Minnesota T&F State Meet Day 3 Recap - Class AA

Class AA Boys Recap

4x800m

The Andover boys pulled off an upset in the 4x800 after coming in as the fifth-ranked qualifier, and with the fifth-best time in the state this season. They ran a 7:54.58 to pull past higher-ranked teams Wayzata, Edina, Brainerd, and Bemidji to take the win. Andover, Bemidji, and Andover all posted sub 8:00 minute relay times, the first in the state this season. 

Coming from the first heat (slower ranked teams), Rochester Century came in with the 11th ranked qualifying time of 8:16.29. They ended up running an 8:01.54 to move up seven spots and place 4th overall for a new school record. 

110m Hurdles

George Jackson came in as the heavy favorite and came out as the state champion. Jackson ran a 14.09 to easily take the win over his teammate Sam Duffing who ran a 14.50. Sam Monseth had a huge PR of 14.94 to place 3rd overall. 

100m

Gary Afram came into the 100m as the favorite after consistently running that state's best times all season long. He didn't disappoint as he ran a personal best 10.70 to take the win over Julian Tong who ran a 10.76. 

Eleven runners ran 11.00 seconds or better including, Christian Belt and Justice Lee who ran a sub 11.00 second 100m for the first time. 

1600m

Gabe Smit completed the double in the 1600m and 3200m to become a two-time state champion today. Smit ran a 4:15.96 to beat out Ben Scheller who ran a 4:17.75 for the Class AA 1600m state title. 

Going into the meet, Smit owned Class AAs top 1600m time this season of 4:12.44 but came in as the 9th fastest qualifier from sections. Ben Scheller was the top qualifier at 4:17.41. Compared to expectations, it was a bit of a slow race as only two guys PR'd (Evan Myran and Jacob Bennett). 

400m

In a mild upset, Gus Langford defeated Ramy Ayoub in the 400m for the state title. Langford set a new PR of 48.64 to defeat Ayoub who finished runner up with a time of 49.02. 

Fourth-place finisher Miles Townsend set a new PR of 49.78. That was a huge improvement over his old PR of 50.40 and his first time running sub a sub 50 second 400m. 

800m

William Skelly did what he does best, and ran a blazing 800m to capture the state title. Skelly ran a 1:53.46 to set a new personal best to edge out runner-up Bryce Stachewicz who ran a 1:54.71. 

The fifth through ninth place runners, all set new personal bests times in the 800m. Eli Salisbury improved his PR by almost two whole seconds. Top qualifier Ramy Ayoub was scratched after running the 400m earlier in the day.  

Pole Vault

One of the best battles of the day came in the boy's Class AA pole vault. Five vaulters hit 14' 0", including four of the guys on their first attempt. Three guys then were able to hit 14' 3", but only state champion Jack Helmich was able to hit 14' 6". Helmich hit 14' 6" on his first attempt, while Ethan Hintermeister and Nathan Nelson bowed out of their three attempts. 

Hintermeister finished second after hitting 14' 3" on his first attempt, while Nelson took two attempts to hit at 14' 3". Coming in nelson had a PR of 13' 0" and was the eighth-ranked qualifier. He PR'd on four different vaults after hitting 13' 0" on his third vault of the day. 

Discus and Shot Put

Wasecas Marcus Hansen won both the discus and shot put handily to complete the throwing double at state. He threw 178' 8" for a new personal best in the PR. The runner-up Hayden Bills threw 165' 1". In the shot put, Hansen threw 63' 2.25" for another personal best. The runner-up was Jackson Weston from Grand Rapids with a throw of 54' 10". 

Today, Hansen was also named the 2021 Mr. Minnesota Track & Field! Congrats Marcus.