Brent Seaton finishes seventh in pole vault

Senior Brent Seaton successfully ended his vaulting career at CLHS with a seventh place finish at last weekend’s AA Minnesota State High School League Track and Field Championships. Seaton finished seventh in the pole vault with a height of 14’0”. Luke McKenzie, Abby Forsman and the girls 4x400 relay team also participated in the state tournament, held Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at Hamline University in St., Paul. Seaton nearly ended up in a tie for third place. On his third attempt at 14’3”, he bumped the crossbar on his way over.

The crossbar bounced several inches up into the air and came straight back down. For a moment, it looked like the crossbar would stay in place. But it rolled off, knocking Seaton out of the competition. “Brent is being recruited by several colleges,” said Wildcat head coach Karen Manske. Senior Luke McKenzie finished fifth in his heat in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:57.76, about one second short of qualifying for the final. Manske said “Luke had hoped for a top nine finish, but he did run a season personal best at State. Luke will be attending St. Scholastica next year.” The 4x400 relay team of juniors Bekah Meyer and Abbi Forsman freshmen Sarah Greene and Hannah Nordby finished seventh in their heat with a time of 4:08.15.

“They will all be returning next season,” said Manske. “They ran a near personal record time and had a great experience in their first trip to the State meet. As this team now holds the Chisago Lakes High School 4x400 record, it’s likely they will return to State next year.” Forsman also ran the mile on Saturday. She finished thirteenth, with a time of 5:16.29. Manske said “The heat was hard on many of the athletes. Even so, Abby ran a strong race, and is already looking forward to next season.” Both the Wildcat girls’ and boys’ track teams made significant improvements under Manske this season. You can see it in a variety of team accomplishments. The Wildcats sent three individuals and one relay team to State this season after sending just two individuals in 2011. The boys won the Section 7AA True Team meet and, as a result, participated in the state True Team meet. And the girls finished second at the North Suburban Conference meet. It looks like the Wildcats have a bright future ahead of them under Manske. North Branch Girls Freshman Madison Kunshier ran a 1:01.02 in the prelims of the 400 meter dash, struggling to keep with the torrid pace set in her heat. It was the ninth grader’s first trip to the state meet.