Tollefson to Seek Trials Qualifier in Indy

2004 U.S. Olympic Team member Carrie Tollefson will race the 1500m in Saturday's American Milers' Club High Performance meet in Indianapolis in a last ditch attempt to secure a qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to be contested in two weeks.

The qualifying window for the Trials closes on Sunday.

The Team USA Minnesota star missed notching a qualifier by less than a second last weekend at the USATF - Minnesota Open and Masters Championships at Hamline University in St. Paul. There, she clocked 4:20.14; the Olympic Trials "B" Standard is 4:19.50.

Sicne she resumed competing in February, Tollefson has been in a race regain top form after dealing with a serious abdominal injury in 2007.

Qualifiers ... Track & Field News recently published these lists of WOMEN'S and MEN'S Olympic Trials qualifiers, as of June 10.

NCAA Photo Gallery -- by Gene Niemi

Heather Dorniden (#2) leads her 800m semifinal.


The Gophers' R. J. McGinnis racing the Decathlon 1500m.


Stanford's Garrett Heath (#2) leading his 1500m semifinal.


Alex Gits (#24) in early 10,000m action.

Gits and 10,000m runner-up Danette Doetzel (#3) of Providence.

Photos by Gene Niemi.

Edina Alum Gits 3rd in NCAA 10,000; Dorniden, Radocaj Advance to Finals

Stanford University's Alex Gits, a 2007 Edina High School graduate, finished 3rd in last night's 10,000 meter final at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Des Moines. Gits (pictured) clocked 33:49.73 to finish behind winner Lisa Koll of Iowa State, the collegiate record-holder, who clocked 32:44.95 and runner-up Danette Doetzel of Providence who ran 33:44.23.

Gits' performance helped put Stanford into an early lead in the women's team scoring with 11 points. There's a bit of video footage of Gits, HERE, in the highlight package Flotrack produced for the second day of competition at NCAAs.

Fellow Stanford Cardinal Garrett Heath of Winona qualified for the finals of the 1500m with a 3:42.21, second place finish in his prelim.

Gopher Action ... University of Minnesota sophomore decathlete R. J McGinnis finished 16th in the decathlon. McGinnis scored 7,019 points in the two-day competition with marks of: 11.59 for the 100m, 22-1 1/2. for the long jump, 44-3 1/2 for the shot put, 6-0 1/2 for the high jump, and 51.89 for the 400m on Day 1. On Day 2 McGinnis ran 15.25 for the 110m hurdles, threw 117-1 in the discus, cleared 13-9 1/4 in the pole vault, threw 195-0 in the javelin, and ran 4:45.96 in the event-ending 1500m.

Teammate Aaron Studt, competing in yesterday's shot put prelims, did not land a legal throw in the competition.

Golden Gopher women's stars Ruby Radocaj and Heather Dorniden advanced to finals in their respective events. Radocaj needed only one throw -- a launch of 179-6 -- to automatically qualify for Saturday's javelin final. Radocaj will enter that competition as the #2 qualifier from prelims.

Half-mile star Heather Dorniden advanced to finals in the 800m less dramatically than she did a day ago for the semi-finals. Dorniden finished an automatic-qualifying 3rd in her semi-final in 2:04.32. In the prelims on Wednesday, she finish 4th and had to wait out three more prelims before she eventually advanced on time.

Dorniden's competition for a second NCAA title got a little less difficult with the withdrawal of defending champ Alysia Johnson of California from the semis with an injury. In the final, Dorniden will face Zoe Buckman of Oregon, the fastest semi-finalist at 2:03.64, Geena Gall of Michigan, Becky Horn of Western Michigan, 2008 NCAA indoor champ Latavia Thomas of LSU. Anna Layman of Washington State, Carlee Clark-Platt of Brigham Young, and Phoebe Wright of Tennessee.

Gopher senior Liz Podominick also competed yesterday, but her 48-8 3/4 in the shot put did not advance to her to finals.

Live results for the remaining two days of competition at the NCAA Championship can be found HERE.

Photo by Gene Niemi.

MSHSL Championships Photo Gallery

Long time local athletics photographer Dennis Hahn has provided USATF Minnesota with a beautiful set of images that captures all of the drama and emotion of last week's MSHSL Track and Field Championships. If you are a member of USATF MN or MDRA, you'll remember Dennis' work from Minnesota Running & Track magazine. His gallery is available on the USATF MN site.

Photo by Dennis Hahn

Dorniden Survives NCAA Prelim Scare; Cheever, Smith, Mead also Advance

Golden Gopher star Heather Dorniden weathered bad conditions and a few tense moments to qualify for the semi-finals of 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines.

She, along with teammate Jamie Cheever (steeplechase) and Andrea Smith (pole vault) and the Gopher men's young distance star Hassan Mead (5000m) advanced during a stormy first day of competition at Drake Stadium.

Less fortunate were Gopher women Alica Rue (pole vault), Liz Podominick (discus), and Chirstin Kingley (long jump) and Gopher men Chris Rombough (5000m) and Ben Peterson (pole vault).

After Day 1 of the Decathlon, R.J. McGinnis is currently in 19th place with 3576 points.

Dorniden's Scare ... For the first time in her collegiate career, Dorniden needed to wait to see if she advanced to finals on time after finishing 4th in the first of four prelim heats which each advanced three racers automatically.

Dorniden thought she was safely third in the race, according to her description of events in THIS Gopher media release, but Tennessee's Phoebe Wright kicked her way into the mix.

“I had no idea she was there,” Dorniden said. “I thought it was just the three of us, then I looked over and oh no, there’s a fourth person there. I think I let up sooner than I should have."

“I’ve never felt what this waiting was all about and I don’t like it,” she said.

After anxiously watching the next three prelims, Dorniden advanced to today's semi-final as the #13 competitor of the 16 semi-finalists. Last year, Dorniden finished 3rd in at the NCAA Outdoor Championships running 2:01.05. She was the 2006 NCAA Indoor Champion.

Dorniden's cross country teammate Jamie Cheever, an indoor track and cross country all-American, ran 10:18.87 yesterday to finish fifth in her heat to earn an automatic qualifier to Friday night’s steeplechase final.

Pole vaulter Andrea Smith, who had competed in the NCAA Championships as a freshman and sophomore but failed to clear the opening height in either appearance, cleared a career-best 13-5 1/4 to advance to Friday’s vault final. Alicia Rue cleared 13-1 1/4 but did not advance in the event.

Liz Podominick threw the discus 143-9 but did not advance. Podominick competed in four NCAA meets in the event, joining Aubrey Schmitt as the only athlete in Gopher women’s track history to advance to the national meet in the same event all four years of a career.

Chirstin Kingley long jumped a non-advancing 19-5 1/4.

Mead Continues to Shine ... Hassan Mead finished an automatic qualifying 5th in his heat of the 5000m. The Big Ten 5000m champ clocked 14:31.07. Teammate Chris Rombough finished a non-qualifying 10th in 14:44.78 in the same heat.

Big Ten indoor champ Ben Peterson cleared 16-8 3/4 in the pole vault qualifying, but needed to clear 17-2 3/4 to advance to Friday’s final.

You can read the full Gopher men's media release HERE.

Other Minnesotans in Action ... State athletes running for other institutions had mixed results as well at the meet. Osseo alum Julian Morris of Northern Iowa jumped 6-10 3/4 in the high jump prelims but missed finals by a single place. A miss at 6-8 3/4 kept him from advancing with others who had cleared 6-10 3/4.

Kadeshia Fortune's University of Mississippi 4 x 100 relay squad finished a non-advancing 11th in prelims in 44.66. Mankato Loyola alum Sarah Price of Michigan State finished a non-qualifying 21st in the steeplechase in 10:46.47.

Live results for the meet, which runs through Saturday, can be found HERE.

NCAA Championships Open Today at Drake

Action at the NCAA Division I Championships commences today at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa and runs, jumps, and throws until Saturday.

To put you in the NCAA mood we offer ...

-- THIS Star-Tribune feature story on Gopher women's javelin ace Ruby Radocaj. Radaocaj, originally from Pennsylvania, comes from a family of javelin throwers -- her father and mother threw and her brother will compete at NCAAs for Villinova this weekend. Ruby Radocaj is seeded #3 in the event.

-- THIS U of M preview on the Gopher women's contingent competing this weekend. Eight Gopher women will compete this weekend: Radocaj, Heather Dorniden (800m), Andrea Smith (pole vault), Alicia Rue (pole vault), Liz Roehrig (heptathlon) Jamie Cheever (steeplechase), Liz Podominick (shot and discus), and Christin Kingsley (long jump).

-- THIS Track and Field News projection which places the Gopher women 8th in the meet as a team.

-- The Gopher men send five athletes to the meet: Hassan Mead (5000m), Chris Rombough (5000m), Ben Peterson (pole vault), R.J. McGinnis (decathlon), and Aaron Studt (shot put). You can read their preview HERE.

-- The meet, of course, marks the final contest for the Gopher men with Head Coach Phil Lundin at the helm. Lundin will coach at St. Olaf College starting this fall. There's a nice review of Lundin's Gopher career HERE, thanks to the Gopher sports information team.

-- Finally, we recommend THIS portal for keeping up to date with the action at Drake.


DtB will keep an eye on the action as well with updates and photos of the Gophers and the other Minnesotans competing at NCAA ... including Winona's Garrett Heath (Stanford) in the 1500m, Osseo's Julian Morris (Northern Iowa) in the high jump, Mounds View's Nate Englin (Missouri) in the shot put, Mankato Loyola's Sarah Price (Michigan State) in the steeplechase, Edina's Alex Gits (Stanford) in the 10,000m, and Minneapolis Washburn's Kadeshia Fortune (Mississippi) in the 4 x 100m.

News & Notes: Troup, Hermanson, & Watson

In an effort to get caught up after a busy weekend, here are some news items and interesting links we haven't gotten to ... until now.

-- University of Minnesota graduate Rasa Troup notched an Olympic qualifying mark in the steeplechase last weekend when she finished second at the Jim Bush Invitational in Los Angeles. Troup, who finished second to Emily Brown in the Drake Relays steeplechase in April, clocked 9:44.22. A Lithuanian citizen, Troup hopes to represent her country in Beijing.

-- Burnsville alum Laura Hermanson, also competing at the Jim Bush Invitational, broke the North Dakota State University school record in the 800 meters with her 2:03.76, 4th place finish. Hermanson is also the NDSU indoor record-holder in the event at 2:06.34.

You can watch Hermanson's Los Angeles race, thanks to RunnerSpace, HERE. Results from the Jim Bush Invitational are HERE.

-- Finally, Chad Austin recently posted THIS interview with Stillwater alum Luke Watson on his Running Minnesota site. The interview includes a story about Watson and his former Notre Dame teammate Ryan Shay, who died at last fall's Olympic Marathon Trials, off-roading and then climbing a mountain peak near Mammoth Lakes, California.

Examining the 2:19 Marathon Standard

The USATF-Minnesota web-site is currently featuring an interview with former national USATF Men's Long Distance Running Executive Committee member Dave Coyne that I conducted recently. Coyne was on hand last winter when the Men's LDR committee chose to change the qualifying standard for the men's Olympic Trails Marathon to a single 2:19:00 standard.

In the interview, HERE, Coyne offers his take on how the decision came about at the USA Track & Field annual meeting in Honolulu and provides his analysis of the pros and cons of the new standard.

Back in December, DtB interviewed USATF-Minnesota treasurer Chris Kartschoke about the revised standard. You can find that interview HERE.

The State Class AA Boys 800 Meter Final: In Video, Photos, and Numbers

We're still marvelling over the Class AA Boys 800m final at the MSHSL State Championships last weekend. It certainly lived up to all the hype we gave it last week. Zach Mellon of Buffalo defended his title with an all-time State Meet record of 1:49.69.

Behind Mellon, Fridley sophomore Harun Abda ran 1:50.74 and Irondale's Andy Richardson ran 1:51.06 for second and third. Fourth place finisher Obai Hussein ran 1:52.09 less than 45 minutes after winning the Class AA 400m title, a feat vital to Rosemount's five point Class AA team victory over Irondale.

We found must-see YouTube video of the race HERE.

We also offer these Gene Niemi photos from the race ...

Setting the Stage: (l-r) Nick Hutton, Travis Burkstrand, Obai Hussein, Charlie Laphem (obscured), Mitch Lorenz (obscured), Zach Mellon, Harun Abda, Dominick Rosario, and Andy Richardson on the homestretch in Lap 1.

400m Later: Mellon racing to the finish line, Abda and Richardson battling for second place.

Mellon stops the clock.


A spent Andy Richardson.


Mellon reacts to his 1:49.69 State Meet record.


Mellon & Richardson: The names synonymous with Minnesota prep half-miling in recent years.

After it was all said and done, here's what less than two minutes of running on Saturday wrought upon the Minnesota record books ...

-- A new Class AA and State Meet Record: Mellon 1:49.69

-- A new all-time Minnesota best for juniors: Mellon, eclipsing Richardson's 1:51.61 from last year.

-- A new sophomore all-time best: Harun Abda's 1:50.74 which eclipses Jason Owen's 1:51.41 from 1994.

-- And, a thoroughly rewritten all-time Minnesota performance list in the event ...

1:49.13 Jason Owen, Stewartville 1996
1:49.30 Trent Riter, Mounds View 2001
1:49.69 Zach Mellon, Buffalo 2008
1:50.56 Steve Holman, Richfield 1988
1:50.74 Harun Abda, Fridley 2008
1:51.o6 Andy Richardson, Irondale 2008
1:51.0 Tim Turnbull, Hopkins 1966 (1:51.7y)
1:51.75 Ryan Ford, St Cloud Apollo 2000
1:51.82 Tom Schmidt, Faribault 2001
1:52.07 Carson Hoeft, Armstrong 1985
1:52.09 Obai Hussein, Rosemount 2008

Photos by Gene Niemi.

All-time records and list information courtesy of Bill and Tim Miles.

Goucher Runs 14:58, Leer Miles 3:58 at Pre

Kara Goucher and Will Leer headlined the results of Minnesota athletes at yesterday's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, the site, in three weeks, of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Goucher ran an even-paced 14:58.10 to finish 3rd in the 5000 meters which was won by Ethiopia's Mesaret Defar in 14:38.73. Leer finished 9th in the Bowerman Mile in 3:58.16. He tracked American Record-holder Alan Webb at the back of the pack for the bulk of the race. Shedrack Korir won the event in 3:50.49; Webb finished 7th in 3:55.47.

Also competing at Pre were: Cack Ferrell, who was a DNF in the 5000m after 2K ... Trent Riter, who finished 5th in Section II of the 800m in 1:49.26 ... Adam Steele, who finished 9th in Section II of the 800m in 1:51.16 ... and Jake Watson, who finished 4th in Section I of the men's 1500m in 3:42.37.

USATF Minnesota Junior Olympic Championships

The 2008 USATF Minnesota Junior Olympic Outdoor Championships will be held at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul June 21-22. Top athletes can advance to the USATF Region 8 Championships being held July 10-13 at Carroll College in Waukesha, WI.

USATF MN is looking for volunteers to help with the event. Volunteer positions require no prior experience. Shifts run from 8:00 AM to noon or noon to 4:00 PM. If interested, contact meet direcor Chris Dallager at youth@usatfmn.org or 651-341-6553

Tollefson to Race at Hamline Today: Will Chase Trials Qualifier in 1500m

Team USA Minnesota's Carrie Tollefson will race the 1500 meters today at the USA Track and Field - Minnesota Open and Master's Track and Field Championships at Hamline University.

Tollefson, an Olympian at the distance in 2004, still needs to notch an Olympic Trails qualifying mark in the event -- or the 5000m -- in order to compete at the Eugene, Oregon meet which begins on June 27.

Update: Tollefson ran 4:20.14 this morning; the Olympic Trials "B" Standard is 4:19.50.

Complete USATF-Minnesota Open and Masters results can be found HERE.

Lyndie Bosshart's Record-Tying Vault

Bosshart's 11-6 today tied her with Pine Island's Amanda Frame for the Class A pole vault record.

Photos by Gene Niemi.

Class A State Meet Finals Review

Girls' 4 x 800m Relay:
1st Leg -- 2:21 ... Benson-KMS leads.
2nd Leg -- 4:47 ... Benson-KMS leads from Providence Academy.
3rd Leg -- 7:13 ... Benson-KMS leads from Perham.

Benson-KMS wins with 9:31.93 ... Luverne 2nd with 9:33.90 ... Adrian 3rd in 9:34.90.

Boys' 4 x 800m Relay:
1st Leg -- 1:58 ... DeLaSalle leads by 30m over Fairmont.
2nd Leg -- 4:04 ... DeLaSalle over Plainview-EM by 10m
3rd Leg -- 6:o6 ... DeLaSalle by 30m on Plainview-EM.

DeLaSalle wins big in 8:01.90 ... Plainview-Elgin-Millville 2nd in 8:09.12 ... Fairmont 3rd in 8:09.69.

Girls' 100m Hurdles:
Leslie Thomas (DeLaSalle) wins in 15.21 ... Bree Woelber (Pipestone) 2nd in 15.35 ... Carmen Lundell (Breck) 3rd in 15.39.

Boys' 110m Hurdles:
Paul Mallory (Fairmont) wins in 14.51 ... Laquone Robinson (Brooklyn Center) 2nd in 14.59 ... Nick Spaeth (Montevideo) 3rd in 14.69 ... 3 DQs: Blaine Hanson, Spangler, Justin Hanson.

Girls' 100m:
Ashley Tingelstad (Lake Park-Audubon) wins in 12.28 ... Samantha Zopfi (Providence Academy) 2nd in 12.49 ... Brianna Barrett (Annandale) 3rd in 12.58.

Boys' 100m:
Skyler Jackson (Frazee) wins in a Class A Record-tying 10.94 ... 2007 champ Matt Dvorak (St. Croix Lutheran) 2nd in 10.96 ... Caleb Rissman (Triton) 3rd in 10.98.

Girls' 4 x 200m Relay:
Providence Academy wins in 1:43.63, just .01 off the Class A record ... Chatfield 2nd in 1:46.28 ... Bagley/Fosston 3rd in 1:46.47

Boys' 4 x 200m Relay:
Glencoe-Silver Lake wins in 1:29.12 ... Lanesboro/Fillmore Central 2nd in 1:30.03 ... Worthington 3rd in 1:30.50.

Girls' 1600m:
Linda Keller (Paynesville) wins in 5:05.74 ... Abby Anderson (Perham) 2nd in 5:07.51 ... Brittany Ungs (Kasson-Mantorville) 5:09.98.

Boys' 1600m:
Donny Wasinger (Winona Cotter) wins in 4:15.20, a new Class A record ... Travis Beniak (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) 2nd in 4:18.77 ... Kevin Lachowitzer (Perham) 3rd in 4:18.81 ... Leader splits: 29.4 [Merritt], 60.5 [Merritt], 2:08.5 [Merritt & Stenger], 3:12.6 [Wasinger].

Girls' Shot Put:
Liberty Slinden (Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City) wins with 41-11 ... Leah Dietel (Jordan 2nd with 40-5 1/2 ... Heather Schultz (Perham) 3rd with 39-3.

Boys' High Jump:
Paul Wagner (Fisher/EGF Sacred Heart/Climax) wins with 6-4 ... Casey Lipp (Breckenridge/C-T) 2nd at 6-3 ... Austin Dennis (Walker-Hackensack-Akeley) 3rd at 6-3.

Girls' 4 x 100m Relay:
Providence Academy wins in 49.31 ... Chatfield 2nd in 49.99 ... Holy Family Catholic 3rd in 50.15.

Boys' 4 x 100m Relay:
St. Croix Lutheran wins with 43.39 ... MACCRAY 2nd in 43.80 ... Holy Family Catholic 3rd in ... 44.00.

Girls' Triple Jump:
Analisa Huschle (Bagley/Fosston) wins with 37-5 ... Nicole Berscheid (Holdingford) 2nd at 36-9 3/4 ... Sarah Cham (Worthington) 3rd with 36-5 1/2.

Girls'400m:
Ashley Tingelstad (Lake Park-Audubon) wins in 55.83, a new Class A record ... Colleen Everson (Murray County Central) 2nd in 56.95 ... Leighton Lerum (Providence Academy) 3rd in 57.98.

Boys' 400m:
Chris Stoks (Virginia) wins in 48.88 ... Nicholas Pfiefle (SW Minn. Christian) 2nd in 49.28 ... Joey Blackmore (Albany) 3rd in 49.37.

Girls' 300m Hurdles:
Bree Woelber (Pipestone) wins in 44.67 ... Kendra Mooberry (Benson-KMS) 2nd in 44.69 ... Carmen Lundell (Breck) 3rd in 45.09

Boys' 300m Hurdles:
Paul Mallory (Fairmont) wins in 38.57 ... Laquone Robinson (Brooklyn Center) 2nd in 38.93 ... Nick Spaeth (Montevideo) 3rd in 39.05.

Girls' Pole Vault:
Lyndie Bosshardt (St. James) defends her title and ties the Class record with 11-6 ... Shannon Stever (La Crescent) 2nd at 11-3 ... Laura Shuneman (Sibley East) 3rd at 9-6.

Boys' Discus:
Micah Hegerle (Kasson-Mantorville) wins with 185-6 ... Joe Plante (MACCRAY) 2nd at 173-1 ... Wade Powers (New London-Spicer) 3rd with 167-5.

Girls' 800m:
Melissa Varpness (Montevideo) runs wire-to-wire to win in 2:14.42 ... Savana Weller (Sauk Centre) 2nd in 2:14.62 ... Faith Kruchowski (Red Lake County) 3rd in 2:16.94

Boys' 800m:
Ned Brady (DeLaSalle) wins in 1:54.53 ... Moses Heppner (Warroad) 2nd in 1:54.77 ... Indy Liljevall (Lake City) 3rd in 1:56.82.

Boys' Long Jump:
Derek Bredy (West Central) wins with 22-0 1/4 ... Caleb Rissman (Triton) 2nd with 21-5 1/4 ... Kyle Winkelman (Foley) 3rd at 21-2 1/2.

Girls' 200m:
Ashley Tingelstad (Lake Park-Audubon) wins her 3rd event in 24.93 ... Analisa Huschle (Bagley/Fosston) 2nd in 25.08 ... Ellie Jensen (Providence) 3rd in 25.75.

Boys' 200m:
Cameron Boy (Jordan) wins in 22.00 ... Darren Thompson (Glencoe-Silver Lake) 2nd in 22.10 ... Skyler Jackson (Frazee) 3rd in 22.17.

Girls' 4 x 400m Relay:
Sauk Centre wins with 4:00.40 ... Osakis 2nd with 4:00.97 ... Belle Plaine/Holy Family Academy 3rd in 4:03.34.

Boys 4 x 400m Relay:
Fairmont wins in 3:22.88 ... Lanesboro/Fillmore Central 2nd in 3:24.05 ... Breckenridge/C-T 3rd with 3:24.06

Girls' Team Scores:
1 Providence Academy 55
2 Lake Park Audubon 48
3 Perham 40
4 Bagley/Fosston 35
5 Paynesville Area 30

Boys' Team Scores:
1 Fairmont 52
2 Glencoe-silver Lake 33
3 St. Croix Lutheran 32
4 Triton 31
4 Perham 31
4 DeLaSalle 31

Class A Finals are Underway ...

Finals action in Class A at the MSHSL State High School Track and Field Championships began at 3:00 p.m. today.

Weather at the start of the session mostly sunny and warm. The temperature is 78 degrees, relative humidity is 58% with winds are calm.

We'll post a wrap-up of the session as soon as it ends this evening -- at roughly 6:40 p.m. Below, you'll find photos from the Class AA finals held earlier today.

Rosemount Wins Boys' Class AA Team Title

The Irish -- and Obai Hussein -- win!

Photo by Gene Niemi.

Eastview Wins Girls' Class AA Team Title

The Champions from Eastview.

Photo by Gene Niemi.

State Meet Class AA Photos By Gene Niemi

Woodbury's Ernest Dorsett III (right) anchors a 4 x 400m victory, Zach Mellon (left), the new All-Time State Meet Record-holder at 800m, anchors 2nd place Buffalo, 1600/3200m runner-up Jordan Carlson (center) anchors team champs Rosemount to 3rd.

The fastest 100m runner in State Meet history, Kylie Peterson of Apple Valley.


Chichi Ojika winning the 200m for team runners-up Irondale.


In a battle of 9th-graders, Mara Olson of St. Louis Park won the 1600m in the final stirdes over Stillwater's Caitlin Hewes.

Live Coverage: MSHSL Class AA Finals

Final, Official Boys' Team Scores:
1 Rosemount 65
2 Irondale 60
3 Woodbury 42
4 Owatonna 35
5 Burnsville 34

Final, Official Girls' Team Scores:
1 Eastview 74
2 Mounds View 60
3 Apple Valley 50
4 Roseville 44
5 Hopkins 40

Boys 4 x 400 Relay:
1st Leg -- Mankato West leads ...Rosemount in 7th
2nd Leg -- Rosemount leads after Hussein's leg.
3rd Leg -- Woodbury leads Rosemount second.

Woodbury wins in 3:18.77 ... Buffalo 2nd on Mellon's huge anchor in 3:19.22 ... Rosemount 3rd with 3:19.47.

FLASH: After all boys events but the 4 x 400, Rosemount trails Irondale by 3 points for the team title. If Rosemount finishes in 7th place, they'll tie the Knights for the 2008 Class AA Boys title. If they finish 6th of better, they finish 6th or better, they'll win.

Girls' 4 x 400m:
1st Leg -- Apple Valley leads.
2nd Leg -- Rosemount leads .... Munds View and a big pack.
3rd Leg -- Monds View leads Hopkins ...

Hopkins wins in 3:54.81 ... Mounds View 2nd in 3:55.16 ... Minnetonak 3rd in 3:56.41.

Boys' Discus:
Casey Dehn (Owatonna) wins with 173-9 ... Nik Hawley (Park) 2nd with 159-4 ... Jordan Waiwaiole (Spring Lake Park) 3rd with 157-10

Boys' High Jump:
Derek Jerde (Chaska) defends his title at 6-10 ... Derek Alderks (Northfield) 2nd with 6-7 ... Michael Harley (Stillwater) 3rd at 6-6.

Girls' Triple Jump:
Jordan Helgren (Wayzata) defends her 2007 title with a mark of 40-8 1/2w -- she established a new all-time State Meet record with her wind-legal 39-3 mark elsewhere in the competition ... Kelsey Joson (Park) 2nd in 38-2 3/4 ... Hanna Muegge (Hopkins) 3rd at 37-8.

Boys 200m:
Chichi Ojika wins, in 21.95, and puts Irondale ahead the team title race ... Sean King (Cretin-Derham Hall) 2nd in 22.16 ... Emmanual Matadi (Spring Lake Park) 3rd in 22.38.

Girls' Pole Vault:
Kristen Dare (Apple Valley) wins with 11-0 ... Megan Olson (Stillwater) 2nd at 11-0 ... Caitlin Weber (Lakeville North) 3rd at 10-9.

Girls' 200m:
Kylie Peterson (Apple Valley) wins in 24.70 ... Rosey Erickson (Alexandria) 2nd in 24.99 ... Antoinette Godman (Burnsville) 3rd in 25.02.

Boys' 800m: (Mellon, Richardson, Hussein fight for individual glory and team points.)
@200 -- 26 ... Richardson leads.
@400 -- 54+ .. Richardson with Mellon on his shoulder.

... Mellon with a big move on the backstretch ...

Zach Mellon (Buffalo) wins in 1:49.69, a new All-Time State Meet Record ... Harun Abda (Fridley) 2nd in1:50.74, the 5th fastest time in Minn. prep history ... Andy Richardson (Irondale) 3rd in 1:51.06 the #6 mark all-time ... Obai Hussein 4th in 1:52.09

Updated Minnesota 800m Boys all-time, all venues top performers list ...
1:49.13 Jason Owen, Stewartville 1996
1:49.30 Trent Riter, Mounds View 2001
1:49.69 Zach Mellon, Buffalo 2008
1:50.56 Steve Holman, Richfield 1988
1:50.74 Hzarun Abda, Fridley 2008
1:51.06 Andy Richardson, Irondale 2008

Girls' 800m:
Haylie Zenner (Fergus Falls) wins in 2:15.00.

Boys’ 300m Hurdles: (An important event if Irondale, with Uche Ugbonnaya, is going to catch Rosemount in the team title chase.)
Uche Ogbonnaya wins in 38.51 ... Mathews Weeks (Moorhead 2nd in 38.58 ... Snosio Boye-Weah (Park Center) 3rd in 38.86

FLASH: Sade Pollard (Harding) , the seven-time Class AA champion, and Joe Rancourt (Faribault) have been scratched from the 200m.

Girls' 300 Hurdles:
Severson defends title in 43.56 ... Kayla Sawtell (Mounds View) 2nd in 45.69 ... Carrie Edmunds (Lakeville North) 3rd in 45.64

Boys' Long Jump:
Zach Bork (Rocori) wins with 22-8 1/4 ... Diahn Zeon (Richfield) 2nd in 22-6 ... Tony Johnson (New Prague) 21-11

Boys' 400m: (A big event Rosemount's team title hopes -- Hussein.)
Obai Hussein (Rosemount), running in green, wins in 48.62 ... Leon Cheneyon (Cooper) 2nd in 48.81 ... Ernest Dorsett III 3rd in 49.11.

FLASH: Derke Jerde (Chaska) defends high jump title ... has made 6-10, jumping at 6-11.

Girls' 400m:
Alexis Brown (Eastview) wins in 56.17 ... Sashanavian Davis (park Center) 2nd in 56.54 ... Sophie Charlton (Mayo) 3rd in 56.73


Girls' Shot Put:
Amy Kubat (Owatonna) wins with 43-1 ... LaiShema Hampton (St. Louis Park) 2nd at 42-10 1/2 ... Janae Burich (Roseville) 3rd with 40-8 1/2.

Boys'100m: (An important team title event for Irondale.)
Osseo wins in 42.40 ... Wayzata 2nd in 42.75 ... Farmington 3rd in 42.85 ... Irondale 4th in 43.08

Girls' 4 x 100m:
Apple Valley wins in 48.08 ... Mounds View 2nd in 48.19 ... Roseville 3rd in 48.33.

Boys' 1600m: (Finnerty vs. Carlson & Richardson. Irondale and Rosemount with team title points at stake.)
@200 -- 32 ... Finnerty leads.
@400 -- 63 ... Finnerty & Carlson ... then Richardson.
@800 -- 2:06 ... Finnerty & Carlson ... Richardson 10m back.
@1200 -- 3:11 ... Finnerty & Carlson ... Richardson 30m back.

Finnerty (Burnsville) wins in 4:10.43 ... Jordan Carlson 2nd in 4:10.72 ... Andy Richardson 3rd in 4:13.27 ... Carlson came even with Finnerty a the top of the homstretch, but couldn't out-run him to the finish.

Girls' 1600m:
@200 -- 34 ... Rivard of St. Francis.
@400 -- 73 ... Rivard 10m ahead of the pack.
@800 -- 2:32 ... Hughes of Mankato West stringing the pack.
@1200 -- 3:51 ... Hughes leads with Opitz right behind.

Mara Olson (St. Louis Park) win in 5:02.41 ... Caitlin Hughes (Stillwater) 2nd in 5:02.54 ... Chelsea Petit 3rd in 5:03.22

Boys' 4 x 200m Relay: (Rosemount is looking for team points here in their title quest.)
Champlin Park wins with 1:29.55... Rosemount 2nd in 1:29.69... Anoka 3rd with 1:29.90.

Girls' 4 x 200m Relay:
Mounds View wins with 1:41.41 ... Eastview 2nd with 1:42.25 ... Roseville 3rd with 1:42.61.

FLASH: Jordan Helgren breaks her own all-time State Meet triple jump record with a 39-3 jump, in on-going competition.

Boys' 100m: (An important team event for Irondale with top-qualifying finalist Chichi Ojika.)
Kassim Lakis (Armstrong) wins in 10.68 ... Sean King (Cretin-Derham Hall) 2nd in 10.75 ... Chichi Ojika (Irondale) 3rd in 10.76.

Girls' 100m: (Featuring Kylie Peterson ... the new all-time State Meet record-setter yesterday with 11.88.)
Kylie Peterson (Apple Valley) wins in 11.79, faster than her All-time State Meet record, but with a stronger-than-allowable wind ... Caitlin Dhein (Tech) 2nd in 12.15 ... Stormy Nesbit (Roseville) 3rd in 12.38


Boys' 110m Hurdles: (Another important event for Buffalo with finalist Keenan Stangl.)
Drew Feuk (New Prague) wins in 14.71 ... Matthews Weeks (Moorhead) 2nd in 14.86 ... Marvin Mathews (Roseville) 3rd in 14.97 ... Buffalo's Keenan Stangl 8th in 15.20.

Girls' 100m Hurdles:
Kayla Sawtell (Mounds View) wins in 14.57, faster than the Class AA record, but run with an above-the-allowable 2.8 mps wind ... Kim Lieder (Eastview) 2nd in 15.74 ... Emily Stalpes (Wayzata) 3rd in 14.75.

Boys' 4 x 800m: (An important event for Buffalo's team title hopes ... )
@400 -- 56+ ... Winona leads a tight pack ...
1st Leg -- 1:57 ... Brainerd and Apple Valley.
@400 -- Brainerd by 20m ...
2nd Leg -- 3:57 ... Apple Valley and Brainerd ... Buffalo a distant 4th.
@400 -- Brainerd with a 5m lead on Apple Valley.
3rd Leg -- 5:49 ... Apple Valley leads Brainerd by 25m
w/ 400 to go -- Apple Valley up by 15m on Brainerd.

Apple Valley wins in 7:45.31, a new Class AA and all-time State Meet Record! ... Brainerd 2nd in 7:49.97 ... Buffalo 3rd in 7:56.42.

The updated all-time, all venues, Minnesota high school best performers:
7:41.94 Stillwater Area 1998
7:42.24 Willmar 2007
7:45.31 Apple Valley 2008
7:45.95 Mounds View 2007
7:47.58 Lakeville North 2006

Girls' 4 x 800m:
@400 -- 63 ... Woodbury leads.
1st Leg -- 2:19 ... Fridley Grace leads.
@400 -- Minnetonka leads ... Eden Prairie
2nd Leg -- 4:38 ... Eden Prairie leads by 30m
@400 -- Eden Prairie with Minnetonka closing fast.
3rd Leg -- 6:56 ... Eden Prairie back up by 30m on 'Tonka
w/ 400 to go -- Minnetonka surges to the lead ...

Eden Prairie wins pulling away in 9:16.50 ... Minnetonka 2nd in 9:20.57 ... Eastview 3rd with 9:26.20.


Good morning from Klas Field at Hamline University!

Down the Backstretch is pleased to present today's Class AA Finals live. Weather conditions in St. Paul are pleasant, but humid. The temperature at 8:40 a.m. is 66 degrees with 78% relative humidity. Winds are lights from the SE at 7 m.p.h. The forecast calls for scattered showers and thunderstorms.

So pull up a chair and enjoy the meet! All you need to do is refresh your browser window regularly for event-by-event coverage of today's events. The latest news and results will appear at the top of this page, older data will be collected beneath.

As you wait for today's action to begin at 9:00 a.m., we suggest you enjoy the Star-Tribune's coverage of yesterday's action ... HERE, HERE, and HERE. And the Pioneer Press's story HERE.

Complete Class AA boys' results from yesterday are available HERE, Class AA girls' results are HERE

Friday's Class A boys' results are available HERE, Class A girls' results are HERE.

USATF Minnesota Open & Masters Championships on Track Sunday

Hamline University is most definitely the center of the Minnesota track and field universe this weekend. While the MSHSL Championships is the main event, Klas Field is also hosting the USATF Minnesota Open and Masters Championships on Sunday.

The 5,000 meters could see the biggest fields of the day, as the event has been included in the Team Circuit this year. USATF membership is required to compete. Raceday registration is available. Action gets underway at 9 a.m. on Sunday.