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In an incredible 3200-meter race at last week’s Class AA state meet at St. Michael-Albertville high school, Monticello junior Isabel Mahoney outkicked Wildcat freshman Annika Hall near the end of the last lap to win the race in 10:34.50, just four seconds ahead of  the Wildcat phenom.  

Hall’s second-place finish earned ten team points for the Wildcats.  Hall also finished fourth in the 1600-meter race to pick up six more team points.  The 1600 had an exciting finish, with just a one-and-a-half second spread from third through seventh place.  Hall’s finishes improved upon her incredible performance as an eighth-grader at the state meet last year, when she finished fifth at 3200 meters and seventh at 1600 meters.  Wildcat head coach Brandy Peterson said “Annika led the 3200 almost the whole way.  Mahoney is a junior and has quite a kick, as does Annika.  It was a great race by both of them.  They have run against each other so many times.  They know their strengths really well, and they push each other and tend to match each other well in these races.  And Annika has beaten Mahoney at conference meets.”  Hall’s time of 4:55.84 in the 1600 meters was eight seconds faster than her previous best and marked the first time a Wildcat girl ran that distance in under five minutes.

Senior Ava Bringgold’s ninth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles earned one team point to give the Wildcat girls 17 team points for the meet, earning them a 23rd place finish – one of the highest finishes ever for a Wildcat team at the state tournament.  Peterson said “Ava making the finals in the 300 hurdles was great.  She had been to state two years ago, but didn’t qualify in the event last year.  And she holds the school record of 46.08 seconds, which she set at the section meet this year.  She has a great future in track and field.”  Bringgold and fellow senior Bene Smith are going to compete in track at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls next year.  “Bene had been to state in relays the past two years, but this was the first year she qualified in her individual event, the pole vault.  That was cool to see.”

The 3200-meter race was also a success for the Wildcat boys.  Senior Biruk Killeen came in sixth in the race to earn four team points, and his time of 9:23.31 broke the boys’ school record set in 1996 by Chris Anderson, who was on hand to witness his record being broken.

Senior Nathaniel Bear finished eighth in the pole vault to earn the other two team points for the Wildcats boys, giving the Wildcat boys a tie for 37th place.

Another outstanding Wildcat freshman was Madison Eagle, who led an excellent Wildcat throwing crew.  Eagle came in 12th in the shot put and 16th in the discus.  Senior Laura Carlson placed 14th in the shot put, and her sister, sophomore Linnea Carlson, finished 20th in the discus.  Laura and 

Linnea Carlson, along with their sister, eighth-grader Libby Carlson, also went to state as part of the Wildcat lacrosse team.  For the boys, 6’7” sophomore Will Pearson finished 13th in the shot put.  Peterson said “Linnea, Maddie and Will showed up [at state] and got great experience.  They weren’t all at their PRs, but they threw well and learned a lot.”

The other Wildcat freshman who made it to state in an individual event was McKaylie Malek, who placed 19th in the 100-meter hurdles.  “Our ninth-grade class was our next biggest class at state after the seniors,” said Peterson.  “The strong senior class that led the way this season was a huge benefit.  And there is a large group of friends that push and challenge each other in various sports and to see them work together this year was really great.  And the support of the alumni and community for our program is fantastic  It was fun to see that we had alumni there who just came to cheer the kids on.”

NORTH BRANCH

There were plenty of highlights for the girls clad in red and black, as well. 

North Branch qualified a ton of short distance runners as well as a pile of pole vaulters.

Sophomore Sophia Thorsen finished in sixth place in the 200 meter dash.

Ella Kuhlman finished 14th in the 400 meter dash.

Kuhlman, Dakota Esget, Ella Dick and Thorsen teamed up to finish in sixth in the 4x100 meter relay in 49.28 seconds.

The 4x200 team also finished in sixth place with Kuhlman, Sophia Benedict, Esget and Thorsen finishing in 1:43.86 to gather points for the Vikings.

In pole vaulting, Dick had a great meet, finishing second in the event. Her height tied for tops in the state, but Taylar Bockoven of Milaca did it in less tries.

Esget came in ninth in the event and Brooke Giese, a junior, came in 13th.

That group of girls propelled the Vikings all the way to 16th place as a team with 23 points, which is an amazing finish for the Vikings.

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