Minnesota Prep Boy's Wheelchair All-Time Track & Field Bests

Minnesota Prep Boy's Wheelchair All-Time Track & Field Bests

100 Meter

19.34       Peyton Gunnerson, Lewiston-Altura  2016  (7^th Grade)

19.45       Jayson Gorton, Buffalo  2016  (11^th Grade)

19.90       Jonathon Laing, Lakeville North  2016 (12^th Grade)

19.99       Mark Braun, Irondale  2012

26.29       Matt Ferrie, Lakeville South  2015

200 Meter

34.63       Jayson Gorton, Buffalo  2015

36.47       Jonathon Laing, Lakeville North  2016 (12^th Grade)

37.73       Peyton Gunnerson, Lewiston-Altura  2016  (7^th Grade)

57.59       Matt Ferrie, Lakeville South  2015

800 Meter

1:55.85    Mark Braun, Irondale  2012

2:28.70    Jackson Larson, Cambridge-Isanti  2012

2:41.85    Jayson Gorton, Buffalo  2014

2:53.50    Peyton Gunnerson, Lewiston-Altura  2016  (7^th Grade)

1600 Meter

4:02.40    Mark Braun, Irondale  2012

5:03.86    Jackson Larson, Cambridge-Isanti  2012

Shot Put (12#)

22-4.75   Jonathon Laing, Lakeville North  2016 (12^th Grade)

21-6.25   Mark Braun, Irondale  2012

18-6.5      Josh Altman, Mound-Westonka  2016 (12^th Grade)

15-6.5      Jackson Larson, Cambridge-Isanti  2012

14-8         Ben Bode, Saint Peter  (9^th Grade)

14-1         Blake Collier, Saint James  2015

13-5         Matt Ferrie, Lakeville South  2015

Discus Throw

58-8         Mark Braun, Irondale  2012

41-8         Jonathon Laing, Lakeville North  2016 (12^th Grade)

33-8         Jackson Larson, Cambridge-Isanti  2012

28-11      Ben Bode, Saint Peter  (9^th Grade)

26-7         Matt Ferrie, Lakeville South  2015

22-2         Blake Collier, Saint James  2016 (10^th Grade)

Notes: No state meet entries in 2013?

Minnesota Girl's Prep Wheelchair All-Time Track & Field Bests

Minnesota Girl's Prep Wheelchair All-Time Track & Field Bests

100 Meter

21.63       Stacy Bates, Andover  2013

22.74       Marissa Bartels, Delano  2015

27.24       Lilly Stiernagle, Maple River  2016 (8^th Grade)

27.32       Jolynn Super, Spring Lake Park  2013

31.75       Miriam Probst, White Bear Lake  2015

200 Meter

39.59       Stacy Bates, Andover  2014

49.15       Marissa Bartels, Delano  2014

1:01.37    Miriam Probst, White Bear Lake  2015

1:06.41    Mitzi Probst, White Bear Lake  2016 (10^th Grade)

1:13.88    Olivia Crawford, Andover  2014

800 Meter

2:27.49    Rose Hollerman, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown  2011

2:50.84    Marissa Bartels, Delano  2014

3:24.37    Lilly Stiernagle, Maple River  2016 (8^th Grade)

3:59.49    Jolynn Super, Spring Lake Park  2013

1600 Meter

4:47.16    Rose Hollerman, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown  2011

8:41.35    Jolynn Super, Spring Lake Park  2012

Shot Put

28-6         Kathryn Lubahn, Pine Island  2012

21-11.75 Marissa Bartels, Delano  2015

13-5.5      Miriam Probst, White Bear Lake  2016 (11^th Grade)

11-3.5      Victoria Koukol, Cambridge-Isanti  2014

Discus Throw

53-8         Marissa Bartels, Delano  2015

26-8         Miriam Probst, White Bear Lake  2016 (11^th Grade)

25-11      Mitzi Probst, White Bear Lake  2016 (10^th Grade)

24-4         Victoria Koukol, Cambridge-Isanti  2014

17-3         Olyvia Fondie, Zimmerman  2015

Strib/PP Grandma's Coverage

Kevin Pates stories for the Strib HERE(marathon) and HERE(half-marathon, wheelers, notes)

Pioneer Press story is HERE.

Kare-11 Feature on Delano's Marissa Bartels

Kare-11 feature on Delano's Marissa Bartels is HERE.

Want to Buy Marcelo Cruz a New Racing Chair?

Two groups are offering ways for interested parties to donate money for a new racing wheelchair for Interstate 35W bridge collapse victim Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz.

Cruz, the 6th place finisher in wheelchair competition at the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon, survived the bridge collapse two weeks ago by swerving his blue van into a concrete guardrail on a steeply tipped portion of the structure.

Charities Challenge, a health and exercise focused non-profit founded by Gary Westlund, has begun a drive to raise funds for a new racing chair for Cruz. Those interested in donating can click HERE for more information.

"My hope is that if we can hit this campaign really well that we may even be able to announce on September 1 that we've raised the necessary $5-6,000 to purchase his new racing chair and arrange to send him for a chair fitting to Atlanta where they're manufactured," Westlund said.

Cruz (pictured racing at TCM last year) apparently softened hearts of the folks at the KQRS Morning Show as well. KQ has also started a fund to raise money for a chair and van for Cruz.

Details of their drive are HERE.

Photo courtesy of Gary Westlund.

Wheelchair Marathoner Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz Survives I-35W Bridge Collapse

Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz of Crystal, who placed 6th in the wheelchair division of the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon, was among the survivors of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse on Wednesday.

Cruz's story is reported in a CNN story, HERE.

The video piece the news network ran is HERE.

Cruz was also quoted in the second half of THIS Star-Tribune story.

Cruz was driving a blue van that is recognizable in many of the photos of the bridge collapse. He witnessed the bridge shaking and then collapsing. He told CNN he saw 10 or 20 cars in front of him plunge into the water.

"I thought I was going to die," he told CNN.

The 26-year-old was unable to brake his van to a stop on the steep incline, so he swerved it into the concrete guard rail.

You can see a striking photo of his van HERE.

You can see a photo of his rescue HERE.

The bridge ordeal was Cruz's second close call with death. The Mexican native lost the use of his legs in a shooting several years ago.

Cruz finished 9th in the wheelchair division of this year's Grandma's Marathon, clocking 2:09:25.

(Thanks to Team USA Minnesota's Pat Goodwin for the tip on this story.)