Day 2 Highlights: 2022 State Track and Field Championships

Ryan Kotajarvi


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The 2022 MSHSL State Track and Field Championships returned to St. Michael-Albertville today with the start of this year's state meet. On day 2 we had the Class AA preliminary track events and the finals for Class A. 

See also: Day 1 Highlights: 2022 State Track and Field Championships

In the field events, we had the finals for the Class A boy's long jump, high jump, and discus; and the girl's triple jump pole vault, and shot put. For Class AA we had the boys and girls 3200m finals, the boy's triple jump, pole vault, and shot put finals; and the girl's long jump, high jump, and discus finals. 

Day 2 of the State Track and Field Championships was filled with some all-time great performances, returning state champions, and many memorable moments. 

So without further ado, here are the top performances from Day 2 of the 2022 MSHSL State Track and Field Championships. 

More 2022 State Champions Crowned

More champions for the 2022 MSHSL State Track and Field Championships were crowned in the following events:

Class AA:

Girls 3200m - Olivia Goebel
Boys 3200m - Shef West
Girls Long Jump - Olivia Keller
Boys Triple Jump - Anthony Borum
Boys Pole Vault - Brian Schloeder
Girls High Jump - Ainsley Hansen
Boys Shot Put - Jackson Weston
Boys Shot Put WC - Devin Filzen
Girls Discus - Bella Harriman
Girls Discus WC - Tayla Gassman

Class A:

Girls 4x800m - Luverne
Boys 4x800m - St. Cloud Cathedral
Girls 100m Hurdles - Shaina Zinter
Boys 110m Hurdles - Owen Petersohn
Girls 100m - Hope Schueller
Girls 100m WC - Emily Sullivan
Boys 100m - Ashton Sandbulte
Boys 100m WC - Aidan Gravelle
Girls 4x200m - GMLOKS
Boys 4x200m - Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted
Girls 1600m - Jade Rypkema
Boys 1600m - Jakob McCleary
Boys 1600m WC - Aidan Gravelle
Girls 4x100m - Minnehaha Academy
Boys 4x100m - Minneapolis North Community
Girls 400m - Ellie Kuechle
Boys 400m - Taevon Wells
Girls 300m Hurdles - Shaina Zinter
Boys 300m Hurdles - Owen Petersohn
Girls 800m - Tenley Nelson
Boys 800m - Jakob McCleary
Boys 800m WC - Tyler Shepersky
Girls 200m - Shaina Zinter
Girls 200m WC - Emily Sullivan
Boys 200m - Ashton Sandbulte
Boys 200m WC - Aidan Gravelle
Girls 4x400m - Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball
Boys 4x400m - St. Cloud Cathedral
Boys High Jump - Jory Peters
Girls Pole Vault - Cecily Fager
Boys Long Jump - Makoi Perich
Girls Triple Jump - Grace VanErp
Boys Discus - Ethan Fischer
Boys Discus WC - Aidan Gravelle
Girls Shot Put - Monica Johnson
Girls Shot Put WC - Emily Sullivan

Nova Classical Academy and Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball Crowned State Champions

Nova Clasical beat out Perham by just half a point (47.5 to 47 points) to be crowned the Class A Boys State Champions. The Nova boys were led by Finn McCormick who scored 22 points and Henry Karelitz who scored 14 points in the 1600m and 3200m. Perhams chance for the state title came down to the boy's 4x400m relay where they finished in 5th place, just one spot away from the state title. 

The Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball girls won the Class A Girls State Title over Concordia Academy in a 13-point landslide victory (81 to 68). Their points were evenly spread over 9 girls events, with the most points coming from Ellie Kuechle who contributed 37 points in the long jump, 400m, 4x200m, and the 4x400m. She scored 17 points in her individual events and ran third in the 4x200m and anchored the 1st place 4x400m for 20 points. 

Shaina Zinter Excels in Final HS Track Meet

In her final high school track and field meet, Shaina Zinter did her thing and set some records, scored a bunch of points, and won a few more state titles. Zinter won the Class A girls 100m hurdles, the 300m hurdles, and the 200m. Overall she scored 46 points for Concordia Academy by winning her three events (36 points) and by finishing second in the long jump for 10 points. 

Overall, Zinter won 5 state titles over her career and was probably robbed of a few more by the pandemic. Zinter will run next spring for the University of Wisconsin. 

Ethan Fischer Becomes 12th MN Boys Over 190' in the Discus

With his first throw of the day Ethan Fischer threw 184' 1" to set a new personal best throw in the discus. With his second throw he made state history with a throw of 191' even to become just the 12th Minnesota boy all-time to throw over 190 feet. 

Fischer's mark of 191' was the easy winner for the Class A boys diwcus where he won by over 26 feet. He is the first Minnesota boy to throw over 190 feet in the discus since Maxwell Otterdahl in 2019. He is one of only three Minnesota boys to throw over 190 feet at the State Meet after Otterdahl and Jake Kubiatowicz. 

His throw of 191' 0" ranks him 26th overall nationally in 2022 as of this writing. 

Aiden Gravelle Breaks Three Class A State Meet Wheelchair Records

Aiden Gravelle apparently came into the state meet as a man on a mission as he broke three Class A State Meet Records in the 100m, 200m, and 1600m wheelchair events. In the 100m and 200m, Gravelle broke Peyton Gunnarson's records of 16.24 in the 100m (set in 2021) and 30.86 in the 200m (set in 2018), with his times of 16.15 and 30.49.

Gravelle broke his own 1600m Class A State Meet record with a time of 4:13.26 eclipsing his record of 4:13.84 that he set back in 2019. He ranks 2nd all-time for Minnesota boys in the 100m, 3rd all-time in the 200m, and 2nd all-time in the 1600m. 

Monica Johnson Breaks Class A State Meet Shot Put Record

Monica Johnson set a new Class A State Meet Girls Shot put record with a monster throw of 46' 4.75" to take home her first state title, after finishing 2nd in the shot put at the last two state meets. Johnson broke the record previously held by DeLaSalle's Brianne Carmichael who threw 45' 5.75" back in 2003.

Johnson's throw of 46' 4.75" moves her into 9th place all-time on the Minnesota girls all-time shot put rankings, just ahead of International Falls Emma Gilbert. As of this writing, her shot put mark of 46' 4.75" ranks her 23rd nationally among all girls.