With a personal best and school record 10.53.60 finish, Charlotte Meyer was 10th in the 3200 at the Hamline Elite Meet on April 24.
The freshman, who was the only Loyola/Cleveland/MCA athlete to qualify for the meet, was one of three Class A runners competing in the field of 16. The winning time was 10:34.37.
“Charlotte was really impressive,” said Crusader head track and field coach Casey Olson. “Running a PR and school record is never easy, but, especially considering that the race was at 8:50pm and she was out of her normal rhythm at meets, it speaks to her mindset and toughness.”
The race started out slower than expected, Olson said, and Meyer, who also competed at Hamline last year, was right in the mix through the mile mark, where movement at the front began and the pack began to break up.
“With a slower first mile, Charlotte had to work to shift up for the second mile, which is something we haven't done a lot of training for to this point in the year,” Olson said. ‘It was a great learning experience for her to see how these championship-level races can play out and where we need to be positioning ourselves to take advantage and maximize the benefit of being in a field of this caliber.”
Meanwhile, the Crusaders at large had several meets and will return to action on Thursday when they compete in New Richland.
St Clair
The Crusaders also took a small crew to St. Clair on Saturday, April 25 for the dedication of the track there. This was supposed to be a JV meet, but the cancelled varsity meet that was to be held in St. Clair on April 17 got folded in with it.
“Being on a Saturday, and putting it together last minute, most kids were busy,” Olson said. “Despite the small group and cold temps, we performed well. It was just a good opportunity for some of them to get more experience and a chance to compete in different events beyond what they normally do.”
A bit out of her element, Meyer was 10th in the 200 with a 31.66. With a personal best 17.45 finish, Clara Hilfer won the 100-m hurdles. Hilfer also vaulted a bronze 8-0 and long jumped 13-4.5. Rayna Williams put the shot 29-0.25 for fifth place and whipped the discus 71-11 for a personal best sixth place. Emma Kortuem triple jumped 31-6, just an inch less than the winner, for second place.
New Ulm
The Crusaders started the New Ulm meet on April 23, but it got rained out early on.
On the boys side, Luke Kortuem was third in the 110-m hurdles with a personal best 19.28. The winning time among the dozen competing was 18.52. Oliver Starke chucked the shot put a personal best 66-3. Elijah Mons high jumped 4-10 and triple jumped 26-4.
On the girls side, Samantha Baker ran the 100 in 17.30. Hilfer took second in the 100-m hurdles with an 18.12, 0.54 seconds off the pace. Neenah Lassiter put the shot a personal best 21-0. Liviana Lee hopped a personal best 13-8.75 for a second place in a partially completed long jump. Williams long jumped a personal best 8-11. With a 31-2.5 leap, Emma Kortuem won the partially completed triple jump.
Blooming Prairie Invitational
The Crusader girls team took third while the boys were fourth at the seven-team Blooming Prairie Invitational on April 21.
With lots of PRs and even a couple top five performances all-time, the Crusaders had plenty to celebrate.
“I was pleased with the effort shown,” said Olson. “It was the first time we've had truly hot conditions to compete in, but they handled it well. We approached it with positive attitudes and took advantage of competing against top competition, which is ultimately reflected in our results. With two weeks until the beginning of championship meets, I think we're in really good shape to be as competitive as possible throughout May.”
For the girls, with 144 points, 11 more than second place JWP/WEM, St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran won the meet. The Crusaders totaled 112 points. Rounding out the field were NRHEG (89), Blooming Prairie (81.5) USC/Alden-Conger (24) and Medford 22.5).
Just 0.45 seconds behind her cross-country teammate Valerie Quast of St. Clair, Meyer took second in the 1600 with a 5:14.63. That finish was 9 seconds faster than her best time of the season.
Hilfer ‘s 17.68 finish, 0.58 seconds off the pace, was good for a bronze in the 100-m hurdles and also puts her with the fifth best time at Cleveland. With a 54.56 personal best, Hilfer was eighth in the 300-m hurdles. Hilfer also pole vaulted 7-6 for fourth place.
The 4x100 relay of Morgan Dimmel, Aubrey Blaschko, Kailey Campbell and Kenna Forster beat out the other five teams to win the 4x100 with a 54.85 finish. That time is the fourth best in Cleveland School history. The 4x200 team of Maya McMichael, Miah Bauer, Lee and Kenna Forster took fourth with a 1:57.04.
Lassiter put the shot 20-6 and flung the disc a personal best 45-0. Jocelyn Kortuem’s 4-10 high jump put her in third place while Liviana Lee high jumped a personal best 4-5 for eighth place. The winning jump was 5-2. Emma Kortuem long jumped 14-6 for ninth place while Lee’s long jump was 13-4.5. Kortuem triple jumped a personal best 31.95 for second place and an all-time fifth best at Cleveland.
On the boys side, JWP/WEM’s 180 points put them way out front. In second with 112 points was St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran. USC/A-C took third with 105.5 points. Rounding out the field were Loyola/Cleveland (84), NRHEG (68.5), Medford (37) and Blooming Prairie (15).
Carson Lyons was fifth in the 100-m dash with a personal best 12.12. The winning time among the 21 competitors was 11.06. Braeden Smith completed the 200-m dash in a 1 second personal best 24.76 for seventh place. The winning time among the 17 competitors was 22.50. With a 1 second personal best 57.19 finish, Tanner Simonette was sixth in the 400. Wyatt Krenik was directly behind him with a 2 seconds personal best 58.58. The winning time among the 17 competitors was 50.99.
Griffin Rutz took fifth in the 1600 with a 5:11.22 finish. The winning time among the 19 runners was a scorching 4:56.67.
Soren Kelly took first in the 3200 with a 9:44.26 finish. Reece Nelson was seventh with a 17 second personal best 12:19.86.
Luke Kortuem was fifth in the 100-m hurdles with a 19.40 finish and sixth in the 300-m hurdles with a 49.72 personal best finish.
The 4x100 team of Micah Lindberg, Krenik, Tate Rachow and Lyons was third with a 48.75. The winning time among the seven teams was 45.04. Just 0.39 seconds off the pace, the 4x200 team of Ty Romnes, Anthony Mai, Simonette and Smith was second with a 1:41.55. The 4x400 team of Simonette, Andrew Tieva, Brayden Hecksel and Mitchell Bulboltz was fourth with a 3:53.13. The winning time was 3:40.81. With a 9:19.16 finish, the 4x800 team of Kelly, Bulboltz, Francis Bierer and Rutz was over 38 seconds in front of the second-place team.
Jack Shouler put the shot a personal best 31-5. Smith high jumped 5-0. Kortuem vaulted a personal best 9-0 for fifth place among 15 competitors.
Junior high meet, Blooming Prairie
During a junior high meet in Blooming Prairie on April 20, Andrew Giebel ran the 200 in 31.25 and the 400 in 1:10.30. Emmy Miller ran the 200 in 32.41 and anchored in the 4x100. She also long jumped 11-1. Vivian Patterson ran the third leg of the 4x200. Williams put the shot a personal best 29-8 for second place and hurled the discus 64-7 for fourth place.
Photo courtesy of Bree Meyer