (Hibbing) 2;15.79

Boys' Shot Put Results ... 1. Dijon Starr (Blaine) 58-5 1/2 on his final throw ... 2. Hussung (Farmington) 58-4 1/2 ... 3. Anderson (Andover) 57-7 1/4

Boys Pole Vault Results ... 1. Macauley Spandl (Moorhead) 15-0 ... 2. VanBenschoten (Wayzata) 14-6 ... 3. Weis (Sauk Rapids-Rice) 14-3

Boys' Triple Jump Results ... 1. Michael Sandle (Eden Priarie) 49-5 1/3 a new All-Time State Meet Record ... 2. Veldman (Eastview) 45-9 1/2 ... 3. Pearcill (Eastview) 45-2 3/4

Girls' High Jump Results ... 1. Whitney (Sartell-St. Stephen) 5-6 ... 2. Pieri (Lakeville South) 5-5 ... 3. Klemetson (Moorhead) 5-5

Girls Long Jump Results ... 1. Erickson (Alexandria) 18-7 1/2 ... 2. Murphey (Blaine) 18-1 3/4 ... 3. January (Richfield) 17-9 1/4

Girls' Discus Results ... 1. Ewen (St.Francis) 159-4 ... 2. Hovey (Red Wing) 152-1 ... 3. Guenther (White Bear Lake) 126-7

Girls' High Jump Update ... Andrea Whitney of Sartell-St. Stephen wins with 5-6!

Boys' Triple Jump Update ... Eden Prairie's Michael Sandle wins in new All-Time State Meet Record of 49-5 1/2!

Girls' 300m Hurdles ... Heat 1: 1. Gillson (Grand Rapids) 44.92 ... 2. Witt (Hopkins) 45.64 ... 3. Townley (WBL) 46.05

Heat 2: 1. January (Richfield) 44.64 ... 2. Jones (Spring Lake Park) 45.23 ... 3. Parco (Farmington) 45.30

Heat 3: 1. Brainerd 44.70 ... 2. Miller (Apple Valley) ... Salmanpour (Roseville) 47.48

Boys' 400m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Gearman (Burnsville) 49.29 ... 2. DeSalvo (Armstrong) 49.72 ... 3. Gorghuber (Alexandria) 49.94

Heat 2: 1. Guelle (Hastings) 48.76 ... 2. Falzone (Stillwater) 49.37 ... 3. Nielson (Forest Lake) 49.57

Boys' 4 x 100m Relay Results ... Heat 1: 1. Edina 42.44 ... 2. St. Paul Central 42.89 ... 3. Hopkins 43.29

Heat 2: 1. Eden Prairie 42.45 ... 2. Lakeville south 42.72 ... 3. North St. Paul 42.99

Girls' 400m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Shade Pratt (Rosemount) 56.06 ... 2. Paige Stratioti (Duluth Denfeld) 56.79 ... 3. Erica Dombro (Highland Park) 57.26

Heat 2: 1. Mattson (Grand Rapids) 55.42 ... 2. Sweeney (Hopkins) 56.13 ... 3. Davis (Park Center) 57.15

Girls' Long Jump Update ... Rosy Erickson wins!

Boys' Pole Vault Update ... Macauley Spandl of Moorhead has won the competition and is now jumping at 15-0.

Girls' Shot Update ... Maggie Ewen of St. Francis wins with 159-4!

Girls' 4 x 100m Relay Results ... Heat 1: 1. Osseo 47.98 (.03 off All-Time State Meet Record) ... 2. Hopkins 48.09 ... 3. Lakeville North 48.34

Heat 2: 1. Eastview 48.05 ... 2. Apple Valley 48.06 .. 3. Roseville 49.12

Boys' 4 x 200m Relay Finalists ... White Bear Lake (fastest qualifiers at 1:27.63 a new All-Time State Meet Record!), Hopkins, Eden Prairie, Park Cottage Grove, Forest Lake, Austin, Brainerd, Stillwater, Roseville.

Boys Pole Vault Update ... Four vaulters remain at 14-3 ... Hayden, VanBoenschoten, Weis, and Spandl. (Event taking place indoors.)

Girls' 4 x 200m Relay Finalists ... Armtrong (fastest qualifier with 1:41.47), Grand Rapids, Roseville, Prior Lake, Eastview, Mounds View, Hopkins, Farmington, Woodbury.

Boys' Shot Update ... Dion Starr of Blaine wins!

Boys 100 Results ... Heat 1: 1. Maung (Highland Park) 11.38 ... 2. Wilhite (Cooper) 11.54 ... 3. Lane (Winona) 11.60

Heat 2: 1. Coleman (Duluth East) 11.27 ... 2. Williams (Washburn) 11.32 ... 3. Kendrick (Hopkins) 11.40

Heat 3: 1. Crawford-Tufts (Edina) 10.89 ... 2. Lewis (St. Paul Central) 11.11 ... Griffin (Forest Lake) 11.44

Girls 100m Results ... Heat 1: 1. Davis ((Park Center) 12.19 ... 2. Browning (Apple Valley) 12.24 ... 3. Erickson (Alexandria) 12.51

Heat 2: 1. Floyd (Amstrong) 12.55 ... 2. Tanoe (Hopkins) 12.64 ... 3. Thompson (Armstrong) 12.65

Heat 3: 1. Anderson (Hopkins) 12.39 ... 2. Beckman (Eastview) 12.44 ... 3. Anderson (Hopkins) 12.60

Boys' 110m Hurdle Results ... Heat 1: 1. Begin (Buffalo) 14.94 ... 2. Grand (North Branch) 15.06 ... 3. Mora (Eagan) 15.88 ....

Heat 2: 1. Alowonle (Park Cottage Grove) 14.64 ... 2. Britten (Grand Rapids) 15.02 ... 3. Rice (Maple Grove) ....

Heat 3: 1. Vraa (Rosemount) 14.65 ... 2. Gorghuber (Alexandria) 15.44 ... 3. Davis (Stillwater) 15.49

Girls' 100m Hurdle Results ... Heat 1: 1. Bair (Blaine) 15.09 ... 2. Miller (Apple Valley) 15.15 ... 3. Smith (Brainerd) 15.26 ....

Heat 2: 1. January (Richfield) 14.66 ... 2. Ring (Brainerd) 15.12 ... 3. Kristi Townley (WBL) 15.44

Boys' Triple Jump Update ... A report from the field says that Eden Prairie's Mike Sandle has broken the All-Time State Meet record with a leap of 49-0 3/4.

Boys' 3200m Results ... 1. Autio (St. Michael-Albertville) 9:16.21 ... 2. Sandry (Bloomington Jefferson) 9:17.32 ... 3. Haugland (Wayzata) 9:18.48

Boys' Shot Update ... Our source at the throwing circle tell us that, heading into finals, Farmington's Logan Hussung leads with a 58+ throw ... Andover sophomore Tom Anderson is in 2nd at 57+.

Girls' 3200m Results ... 1. Hauger (Shakopee) 10:41.87 ... 2. Piepenburg (Alexandria) 10:48.17 ... 3. Monson (Albert Lea) 10:49.44

Girls' 100m Hurdles ... Richfield freshman Jessica January is the fastest qualifier with 14.66 ... joined by Coleman of Cooper, Sawtell of Mounds View, Miller of Apple Valley, Bair of Blaine, Ring and Smith of Brainerd, Townley of White Bear Lake, and Gerring of Hopkins in tomorrow's final.

Boys' 3200m ... Jake Autio of St. Michael Albertville wins in 9:16. unofficially. Jacob Sandry of Bloomington Jefferson 2nd also in 9:16.

Girls' 3200m ... Maria Hauger of Shakopee out-runs Jamie Piepenburg of Alexandria in the final lap to win ... in 10:41, unofficially. Piepenburg is runner-up in 10:48.

The rains have stopped in St. Paul ... and meet officials expect the meet to get underway on time at 9:00 a.m. First up, the girls' 3200m run!

Today's meet schedule can be found HERE. Heat and lane assignments can be found HERE.

NOTE: Due to a last minute policy change by the Minnesota State High School League, Down the Backstretch will not be able to provide up-to-the-second live coverage of the MSHSL State Meet today.

Instead, we'll try our best to update you on day's action during this morning's Class AA session. We apologize for the late change in plans ... it was completely beyond our control.

Duwell 12th, Tzanakis 15th at NCAAs

University of Minnesota senior Megan Duwell capped her sterling collegiate career with a 12th-place finish in last night 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Gopher junior Nikki Tzanakis finished 15th in the discus throw with a mark of 155-7.

Duwell clocked a personal best 33:40.94 in the race, the second fastest 25-lapped in Gopher women's history. (Eileen Donaghy's 33:31.96 from 1988 is the only U of M mark better than Duwell's.)

Results of Duwell's race, won by Iowa State's Lisa Koll in 32:49.35, can be found HERE ... splits from the race are HERE.

Tzanakis landed her best effort on her third attempt and final attempt of the day. Southern Illinois’ Jeneva McCall won the event with a throw of 180-4.

Results of the event can be found HERE.

The Rest of the Action ... You can watch the rest of the week's NCAA action via a live video stream HERE ... live results are posted HERE.

Yes/No: How Many Records at the State Meet?

This will be a very eventful weekend in the track world. Assuming you aren't going to Eugene to watch the NCAA Championships or New York to watch the Adidas Grand Prix, you should make plans to visit Klas Field at Hamline University on Friday and Saturday for the MSHSL State Meet ... or follow it live via DtB!

Hamline is hosting the MSHSL Track and Field Meet for the fifth consecutive year and it promises the amazing performances and great competition befitting a State Meet. We know some athletes and relay teams will break State Meet records. But how many?

Let us know what you think with your answer to this question:

Y/N: Will six or more All Time State Meet records be broken at the MSHSL meet on Friday and Saturday?

The All Time State Meet records are defined as the best mark at a State Meet in either Class AA and Class A. On the heat sheets, it is the record written as "MN All Time." We are not asking about the separate Class AA and Class A records. Nor are we asking about the Minnesota All Time Best marks that can occur anytime during the season.

Some notable athletes with the potential to break records include All Time Minnesota High School record-holders Jessica January in the 100 hurdles, Macauley Spandl in the pole vault and the Hopkins girls in the 4x200 meter relay. Perhaps the most decorated athlete in the meet is Analisa Huschle from Bagley/Fosston. She is ranked first in the 200-meter, long jump and triple jump and second, with her teammates, in the 4 x 200m relay. Huschle is the defending 200, long jump and triple jump champ and set an All Time Minnesota best in the long jump in 2009.

Heat sheets for the meet are here ... AA Girls * AA Boys *A Girls * A Boys

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 9:00 A.M. CST, Friday, June 11th. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

My answer: Yes

The fantasy contest question from last week was: Y/N: Will Thom Weddle break 45:00 in the USA Masters 10k Championship? Weddle ran well and won his age group by two minutes, but the answer was no. Weddle ran 45:39 in Ann Arbor last weekend. Jesse Schoen and Gregg Robertson are now tied for first place in the 2010 Yes/No standings with thirteen points.

For all the results, please visit DtBFantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

Dorniden, Januszewski to Duel in New York

Minnesota's half miling stars Heather Dorniden and Laura Januszwski are set to compete against one-another over 800-meters at the Adidas Grand Prix meet in New York City on Saturday.

The meet is one of 14 stops in the IAAF's prestigious Diamond League of Grand Prix meets.

Dorniden, the Team USA Minnesota runner and former Golden Gopher star, will return to her signature event after clocking a 4:15.74 PR for 1500m at the American Milers Club competition last month.

She sports of a PR of 2:01.05 for 800m.

Januszewski, the Burnsville High School and North Dakota State alum, recently ran 2:03.67 for 800m in her last outing at the USA Track & Field High Performance meet in California.

Januszewski has a PR of 2:01.28 for 800m.

Dorniden and Januszewski last renewed their rivalry at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile last month. There, racing down Nicollet Mall, Dorniden finished 6th overall in 4:42.1, while Januszewski finished 9th in 4:46.0.

The pair will face a strong field in New York's Icahn Stadium. Scheduled to compete are Geena Gall, who boasts a field-best 2:00.44 800m PR and TC 1 Mile runner-up Sarah Bowman.

Find the complete startlists for the meet HERE.

Also in Action ... Lots of Dorniden's Team USA Minnesota teammates will be in action this weekend.

Read where, HERE, in the Team USA Minnesota media release.

Gopher Squads Headed to Eugene, NCAAs

Four athletes each from the University of Minnesota men's and women's track and field teams are making the trek to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships which open tomorrow.

Representing the Big Ten indoor and outdoor champion Gopher men are 1500-meter runner Ben Blankenship, high jumper Matt Fisher, 5000m runner Chris Rombough, and decathlete R.J. McGinnis.

WCCO Channel 4 featured McGinnis on its sportscast last night, which you can watch HERE.

Flying the maroon and gold in Oregon for the Gopher women are 1500m representatives Gabriele Anderson and Nikki Swenson, 10,000m runner Megan Duwell, and discus thrower Nikki Tzanakis.

Anderson, a sixth-year senior, makes her first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships despite battling cancer in the past year. The Star-Tribune's Roman Augustoviz wrote a nice feature on Anderson, HERE, prior to the NCAA Preliminary round.

The feature story we wrote about Anderson last year is HERE.

The Gopher sports information folks have complete previews for both of the squads HERE (men) and HERE (women).

Heet sheets for the men's meet can be found HERE.

Heet sheets for the women's meet are HERE.

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Fills Again

Registration for the 2010 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon closed over the weekend when the event reached its 11,200 runner capacity. Participants from all 50 states and 14 countries will compose the marathon’s largest field ever, Twin Cities In Motion officials announced.

The 29^th annual event, to be run on October 3, reached its capacity for the 23rd consecutive year.

“This great fall tradition celebrates the aspirations of the every day marathoner, as well as the professional athletes,” Twin Cities In Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “The community continues to support our events and we thank all of our participants for choosing to run their fall race with us."

Those still wishing to take part in the race can reserve their spot at the start line October 3 through the Twin Cities In Motion Community Partners Fundraiser Entry Program benefiting the organization’s youth fitness partners, including Bolder Options, Migizi Communications, and the YWCA of Minneapolis.

The fundraiser offers 150 additional online marathon entries with donations used to support these partners. Interested participants can go online to mtcmarathon.org to take part in the Fundraiser Entry Program. For the price of registration, plus a $100 tax-deductible donation, the first 150 entries received will gain entry into the 29^th running of The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America®.

Twin Cities In Motion focuses its fundraising efforts on kids’ fitness and wellness through its youth fitness partners. The funds raised through the Fundraiser Entry Program help these organizations focus on their core missions that benefit youth and to promote healthy lifestyles while reducing the alarming increase in childhood obesity in the Twin Cities.

Short-Cut: Section Meet Results' Links

Better late than never (we hope!), here is our collection of links to this week/weekend's MSHSL Section Meet action.

We'll add the missing links as we find them ...

Section 1AA

Section 2AA

Section 3AA Boys * Girls

Section 4AA

Section 5AA

Section 6AA

Section 7AA

Section 8AA Boys * Girls

Section 1A

Section 2A

Section 3A

Section 4A

Section 5A

Section 6A

Section 7A

Section 8A

Yes/No: Will Thom Weddle Break 45:00 for 10K?

Minnesota is known for its great age-group competitors. Anytime there is a Masters National Championship or even World Championships, Minnesota is well represented. This weekend's case in point is the USA Masters 10K Championship in Michigan. Thom Weddle is making the trek to Ann Arbor to compete against the best 70-74 year old distance runners in the nation.

It is a foregone conclusion that Weddle will finish near the top of his age-group because he always does. But we would like to ask how fast the 71-year-old will run on Sunday:

Y/N: Will Thom Weddle break 45:00 in the USA Masters 10k Championship on Sunday?

Thom Weddle has been a top age-group runner nationally and even internationally for many years. In 2010 Weddle won his age group at USA Masters Indoor Championships in the 3k (12:35) and placed second in the mile (6:13). He then competed in the World Masters Meet and finished second in the 1500 (5:45). Weddle also placed in the top four in the 800, 3k and 8k Cross Country at the World Meet in his age-group. He has also dominated his 70-74 class on the Minnesota roads running 21:01 for 5k, 36:58 for 8k and 45:25 at the Get in Gear 10k.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 7:00 A.M. CST, Sunday, June 6th. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

My answer: Yes

The result of last week's Pick Ten was the rich getting richer. Mike Henderson and Jesse Schoen were first and second going into the contest and they tied for the lead last week, extending their margins. Moving into third place in the overall standings is Mitch VanBruggen.

In the Yes/No contest there were three contestants that were perfect in May. The monthly winners this month were Jesse Schoen, Jim Glazer and Gregg Robertson with four points a piece.

For all the results, please visit DtBFantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

Twin Cities Marathon Almost Filled

Less than 300 entries remain for the 29th running of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, race officials announced yesterday.

The race, to be held October 3, expects to host 11,200 participants hailing from all 50 states and 14 countries.

“We hope that anyone who wants to run this year’s Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon will act quickly and register,” Twin Cities In Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said in a media release. “We’ve got another great event planned, and we want everyone who hopes to run to have a place on the starting line.”

Find more information and registration details HERE.

Grandma's Marathon Closes ... Registration for the 34th running of Grandma's Marathon on June 19 closed Tuesday. As of yesterday afternoon, the race had 7367 entrants, although race officials expect the total to rise slightly as their elite fields fill.

This year marks the second year in a row that Grandma's Marathon did not reach its 9500 runner capacity. The event had filled for 15 straight years prior to 2009.

Last year, 8377 runners entered the race.

The Duluth News-Tribune's Kevin Pates has a story on Grandma's Marathon's registration woes HERE.

Runner Tracking Returns to Grandma's ... As was the case last year, fans of runners participating in Grandma's Marathon will be able to follow the race electronically

Beginning June 7, family members and friends can log onto GrandmasMarathon.com and simply enter the name(s) of the runner(s) they want to track. They then will select whether they want the information delivered by text message or email by entering a valid wireless phone number or email address.

The tracking system, made possible through the support of Verizon Wireless, enables the progress of Grandma’s Marathon and Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon participants to be tracked at a number of checkpoints along the race course.

Happy National Running Day Everyone!

Today is the second annual National Running Day, as declared by a constellation of national running organizations, including Twin Cities In Motion, the organizer of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, and Team USA Minnesota, the Twin Cities-based elite long distance training group.

Activities are planned across the metropolitan area to celebrate running and promote exercise and a healthier lifestyle.

Life Time Fitness in St. Louis Park and Highland Park, Marathon Sports in Minneapolis, and the Running Room on Grand Avenue in St. Paul have partnered with TCM and Team USA Minnesota ton host group runs tonight at 6:00 p.m. Team USA Minnesota athletes will be on hand at each venue for the runs.

National Running Day organizers note that running in the United States has overcome tough economic times by posting another year of record participation with more than 10 million runners finishing a U.S. road race in 2009 according to Running USA.

Avid runners, they note, compose an educated, affluent market with 79 percent earning college diplomas and 73 percent reporting an annual household income of more than $75,000 according to a recent National Runners Survey.

Marathons across the country are seeing record sold out fields with 467,000 estimated finishers across the country last year. To date, 2010 looks as promising with sold-out marathons at Walt Disney World, Chevron Houston, Honda LA, the 114th Boston, Bank of America Chicago and November’s ING New York City marathon.

NCAA: Borner Doubles, Sets D3 Record

Bethel University senior Marie Borner defended her NCAA Division III outdoor 1500-meter title and added a record-breaking 800m victory to her sterling resume, highlighting a full weekend of action for Minnesota track and field athletes competing at the NCAA level.

NCAA Division II and Division III schools held national championships over the weekend, while Division I held two preliminary contests to choose athletes for its national championship in two weeks in Eugene, Oregon.

Borner Makes it Six Titles ... Borner's double victory at the D3 meet in Berea, Ohio, gives the Cottage Grove senior six career Division III titles. Borner won indoor mile titles in 2008 and 2010, a cross country championship in 2008, the outdoor 1500m title in 2009 and 2010, and this year's 800m crown.

Borner defended her 1500m title with a 4:23.85 clocking and, and roughly an hour and a half later, clocked a Division III record 2:06.87 for the two-lap victory.

"It feels pretty good to end my collegiate career on a good note," Borner said on the Bethel University web-site. "I accomplished everything I wanted to coming in. My main goal was to win both the 800 and 1500, but it was also really cool to get the NCAA meet record in the 800."

The 800m was a kind event to Minnesotans at the meet. Gustavus Adolphus' Max Hanson won the event for men, clocking 1:49.50 to earn the only other D3 title for Minnesotans.

Full results are HERE.

Division II Round-Up ... No Minnesota athletes won national titles at the NCAA Division II meet in Charlotte, North Carolina over the weekend, but many of the state's top tracksters stood high on the podium there.

Bemidji State Zac Preble was runner-up in the decathlon with 7193 points. Teammate Kristi Buerkle finished 2nd in the 400m as well in 53.85. Winona State's Kelly Shaw finished a place behind Buerkle in the event with 54.14.

Minnesota-Duluth's Michelle SanCartier finished 3rd in the 1500m in 4:24.38

Minnesota State, Mankato's Lauren Stelten finished second in the pole vault at 12-10 3/4. Teammate Brittany Henderson took third in the 100m in 11.84 and was 5th at 200m in 23.91.

St. Cloud State's Heather Miller was 3rd in the triple jump with 40-11 1/2.

Full results are HERE.

Gophers Team Advance Four Each ... The University of Minnesota squads competing at the NCAA Division I West Preliminary in Austin, Texas will each send a squad of four to nationals.

The Gopher men advanced Matt Fisher, who finished 7th in the high jump at 7-1, Ben Blankenship, who finished 10th in the 1500m in a school-record 3:39.77, and Chris Rombough, who finished 11th in the 5000m in 14:08.95.

(Winona native Elliott Heath of Stanford finished runner-up in the 5000m in 14:06.27 to advance as well.)

Gopher Decathlete R. J. McGinnis will also compete at he NCAA Championships in Eugene by virtue of his season-best mark.

Heading to Oregon for the Gopher women are Megan Duwell, who finished 4th in the 10,000m in 34:31.03, Nikki Tzanakis, who finished 12th in the discus with 163-8, and 1500m runners Gabriele Anderson and Nikki Swenson. Anderson finished 3rd in the event with 4:16.22, while Swenson was 12th in 4:20.89.

Full results are HERE.

Short-Cut: NCAA Results' Links ...

We'll be shutting down the DtB office complex over the holiday weekend. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't keep up with the weekend's NCAA action. Use the links below to follow Minnesota athletes and teams at the NCAA Championships.

NCAA Division I Championship (West Preliminary): Live Results

NCAA Division II Championships: Live Results

NCAA Division III Championships: Live Men's Results * Live Women's Results


We'll be back again Tuesday morning with full story ...

NCAA Championships Update

Action is underway at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Division I, II, and III.

While D2 and D3 teams and individuals are competing in their championships-proper, D1 programs are competing in one of two Preliminaries that will winnow the D1 entry lists down to a manageable number of the NCAA Division I Championships in Eugene, Ore. in two weeks.

Here are the highlights from yesterday's action ...

Division I -- Gopher all-American Megan Duwell qualified for the finals of the women's 10,000-meter run with a 4th-place finish at the D1 West Preliminary in hot-and-sticky Austin, Texas. Duwell clocked 34:31.94 in the effort.

In the Minnesotan-packed men's 1500m heats, Wisconsin's Rob Finnerty topped the locals by qualifying for Saturday's quarterfinals as the #7 seed with 3:44.10. Jonathan Stublaski of Oklahoma State and formerly of Henry Sibley High School joins the Burnsville-bred Finnerty in the quarters with a #9-qualifying 3:45.00. Gopher Ben Blankenship advanced as well with an 18th-seeded 3:44.43, but teammate Andy Richardson did not, running 3:49.86 for 30th in the field.

Find complete D1 West Preliminary results HERE.

Find the Gopher women's Day 1 wrap-up HERE.

Find the Gopher men's wrap-up HERE.

Division II -- Bemidji State's Zac Preble will begin Day 2 of decathlon action in second place. Preble amassed 3748 in the event's opening five contests. He's within 100 points of leader Darius Walker of Central Missouri heading into today's final day of competition.

Qualifying with high seeds yesterday for finals competition today and tomorrow were:

Brittany Henderson of Minnesota State, Mankato the #2 qualifier in the women's 100m

Kelly Shaw of Winona State and Kristi Buerkle of Bemidji State, the #2 and #3 advancers in the women's 400m

Michelle SanCartier of Minnesota-Duluth, the #5 seed in the 1500m.

Find complete D2 results HERE.

Division III -- Marie Borner's quest to defend her D3 outdoor 1500m title got off to a smooth start yesterday. The Bethel University senior clocked 4:33.71 to advance to Saturday's final as the fastest qualifier.

This afternoon, Borner will begin competition in the 800m, where she is the #1-seed.

Complete D3 results can be found HERE.

Race to Honor Fallen Eden Prairie Alum

Thanks to his Eden Prairie High School classmates, Major Randy Voas, a decorated U.S. Air Force combat pilot who was killed in action in Afghanistan on April 9, will be remembered with with a 5K road race in his name.

The Randy's Run 5K Family Fun Run/Walk, scheduled for July 24, will honor Voas' service and raise money for college scholarships in his name for deserving Eden Prairie High School students.

Registration for the 5K is open at http://www.randysrun.com/ and donations are also being collected on there. The race's USATF certified course starts at the Eden Prairie High School football stadium and travels around near-by Round Lake, finishing back at the school.

Contributions collected from the race will be given to The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools, who will distribute the funds into a college scholarship in Voas' name at Eden Prairie High School.

"The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools is pleased and flattered that the Eden Prairie Class of 1985 has chosen FEPS as the recipient of monies raised from Randy's Run," FEPS board president Jeff Parker said. "We can't imagine a more meaningful and fitting way to start than by helping to honor the memory of Randy Voas."

The scholarship in Voas' name is designed to inspire young people to work toward a healthy lifestyle of fitness, academics, service and family, the qualities of which Voas is most remembered, race officials said.

In high school Voas was a track and cross country athlete, a member of the high school band, a member of the National Honor Society and worked for the Eden Prairie Parks Board and Community Center as a lifeguard and ice rink attendant.

Voas graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1989 with a major in biology and joined the Army as a chief warrant officer and flew AH-64 Apaches helicopters, transitioning to the Air Force to fly special operations MH-53 Pave Lows and ultimately the CV-22 Osprey, a tilt-wing airplane, according to friends and family.

Ten days into his Afghanistan deployment, Voas and two crew members were killed when the Osprey they were flying crashed near Kandahar.

A special sunset memorial service will take place before Randy's Run, on Friday night, July 23 at the Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial.

Pick 10: NCAA Championships

NCAA Championships are underway this week. Collegiate athletes in different divisions will compete in Austin, Texas, Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina and Berea, Ohio. The Division I action is considered the first round of the National Meet with the final round being held in two weeks in Eugene, Oregon. Division II and III will crown their national champs this weekend.

There are too many great match-ups to pick a single Yes/No question, so we will bring out the Pick 10 contest this week.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at Outdoor Nationals. You will score points for each athlete who scores at or above the finish place you predict for them, following the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system.

For example: If you pick Zac Preble to place first in the Decathlon at Nationals, and he places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Preble to place first and he finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Preble to finish third in the Decathlon and he places first, second or third, you get 6 points, since you that's the place you picked him for.

To play Pick Ten, cut and paste the list of names/events below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st or 2nd or 3rd...8th. Send your predictions by 9:30 A.M. CST on Thursday, May 27th to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. We'll announce the winner of this Pick Ten contest next week and keep a running tally of Pick Ten scores from throughout the year to crown a grand champion. As with our Yes/No contests, we don't offer any prizes, so no one needs to fear running afoul of NCAA or other anti-gambling regulations.

Pick 10 ... Outdoor Nationals:

Denise Mokaya (Minnesota State, Mankato) in the 800:

Zac Preble (Bemidji State) in the Decathlon:

Lauren Stelten (Minnesota State, Mankato) in the Pole Vault:

Shanai Guider (Winona State) in the Discus:

Max Hanson (Gustavus) in the 800:

Taylor Ferda (Bethel) in the 400H:

Kelly Lovett (Carleton) in the Javelin:

Marie Borner (Bethel) in the 1500:

Matt Fisher (University of Minnesota) in the High Jump:

Gabriele Anderson (University of Minnesota) in the 1500:

To Help You Make Your Picks ...

Denise Mokaya is the fourth ranked 800 meter runner and has run 1:49.54 outdoors. He was in the 2010 indoor National Champion in the 800. Zac Preble is ranked second in the Decathlon with 7026 points. Preble was fourth in the event in 2009. Lauren Stelten has the highest vault in D2 this year at 13-5 1/4. She finished second in the PV at indoor nationals. Shanai Guider has the second best discus throw this year with a 161-5 toss.

Max Hanson has run 1:50.31 and is ranked second in the 800 going into Nationals. He finished fifth in the 800 indoors. Taylor Ferda is the fourth ranked 400 hurdler with a time of 52.17 this year. Ferda finished fourth at indoor nationals in the 55 hurdles. Kelly Lovett is the second ranked javelin thrower in 2010 and finished seventh at Nationals in 2009. Marie Borner is a four-time National Champion and has the second fastest 1500 time in the field. Borner is also competing in the 800.

Matt Fisher comes into the West Prelims tied for the sixth best high jumper in the field. He has high jumped 7-2 1/4 this year and has qualified for Nationals twice in his career. Gabriele Anderson is ranked fifth in the 1500 with a 4:15.43 qualifier.

NCAA Division I Meet info including entries are HERE.
NCAA Division II entries: Men * Women
NCAA Division III heat sheets: Men *Women

Good luck!

The fantasy contest question from last week was: Y/N: Will both Will Leer and Garrett Heath run faster than 3:40.00 at the USATF High Performance meet at Occidental College on Saturday evening? The difference between yes and no was a mere 6/100ths of a second this week. Will Leer ran comfortably under 3:40 and Garrett Heath ran 3:40.05. The correct answer was no and eight contestants answered correctly. Gregg Robertson is now the sole owner of first place with thirteen points.

The Pick Ten standings are still tight. Mike Henderson is the leader with 82 points, followed closely by Jesse Schoen with 78 and Toby Hatlevig at 76 points.

For full standings of both contests, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner.

TCM Awards Scholarships to Haugland, Charley

Twin Cities In Motion, the organizers of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, has awarded J. Oliver Haugland of Wayzata High School and Miranda Charley of North Branch Area High School its 2010 Twin Cities in Motion $5,000 College Scholarships.

TCM made the announcement yesterday.

Haugland and Charley were chosen from a field of more than 130 high school senior candidates, based on the strength of their running accomplishments, academic performance, and community service. In addition, candidates were asked to write a personal essay. This year marks the 10th year that Twin Cities In Motion, formerly Twin Cities Marathon, Inc., has awarded scholarships to the metro area’s most impressive distance running scholar-athletes.

"It's an honor for Twin Cities In Motion to present these scholarships to J. Oliver and Miranda," Twin Cities In Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said. "The caliber of applicants for our scholarships always amazes me -- there are some incredible kids out there! We are proud to support high school students in our community and to share in their hopes and dreams.”

Haugland, who was a member of two State title-winning Wayzata cross country teams in his career, was named to the 2009 All-State cross country team for his 10th place finish at the Class AA State Meet. He was a captain of the Wayzata cross country team last fall and is a track captain this spring. A member of the National Honor Society, Haugland carries a weighted 4.07 GPA. Upon graduation, he plans to attend Marquette University to pursue an engineering degree.

Charley, who is a six-time cross country and track letter winner at North Branch, was twice voted her team’s most valuable cross country athlete. In addition to competitive running, Charley was also a member of the Viking girls’ basketball team. As a student, Charley sports a 3.995 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. She plans to attend Jamestown College in North Dakota next fall to pursue a nursing degree.

NCAA Championship Fields Set ... Sort of

Fields for the NCAA Division I, II, and III Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set.

Set, that is, you accept the NCAA's notion that this weekend's two-venue, D1 East and West Preliminaries are the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships, rather than just the organization's regional meets consolidated and renamed.

Hundreds of D1 athletes will compete in Austin, Texas and Greensboro, North Carolina in order to advance to the national meet-proper in Eugene, Oregon in two weeks. It's simpler in D2 and D3. There, athlete will gather in a single venue to decide national champions and all-Americans this weekend.

No matter how things are organized, the student-athletes vying for NCAA national honors in the organization's three divisions have been named and arranged into heats, flights, and sections.

Here's our round-up ...

NCAA Division I ... The University of Minnesota men's and women's teams will send 21 and 24 athletes, respectively, to the NCAA West Preliminary in Austin this weekend. From the preliminary "meet," athletes can qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene in two weeks.

The men's 1500-meters at the West Prelim collects a brace of Minnesota natives. Gopher Ben Blankenship is seeded #8 in the event, Henry Sibley alum Jonathan Stublaski of Oklahoma State is seeded #12, the state's fastest prep miler of all time, Burnsville alum Rob Finnerty who competes for Wisconsin, is seeded #31, while the Gophers' Andy Richardson is the #35 seed.

Men's West Preliminary startlists can be found HERE.

Women's West Preliminary startlists can be found HERE.

The Gopher women's preview for the meet is HERE.

The Gopher men's preview should appear HERE shortly.

General information on the NCAA Division I Championships can be found HERE.

NCAA Division II ... Action at the D2 meet in Charlotte, North Carolina gets underway on Thursday and continues through Saturday.

Winona State's #9-ranked women's team appears the Minnesota program most likely to make a mark at the meet. The throws-and-sprints powered Warriors boast three athletes seeded it the top nine spots in the discus throw, including #1 and #2-seeds Mary Theisen and Shanai Guider, both freshman.

NCAA Division II men's startlists are HERE.

NCAA Division II women's startlists are HERE.

NCAA Division III ... Minnesota's top non-scholarship athletes travel to the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Berea for their national championship from Thursday through Saturday.

Bethel star Marie Borner will attempt to defend her D3 outdoor 1500m title as well as add a 800m crown to her much-burdened trophy case. Borner, who has won D3 titles in cross country and indoor track as well, is the #2 seed in the 1500m and the #1 seed at 800m,

NCAA Division III men's startlists are HERE.

NCAA Division III women's startlists are HERE.

Grandma's Registration to Close June 1

Registration for 34th running of Grandma's Marathon will close on June 1, race officials announced last Friday. At that time, only 7100 runners had registered for the June 19th event.

You can read the event's media release HERE.

It appears that the race will fall short of its 9500 runner capacity for the second year in a row, after filling for the previous 15 years. Last year, 8377 athletes participated in the race from Two Harbors to Duluth's Canal Park.

The economic downturn, competition from new spring-time marathons in the Upper Midwest, and the high cost of lodging in Duluth during race weekend have been identified as factors contributing to the participant fall-off.

Registration for Grandma's Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and the William A. Irvin 5K have reached capacity and are closed.

Akor to Return ... Three-time defending Grandma's Marathon women's champion Mary Akor is slated to return to the event this year, according to the media release. Earlier, Grandma's announced that Minnesota native Chris Raabe will return to defend his men's title.

Raabe’s 2009 men’s victory was the first for an American since 1995, while Akor became just the second three-time women’s winner in race history.