Wayzata Girls Distance Produces Historic Results in 2023

Jul 20, 2023

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For a school that has continuously produced top-tier distance talent in Minnesota with runners such as Anna French, Emma Atkinson, Ruby Stauber, and Jaycie Thomsen; 2023 sure was a special year for the Wayzata girls distance squad.

It was a banner year for the Wayzata girls with runners breaking records left and right, winning state titles, and having runners emerge as some of the top future distance talents in Minnesota. Those runners included Teegan Anderson, Grace Weber, Maddie Gullickson, Alyson Kleyman, Grace Mignone, Jazleen Malherek-Osorio, and Abbey Nechanicky.

Combined this year those girls won three individual state titles (sweeping the Class AAA distance titles), won the 4x800m relay state title, set a new state record in the 4x800m, won three Section 6AAA titles, and helped lead Wayzata to a 2nd place finish at the MSHSL State Championships and the MSHSCA State True Team Championships.

Wayzata Girls Distance State Meet Results - 2023 (800m-3200m)

Event	Runner(s)	Time	Place
800m	Grace Weber	2:10.44	1st
800m	Teegan Anderson	2:10.99	2nd
1600m	Teegan Anderson	4:51.61	1st
3200m	Maddie Gullickson	10:39.55	1st
3200m	Grace Mignone	11:10.09	12th
4x800m	Alyson Kleyman, Jazleen Malherek-Ocosio, Grace Mignone, & Maddie Gullickson	9:16.53	1st

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After some narrow misses at last year's state meet, Teegan Anderson won her first state title (individual) in the 1600m, finished 2nd in the 800m at state, helped Wayzata break the girl's 4x800m state record, and helped the Wayzata girls finish 2nd in the girls 4x1-Mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor. She graduates ranking #6 in Minnesota all-time for the 800m and 18th all-time in the 1600m (not including converted 1-mile times).

Grace Weber also won her first state title in the 800m with a time of 2:10.44 which ranks her #9 in state history. She was also one of the best 400m runners in Minnesota, ranking #9 this season with a time of 56.87 and winning the 400m race at the True Team State Meet.

Related: Vote for the Minnesota Girl's Track and Field Athlete of the Year

Grace Mignone was just one of eleven Minnesota girls this season to break the 5-minute barrier in the 1600m, ran the #7 time in the 3200m for all Minnesota girls, and was an integral part of Wayzatas state champion 4x800m team and state record 4x800m team.

Finally, though she may have run only one race this outdoor season, Abbey Nechanicky had a record-filled indoor season and her one outdoor race just happened to be a state record race. This indoor season, Nechanicky broke the state records for the 1-Mile and 2-Mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor and also finished 2nd in the 4x1-Mile with her Wayzata teammates. This outdoor season in her one race, Nechanicky along with her Wayata teammates broke the state 4x800m record running the #8 time nationally this outdoor season. Her indoor times in the mile and 2-mile both rank #2 all-time in Minnesota for combined indoor/outdoor rankings.

2023 Minnesota Girls Distance Rankings (Wayzata)

Event	Runner(s)	Time	Ranking
800m	Teegan Anderson	2:10.26	1st
800m	Grace Weber	2:10.44	2nd
800m	Maddie Gullickson	2:15.27	15th
800m	Alyson Kleyman	2:15.86	18th
1600m	Teegan Anderson	4:51.61	3rd
1600m	Grace Mignone	4:59.28	11th
1600m	Maddie Gullickson	5:05.08	20th
3200m	Maddie Gullickson	10:39.55	2nd
3200m	Grace Mignone	10:47.79	7th
3200m	Jazleen Malherek-Osorio	10:58.32	20th
4x800m	Grace Weber, Grace Mignone, Abbey Nechanicky, and Teegan Anderson	8:59.04	1st

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Teegan Anderson (University of Tennessee), Grace Weber (University of Minnesota), Abbey Nechanicky (University of Colorado), and Grace Mignone (University of Minnesota) all graduated last month, but the future is bright with their returners.

Maddie Gullickson is the top returning 3200m runner in Minnesota for next spring and ranks as the #18 3200m nationally for her class. Gullickson also ranks as the #9 returning 800m runner and the #12 returning 1600m runner.

Alyson Kleyman ranks as the #11 returning 800m runner in Minnesota with a time of 2:15.86 and the #13 returning 1600m runner with a time of 5:05.46.

Jazleen Malherek-Ocosio ranks as the #15 returning 800m runner, the #16 returning 1600m runner, and the #16 returning 3200m runner.

Kleyman will be a junior next year and Gullickson and Malherek-Osorio will be sophomores, so the three girls still have plenty of time/seasons left to continue some more Wayzata distance dominance and then usher in the next era of Wayzata distance greats after them.