Class A Boys Recap
4x800m
Going into the 4x800m race, the Park Rapids boys were the heavy favorite as they came in with the top qualifying time that was almost four seconds ahead of the competition. They didn't disappoint at the state meet on their way to a time of 8:12.86 that eclipsed their previous state-best time of 8:15.67 from the Section 8A meet.
Three other squads also eclipsed Park Rapids season-best time of 8:15.67; the Nova Classical Academy boys (8:14.55), Lake City boys (8:14.60), and the Pequot Lakes boys (8:15.29). All around, eight relays surpassed their previous season-best time.
110m Hurdles
Jayson Ekiyor came into this race as the defending state champion and with a qualifying time almost a whole second better than the nearest competitor. Well, today he cruised his way to victory with a time of 14.51. His time of 14.51 was the only mark under 15 seconds, and it eclipsed his 2019 championship time of 14.96.
100m
Only one guy had been under 11 seconds all season long for the 100m dash in Class A. Max Reis came into the meet with the top qualifying time of 11.01 and the top time in Class A this season of 10.86.
Reis didn't disappoint at the state meet with a winning time of 10.84, but a couple of other boys made some big strides to make the race more interesting. Sanjay Redd finished in second place with a 10.99. It was his first time running under 11.00 and a 0.06 second PR. Ashton Sandbulte PR'd by 0.09 seconds to finish in third place with a time of 11.02. Over half the field PR'd (9 of 16 runners).
4x200m
The fifth-seeded qualifier in the 4x200 came out with the win in the first upset of the day. The Mora boys out-paced their qualifying time of 1:31.93, to take the win with a time of 1:30.23. This exceeded all expectations of them, even though they had previously run the second-best time in the state of 1:31.10.
1600m
Even though he came in with the top-seeded time of 4:17.56, Cameron Stocke exceeded all expectations to come very very close to setting a new Class A 1600m state meet record. Stocke ran a 4:12.94 to come very close to Shane Streich's Class A record of 4:12.02 from 2015.
Stocke was able to beat out the defending state champion, Geno Uhrbom, who finished in 3rd place with a time of 4:19.39. Perhams Jacob McCleary finished as the runner-up with a time of 4:16.38. Both McCleary and Stocke surpassed Uhrboms winning time from 2019.
4x100m
Even though St. Charles ran better than their qualifying time, three others teams were able to surpass them and set new seasonal bests. Minnehaha Academy came away with the win with a time of 43.51, followed by Mora (43.53), and Spectrum (43.69). All four of the top teams surpassed the previous season-best time of 43.84 by St. Charles.
Five teams broke 44 seconds in this race, something that had previously only been done once this season.
400m
In the 400m, a whopping five runners surpassed the winning time of 50.51 by Kyler Bade from the 2019 state meet. In the race, Bade was able to defend his state title from 2019 by running a time of 49.63. He was the only runner in the race to break 50 seconds. He came in as the 7th ranked qualifier.
800m
The boys 800m had Cameron Stocke and Jacob McCleary trading spots en route to McCleary winning his first state title. Stocke and McCleary came into the race as the only Class A boys to run under 1:57.98 this season and they were considered the two favorites in this race. McCleary was able to take the win relatively easily as he ran a 1:56.92 to beat out Stocke who ran a 1:57.96.
High Jump
The high jump came down to the top two qualifiers in Peyton Johnsrud and Josh Creer-Oberstar. They were both able to jump 6' 5" on their second attempts at that height, being the only two to reach that height. They both cleared 6' 6" on their first attempt.
Once they reached 6' 7" was where it got interesting. Johnsrud hit 6' 7" on his first attempt, but it took Creer-Oberstar three attempts to hit 6' 7". They both bowed out at 6' 8", and since Johnsrud hit 6' 7" on one attempt, he was crowned the champion.
Pole Vault
This was the one event where we just about 100% guaranteed a champion going in. Going in Jarod White was not just the top qualifier, but also one of the all-time great pole vaulters in Minnesota. White in his last two meets had jumped 15' 10" and 16' 0". His jump of 16' 0" made him the third-best vaulter of all time in Minnesota.
Today, White started at 13' 6" which he easily made before making successful attempts at 14' 3" and 15' 3". He then went up in height to 15' 9" which he made on his first attempt. White then went up to 16' 2" which if he had made, would've been a state record. He did all three attempts at that height and made none.
His winning height of 15' 9" was two feet better than Perhams Levi Richter who jumped 13' 9".
Even though he didn't set the state record today, White is only a junior and still has his senior season to make another go at the record.
Discus
Stewartvilles basketball standout Will Tschetter came away with the discus title, with a throw of 175' 7" to beat out Deekon Anvid and Leo Silha. Tschetter came in as the 8th-ranked qualifier for state with a throw of 146' 9", which was far below his personal best of 173' 9". He came away with a new PR but the biggest surprise of the day was that Leo Silha threw almost 15 feet under his qualifying time.
In the end, four throwers surpassed the winning throw from 2019 of 162' 5".