Setting 68 new personal bests and earning top marks in conference and section competition, the Crusader girls took first place and the boys second in Lake Crystal on Tuesday.
“It was an outstanding day for us,” said head coach Casey Olson. “We had ideal weather conditions, and everyone really took advantage.”
The Crusader girls totaled 156 points, 44 more than second-place River Valley. Rounding out the field were LCWM-Nicollet (99), GFW (84), Jackson County Central (68) and GHEC/T/ML (32).
On the boys side, a loaded LCWM-Nicollet team was way out front with 181 points. The Crusaders totaled 96. Rounding out the field were JCC (82), River Valley (80), GFW (70) and GHEC/T/ML (43).
Liviana Lee had a great day in triple jump, setting a 5-foot season best and 2-foot PR to win that event. Jocelyn Kortuem likewise set a 1.5-foot PR in long jump to win. Kortuem also took second in the high jump. Emma Kortuem’s triple jump was good for a silver.
Over a lap in front of the second-place finisher, Charlotte Meyer took 26 seconds off her season best time in the 3200 to likely qualify for the Hamline Elite Meet for the second-straight year. The girls 4x100, which included sophomore Aubrey Blaschko, looked strong and had smooth handoffs for the win.
With a first in the pole vault, thirds in both hurdle events and a fourth in the long jump, it was a solid outing for freshman Clara Hilfer.
“Despite being new to varsity competition, Clara has proven that she can excel at this level, placing in the top five of all four of her events, which is incredible to say the least,” said Olson. “She is a great example of how success will come to those who are excited and willing to put in the time and effort to get better at something, and she's setting herself up for a great season and beyond.”
Soren Kelly broke his own school record in the 3200-m run for a time that should qualify him for the Hamline Elite Meet. Tanner Simonette continues to shave time off in the 400-m. The Crusader distance squad, including Reece Nelson, had another great day, said Olson.
“There's still a lot to work on, so it's exciting to see the times and success we're already having while knowing there's still another couple gears we can shift to by the end of the year.”
The Crusaders return to the track tomorrow (Friday) when they compete at St. Clair.
Girls
100: Aubrey Blaschko, 13th of 47, PB 14.32 (-1.55); Emma Kortuem 15th, PB 14.56; Miah Bauer, 17th, 14.63
200: Blaschko, 14th of 54, 30.17 (-3.08)
400: Bauer, 12th of 20, 76.05 (-12.84)
3200: Charlotte Meyer, 1st of 8, 11:14.31
100 H, Clara Hilfer, 3rd of 12, 17.67 (-1.65)
300 H, Hilfer, 3rd of 7, 55.49 (-6.13)
4x100: Kenna Forster, Blaschko, Morgan Dimmel, Kailey Campbell, 1st of 12, 55.77; Liviana Lee, Avaya Schultz, Sierra McCabe, Samantha Baker, 7th, 60.78
4x200: Maya McMichael, Bauer, Hannah Javaherian, Emma McCabe, 10th of 12, 2:12.79 (-21.01)
4x400: Izzy Endres, Lily Phillips, Emma Kortuem, Charlotte Meyer, 4th of 5, 4:42.87 (-18.92)
SP: Rayna Williams, 8th of 26, PB 27-07, (-7-6.5); Neenah Lassiter, 24th, PB 2-04
Discus: Williams, 18th of 26, 59-10 (-51-1)
HJ: Jocelyn Kortuem, 2nd of 13, 4-09 (-0-3); Lee, 8th (six-way tie), 4-0
PV: Clara Hilfer, 1st of 4, PB 8-3
LJ: Jocelyn Kortuem, 1st of 23, PB 15-3; Hilfer, 4th, 14-4.75; Emma Kortuem, 9th, 13-11.5
TJ: Lee, 1st of 13, 31-06.5; Emma Kortuem, 2nd, 31-05.5
Boys
100: Tanner Simonette, 12th of 41, PB 12:63 (-0.97); Wyatt Krenik, 13th, PB 12.66; Jack Shouler, 32nd, PB 14.07.
200: Krenik, 13th of 47, PB 26.47 (-2.47); Sam Ternes, 36th, PB 29.26
400: Simonette, 5th of 23, PB 58.26 (-3.72); Elijah Mons, 8th, 59.19; Ternes, 17th, PB 68.02
800: Griffin Rutz, 3rd of 20, PB 2:20.41 (-5.26)
1600: Reece Nelson, 8th of 18, PB 5:47.92 (-42.53)
110 H: Luke Kortuem, 7th of 7, 22.8 (-4.57)
300 H: Kortuem, 6th of 9, 50.41 (-5.71)
4x100: Micah Lindberg, Krenik, Asher O’Brien, Tate Rochow, 4th of 9, 49.24 (-1.59)
4x200: Ty Romnes, Simonette, Henry Andrews, Micah Lindberg, 5th of 8, 1:47.8 (-10.43)
4x800: Soren Kelly, Mitchell Buboltz, Andrew Tieva, Rutz, 1st of 6, 8:59.64
SP: Oliver Starke, 22nd of 31, PB 27-09.5 (-24-0.5)
Discus: Starke, 25th of 31, PB 64-10 (-103)
HJ: Mons, 7th (five-way tie) of 15, 5-0 (-0-06)
PV: Kortuem, 7th (tie) of 11, PB 8-09 (-4-6)
LJ: Mons, 18th (tie) of 18), 11-07.75 (-8-4.25)
Above: Clara Hilfer was all smiles after making up for a missed vault.
Elijah Mons in the 400
Tanner Simonette in the 400
Sam Ternes in the 400
Aubrey Blaschko (second from left) runs beside teammates in the 200-meter dash.
Wyatt Krenik in the 200.
Emma Kortuem hands the baton off to 4x400 anchor Charlotte Meyer.
Liviana Lee won the triple jump.
Emma Kortuem was second in the triple jump