Best Features of 2021
Could Jalen Suggs Have Been A HS Track And Field Star?
We all know that Minnehaha Academy's Jalen Suggs is a college basketball superstar and a likely top-five NBA draft pick this year, but his high school track and field coach, Kristofor Sauer, believes he also could've been a track and field star also.
MileSplit Minnesota recently caught up with Kristofor to talk about Jalen Suggs short track and field career.
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A Conversation with Farmington Runner Anna Fenske
How do you feel now that you're done with your high school cross country career?
Honestly, it's a very bittersweet moment. Cross country is always my favorite time of year, and I loved (almost) every second of the season. I was kind of sad that cross was over, but I know I'll be out racing on the cross country course again, and I'm looking forward to that, but first; track season!!
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The Parents Story: An Interview with Mike and Kelly Scheller
Ever wanted to learn about cross country and the prospect of learning about a family of excellent runners, well look no further. MileSplit Minnesota recently caught up with Mike and Kelly Scheller, the parents of Nick, Ben, and Colin Scheller who have all run or ran for Chanhassen High School.
Is there a family history with running?
Both Kelly & I ran cross country in college at UW-Green Bay. She had an extremely successful high school career before that at New London High School (WI) along with her twin sister Kristy. Their grandpa, Tom Scheller, is in the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame and is still coaching at Racine St. Catherine's High School
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Talking Running with Rochester Century Coach Paul Callahan
See that big smile from Coach Callahan up above? I've had the privilege to see that smile often over the years since Callahan was my high school track and cross country coach. Callahan is the head coach of the cross country program at Rochester Century High School where he has led the team to four state meets, two sections championships, and four Big Nine Championships since 2008.
I had the privilege to catch up with Paul Callahan to talk about his history with running, how he got into coaching, his coaching experience, and his future with the sport.
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Minnesota's Owen Hoeft, the Last Mens Gopher Indoor Champion
MileSplit Minnesota recently caught up with University of Minnesota runner and Hopkins High School alumni Owen Hoeft to talk about his recent running accomplishments, what the future holds, and how to save the Gophers men indoor track and field program.
What were your goals coming into the Big Ten Track and Field Indoor Championships?
I wanted to get top 5 in both the 3k and the mile. I was coming off a mediocre 3k and hadn't run a mile in nearly a month and a half. I was prepared to race as hard as I could but wasn't really sure where I was at considering we were doing mostly cross country training until February 1.
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Nova Classical Academy - Overcoming Challenges
Written by Dennis Barker
Often when a team wins or has a good season people think everything has gone their way. But for the 2020 Nova Classical Academy boys cross country team, success wasn't about smooth sailing but overcoming a series of challenges. Not all of those challenges were unique to Nova. Every team in Minnesota faced challenges of uncertainty due to events and decisions over which they had little or no control. This is some insight into how Nova navigated the season and won the TCRC Cross Country Showcase small school division, the de facto state cross country championship.
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The Next Great 800m Runner? The Potential of Sydney Drevlow
We first became aware of Hopkins High Schools Sydney Drevlow when in her first official high school cross country race, she finished in 15th place with a time of 19:51.40 as a seventh-grader. Since her first high school competition, she has only gotten better. She had a top 5 finish at her first cross country state meet, finished in 9th place at the 2019 NXN Heartland race, and then finished her eighth-grade cross country season with a 7th place finish at the TCRC XC Showcase. Her 17:46.80 5k time from the NXN Heartland race is the third-fastest by a Minnesota eighth-grader all-time.
So coming into this track season we knew that Sydney was a very talented runner, but with no track experience since she ran AAU in 2018 we didn't know what to expect. We are now a month into the track and field season, and to say Sydney has blown away all expectations would be an understatement.
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Your Newest Olympians, Minnesotas Klecker and Otterdahl!
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Sam Scott Turns On Another Gear During Historic Season
Sam Scott won his 6th straight meet of the season and his 2nd straight Minneapolis City Conference title en route to making history at Gale Woods Farm.
Scott ran a state-leading time of 15:12.30 to beat out his teammate Owen Lindseth by 50 seconds for the title. His time of 15:12.30 is the second-fastest boys time ever at Gale Wood Farms, just 3 seconds behind Wayzata's Connor Olson.
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Remembering the Swain Meet from its Past Champions
With the cancellation of the Swain Meet for good, we at MileSplit Minnesota wanted to check in with some of the past champions of the race to see what their Swain Meet wins meant to them and their favorite Swain Meet race memories.
Run Since 1951, The Swain Invitational Comes To An End
The Swain Invitational had long been one of the biggest meets in Minnesota. In 1999 the Swain Invitational had a meet record of 85 teams run and 2300 participants. The meet normally had well over 60 teams and 1,500 participants.