Boys
Jumpers
With Minnesota's top five long jumpers from last year's Class AA Championships having graduated, there will certainly be lots of changes at the top of the podium. In fact, there are only three athletes who could make the podium for consecutive years - Champlin Park's Ernest Worjloh (who finished 6th last year and 5th in 2016), Hopkin's King Allah (who was 7th in his first year of track), and Mankato West's Jonathan Sikel (who broke out in his freshman year for a 9th-place finish). Each jumper has leaped over the 22-foot mark, with Worjloh's 22-8.75 coming in as the top returning mark in Class AA, but perhaps the most interesting name to watch is Sikel, who last year jumped the second-best jump ever for a freshman at 22-4. Three other athletes return who qualified for State last year. Mahtomedi's John Sass is the only other Class AA athlete with better than a 22-foot jump, and he finished 12th last year after a greater-than three-foot improvement over 2016 (when his PR was just over 19 feet). Finishing 18th was Stillwater's Zach Jonson, who owns a 21-7 career best long jump. And then by far the most versatile returner is Lakeville South's Brittan Burns. His long jump PR is 21-8.75, but he's been competing in multi events for years and just competed at the New Balance Indoor nationals in the pentathalon. A number of other exciting athletes did not make it to State last year, including Wayzata sophomore Dante White (who also has a top-ten all time jump for a freshman), St. Michael-Albertville's Mitchell Kartes, Burns' teammate Marquis Tonsager, and Rocori senior Dawson Torborg.
Surprisingly, the Triple Jump competition in Class AA looks quite different near the top compared to the long jump, and not just because the top six places from State have graduated. In fact, not one of the top long jumpers already mentioned has yet leaped over 44 feet in the triple jump (which, of course doesn't mean they won't break out in the triple this spring). Based on last season's season bests, the clear favorite in the event is Park Center's Stephen Ayobamidele, who took 8th last year at State. Ayobamidele, younger brother to the graduated four-time All State sprinter Feyisayo Aybamidele, made the leap of his life at sections when he popped a jump of 45-5 after previously not having jumped over 43 feet. The athletes with the closest PRs to Ayobamidele are STMA's Xavier Thurman and Highland Park's Josh Aune, both of whom have leaped a hair under 45 feet. Aune is the highest-placing returner from State last year thanks to his 7th-place finish, while Thurman took 10th. Sandwiched between those three athletes was Owatonna's Dalton Kubista in 9th place. Also returning from a State appearance last year are Bemidji sophomore Ryan Bieberdorf, James Kaczor of St. Cloud Tech, Eagan's Grant Oettinger, and the aforementioned John Sass of Mahtomedi. One of the top athletes who did not qualify for State last year was Wayzata's John Taylor, who owns a PR of 44-4 from the Hamline Elite Meet from last year. Jacob Gray of Mounds View and Peyton Zahler of STMA also could factor into the final results.
The high jump competition at this point looks like it will come down to a battle between two athletes - defending Class AA champion Eli Hylen of St. Francis, and Hamline Elite Meet champion Maguire Petersen of Hutchinson. Hylen and Petersen are the only athletes in Class AA that have already cleared 6-5, and both jumpers were remarkably consistent in 2017. And with Hylen taking home a State Championship as a sophomore, he is in line to achieve a rare three-peat for a Class AA boy. If either of those two athletes falter, however, Burnsville junior Joe Fee or Chaska junior Noah Cvetnic could also rise up and steal a few wins away from the favorites, both Fee and Cvetnic have cleared 6-5 already, and are coming off seasons where they qualified for State. Also returning from State are the aforementioned triple jumpers Thurman and Aune, while New Prague's Christian Velishek or Anoka's Dakota Mckenzie could both improve on their career best heights of 6-4.
Throwers
Gone are Jake Kubiatowicz, Eric Rousemiller, Trevor Otterdahl, and Kaleb Siekmeier, along with a boatload of great athletes from 2017. In fact in the Class AA shot put competition at State, only two of the 17 competetors were not seniors. Those two throwers were Thomas Zinnah of Champlin Park and James Kaczor from St. Cloud Tech, who finished 13th and 15th respectively. Remarkably, Kaczor (an NDSU football commit) is also one of the top triple jumpers in the state, making him one of the state's most remarkably versatile athletes. The only athlete with a better PR than Kaczor's best toss of 53-6.75 is Alexandria's Bryce Ludwig and his throw of 55-2.25. Unfortunately, Ludwig finished 5th in possibly the best-throwing section in the state, including finishing behind Kaczor. Also out of Section 8AA is Detroit Lake's Jay Nielsen, who owns a career-best of 50-9.25, so all three will need to hit the qualifier to get out of that tough section. Meanwhile, Burnsville's Kyle Atkinson and Rosemount's Maxwell Otterdahl (who will be trying to continue the family legacy preceding him by brothers Trevor and Payton) have both thrown over 52 feet as sophomores, and will also be in the mix by the end of the season.
The discus was not nearly as decimated by graduation as the shot put, with six state qualifiers coming back for more, including the incoming favorite Ludwig. With a toss of 172 feet, nearly nine feet more than everyone else in Class AA, Ludwig will most likely improve on his fourth-place finish from last year. The only other podium finisher returning is 8th-place John Herlofsky from Spring Lake Park, who had his best throw of the season at State last year with 163-5. That toss is just slightly better than Nielsen's best of 163-3, and the 162-3 toss from future Gopher thrower Michael Fahim out of Mounds View. The only other throwers that have cleared 160 feet in the state are Matt Borowicz of Lakeville South and Garrett Shumski from Mankato West. The last returning state qualifier from last year (who also qualified for State in 2016) is Shakopee's Eric Sedlacek.
Vaulters
There really is just one name at this point to focus on in Class AA pole vaulting - Cavlin Ciganik of Mounds View. State Champion in 2016 as a sophomore, Ciganik battles injuries during his junior season and ended up as the state runner up last year. However, Ciganik has already been on fire this winter, becoming just the second Minnesota boy ever to clear 16 feet in competition during a pole vault showcase last month at his future school, the Air Force Academy. With that leap, Ciganik is now an even two-feet clear of his nearest Class AA competitor, Maple Grove's Shawn Shindler, who was the 4th-place finisher at State last year.
Those two vaulters are the only ones who have cleared 14 feet in competition. Unlike the throwing events, most of last year's State qualifiers will be returning in 2017, including the juniors Alex Wittman of East Ridge (who finished 5th) and Ben Hidani (who was 9th). Mike Louderback is another junior who's name needs to be watched, not only for his 13-5.5 PR, but also the fact that he is teammates with Ciganik at Mounds View. And some seniors who are set up to make a big jump before they graduate are Matthew Thompson, Bailey Kwong, Alex Gillard, August Leopold, and Aiden Wison, all of whom have cleared 13-6. Naturally, with an event that is as technically demanding as the pole vault, we will certainly see some extreme improvement from dozens of athletes that are not even on the radar right now.