Girls 3,200 champ repeats; boys cross-country winner takes another
10:35 a.m.
Wayzata sophom*ore Maddie Gullickson's 3,200-meter state title win was a comeback in more ways than one.
Heading into the final turn of the race, Gullickson was in fourth, several strides behind the leading trio. But into the final straightaway, Gullickson made her move, passing Armstrong's Caitlyn Osanai, then Bemidji's Mia Hoffman, then Minnetonka's Evie Malec to finish with a time of 10 minutes, 42.44 seconds and successfully defend her title from last year.
Shari L. Gross, Star Tribune
Maddie Gullickson of Wayzata leads the field.
"I normally do have a strength of kicking. I like to sit with the pack and kind of just let the race flow and go with it, and at the end I just give it my 100 percent," Gullickson said. "I can trust my training and trust my instincts to know when to go."
Gullickson returned to the top of the podium after missing the fall's cross-country state championships because of injury — a return she's "grateful [for] every step of the way." Malec finished second with a time of 10:42.79 and Hoffman third in 10:44.20.
The reigning Class 3A boys cross-country champion, Roseville junior Robert Mechura, took first in the boys 3200. As part of a small group of four runners, Mechura, who is committed to North Carolina for college, broke ahead of the pack and held an early lead until he was caught by Chaska senior Nolan Sutter with two laps remaining.
Mechura, who finished fourth in last year's state championship race, quickly regained his lead and crossed the finish line with a time of 9:06.85, ahead of Sutter at 9:13.09 and Rosemount's Andrew Schultz at 9:18.11.
"The weather's not ideal today, super windy on that back stretch," Mechura said. "I slowly fell off pace a little bit. … I'm glad Nolan kept it honest on that second-to-last lap. … He's a real competitor and a good athlete, so I had to give it my best."
A longtime video producer as well as a runner, Mechura said he has a video in the works documenting his 2024 track season, just like he had for his 2023 state-title cross-country season.
The rest of the day, from early morning to day's end:
3,200 win comes by five-hundredths of a second
7:51 p.m.
A 1-on-1 duel to end a long race was familiar for Mounds Park Academy junior Eddie Snider. Last fall, he won the Class 1A cross-country championship by one second. And on Thursday, he won the Class 1A boys 3,200 by even less: .05 seconds.
Snider narrowly beat Winona Cotter/Hope Lutheran eighth-grader Erik Semling. Snider finished in 9:31.95; Semling ran 9:32.00. The pair battled ahead of the pack for most of the last mile. They were followed by St. John's Prep senior Nick Hansen in third, at 9:44.90.
In the girls 3,200, St. John's Prep senior Olivia Pauly took first, finishing in 10:52.85 and taking a considerable lead by the end of the race. Luverne senior Jenna DeBates ran 11:05.37 and placed second, followed by Cotter/Hope Lutheran junior Sonja Semling (the older of the Semling siblings) at 11:10.80.
The last field event to end, pole vault, also wrapped up as the wind died down toward the start of Thursday's evening. Joseph Arens, a senior at St. Croix Prep, vaulted 14 feet, 3 inches and placed first, with one fewer attempt than second-place Montevideo senior Braden Nelson, who cleared the same height. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta sophom*ore Grayson Gibson placed third with a vault of 14 feet.
Freshman jumper wins twice in 1A
7:20 p.m.
Math & Science Academy freshman McKaylen Lewis won a Class 1A state title in the girls high jump, but she didn't have much time to celebrate her winning jump of 5 feet, 5 inches.
On the walk from the gym to the other side of the track complex at St. Michael-Albertville — a walk she made a few times on Thursday — she spoke with her coaches about her next task: the long jump.
She won a state title in that, too, becoming the first freshman to win a state title at the 2024 track and field state championships and the first athlete to claim two state titles so far.
She also ran the third-fastest time in the girls 200 preliminaries.
"I just thought of the best possible outcome, and I just really kept my head up, and my coaches helped me do all of it," Lewis said, on balancing the busy day. "And plenty of the [event] officials helped me get back and forth."
Her 19-foot, 9-inch long jump earned audible exclamations of "wow" when announced in the stadium. According to Wayzata Results, the jump is an all-time Minnesota girls record.
Last year, as an eighth grader, Lewis placed second in the long jump. She just began high jumping this year and "didn't expect that at all" — that being a state title. She attributed her success to her coaches and her year-round field training.
Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd junior Brayson Boike also jumped his way to a state title, covering 45 feet, 3.25 inches in the triple jump.
In boys shot put, Litchfield senior T.J. Christensen took first, throwing 59 feet, 2.75 inches. Clearbrook-Gonvick junior Allison LaVine threw 135 feet, 7 inches in girls discus to reach the top of the podium.
Wheelchair shot-putter breaks his own record
4 p.m.
Lakeview senior Lucas Taylor defended his wheelchair shot put state title and broke his own state record Thursday afternoon in Class 1A.
With a throw of 27 feet, 9 inches, Taylor finished ahead of Lakeview teammates Broden Stensrud and Terrek Jenniges for the state title. Taylor's record had been 22 feet, 9.25 inches, his winning distance last year. He will compete for a discus state title on Friday afternoon.
About those 3A relays
2:27 p.m.
In the Class 3A relays, the St. Michael-Albertville girls 4x200 team put in the top qualifying time in their home stadium despite being seeded 10th. The Owatonna boys 4x200 team jumped was the top qualifier in prelims after entering the meet in sixth position.
Moorhead, which was the top seed in prelims, heads into Saturday's girls 4x100 relay finals once again as the top seed. Same goes for Rochester Mayo in the boys 4x100.
Other prelims updates: Rochester Century junior Joshua Kyei-baffour is the top seed for the boys 110 hurdles with a time of 14.13. In the boys 100, Irondale senior Juriad Hughes Jr. and Minnetonka senior Tobias Williams swapped spots in their seeding, with Williams finishing first in qualifying at 10.55 seconds and Hughes Jr. close behind at 10.60.
Further into the field
2:18 p.m.
In other field events, Maple Grove junior Henry White took first in boys pole vault, Forest Lake sophom*ore Alexis Fahey topped the girls discus competition, and Shakopee sophom*ore Samantha Carr won the girls long jump. Michael Allen of Wayzata won the boys wheelchair shot put.
Like high jump, the pole vault took place indoors because of the wind. White vaulted 15 feet, 3 inches, a personal best and, according to Athletic Live, the second-highest vault in Minnesota this outdoor high school season.
"I don't think I've processed any of this," Nelson said. "[Going into this season], I wanted to make 14-6, so I almost beat my expectations by about a foot, which is huge."
Along with White, Fahey and Carr both had personal bests. Fahey's discus throw traveled 154 feet, 11 inches, over 20 feet clear of the second-place finisher, junior Katie Kelzenberg of Wayzata. Carr long-jumped 18 feet,8.75 inches on her first attempt of the day.
Brainerd, outstanding in the field
1:50 p.m.
Brainerd's Cora Clough and Ty Nelson joined their Warriors teammate Dylan Gross as field-event champions on Thursday. Sophom*ore Clough won the 3A girls high jump, while junior Nelson led the field in the boys triple jump.
Shari L. Gross, Star Tribune
Dylan Gross of Brainerd won the boys Class 3A shot put.
In the first half of the Class 3A field event finals, Brainerd athletes took three of the six top spots and was the only school to win multiple events.
Clough placed sixth at last year's state high jump and entered this year's meet seeded 19th. Because of high winds, the high jump competition took place in a gymnasium, where Clough cleared 5 feet, 4 inches. Three other jumpers — Cambridge-Isanti's Alice Steman, Minneapolis Southwest's Megan Schoenke and Stillwater's Anya Williams — also cleared the bar at that height, but Clough did so in the fewest tries.
"I obviously didn't expect to win because I was seeded somewhere far down there," Clough said. "To get that 5-4 right away [on the first try], I kind of knew I had a chance at winning."
Nelson already broke his school's 29-year-old triple jump record this season and broke it again with 47-foot-7.5-inch personal best on Thursday. Despite having already clinched the title with the distance of his fourth try, Nelson's winning distance came on his fifth and final attempt.
"I try to make my last one my best one," Nelson said, noting that it's something that his coach preaches in practice. "It's just great being able to kind of show off that clutch factor, and it's just a lot of fun."
Brainerd is currently on top of the team standings after the first half of field events and the 3200 meter races. The 3A boys and girls will swap field events Saturday afternoon.
Prelims turn notable
12:03 p.m.
Class 3A state-title hopefuls ran preliminary heats Thursday morning, setting up seeding for Saturday afternoon's finals.
In the 100 hurdles, Minnetonka senior Claire Kohler ran the season's fastest time in the state, qualifying for finals in 13.92 seconds. She holds the state record of 13.80, set at last year's state championships.
In the girls 100 and the boys and girls 400s, the top-seeded runners topped the prelim heats, qualifying for finals as top seeds: Prior Lake senior Addyson White in the girls 100, Apple Valley senior Dwyne Smith Jr. in the boys 400 and St. Michael-Albertville sophom*ore Emma Kvant in the girls 400.
Brainerd's Gross wins boys shot put
11:07 a.m.
Brainerd senior Dylan Gross won the 3A boys shot put with his best distance of the season — and any Minnesota high school student's season.
The throw of 62 feet, 10.5 inches broke a school record and was more than 4½ feet clear of the second-place throw, which came from Wayzata senior Emmanuel Wilson. Howie Johnson of Forest Lake finished third with a distance of 56-9.75.
Off and running (and hiding from the wind)
9 a.m.
The first starting gun has been fired here on a breezy, cloudy day at St. Michael-Albertville High School for the 2024 high school track and field state championships.
Cassidy Hettesheimer, Star Tribune
The vaulters are inside at state because of the wind.
Too breezy. Pole vault and high jump have moved indoors to the gym, out of the wind.
Thursday through Saturday, the top runners and field athletes in the state will compete, beginning with Class 3A preliminaries Thursday morning and Class 1A prelims Thursday afternoon. Friday will feature Class 2A prelims and Class 1A finals, followed by Class 2A finals and Class 3A finals on Saturday.
Thursday begins with the 3,200-meter run, the longest race of the meet. No prelims in this one, so we'll have champions soon.
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