2007 Graduate BJ Otto stills hold the boys long jump record for the Hamline Elite Meet
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Every year, the Hamline Elite Meet brings together top-tier athletes, and each year, we witness extraordinary performances that rewrite the record books. Last year, three records fell, showcasing the incredible talent on display. However, three records from the inaugural meet in 2006 still stand as a testament to the exceptional athleticism of their record holders.
In 2006, Mike Torchia set an impressive boys 3200m record with a time of 8:59.18, a mark that has yet to be surpassed. Similarly, Bria Wetsch's girls 1600m record of 4:49.50 stands as a testament to her remarkable speed and endurance, and BJ Otto's boys Long Jump record of 23 feet 6 inches remains untouched, highlighting his exceptional skill and athleticism.
As we look forward to another exciting Hamline Elite Meet this week, we celebrate these records and the incredible athletes who continue to push the boundaries of track and field excellence.
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One of Minnesota's all-time great distance runners, at the time of his graduation, Torchia was a 2x State XC Champion, a 3x State Track Champion and held the Minnesota state record in the 3200m. With his time of 8:59.18 at the 2006 Hamline Elite Meet, Torchia became the first Minnesota high school boy all-time to break that 9 minute barrier for the 3200 meters.
All-Time MN Boys 3200m Times (Includes Converted 2-Mile Times)
| Rank | Runner | Time |
| 1 | Eliott Heath | 8:43.07 |
| 2 | Mike Torchia | 8:47.73 |
| 3 | Rob Finnerty | 8:47.89 |
| 4 | Hassan Mead | 8:48.15 |
| 5 | Joe Klecker | 8:50.12 |
Other's have come close to breaking Torchia's meet record, most recently Robert Mechura ran a time of 9:00.82 to threaten the record. The closest call came when Jaret Carpenter ran a time of 8:59.76 to come within a second of the record back in 2016. Mechura and a plethora of other fantastic runners return this year, might this be the year when the record goes down?
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Wetsch is still holding the girls 1600m all these later even as such accomplished runners such as Emily Covert, Abbey Nechanicky, Lauren Ping and more have come and gone. Wetsch's time of 4:49.50 is still the meet record 18 year's later and her best 1600m time of 4:48.30 ranks as the #7 time in all-time in Minnesota still.
Her meet record time of 4:49.50 has seen some scares over the years, as Lauren Ping and Sydney Drevlow have come within less than two seconds of it, and Lauren Peterson, Bethany Hasz and Isabelle Schmitz have come within 3 seconds of it. Schmitz returns this year with her best Hamline time of 4:52.07, might this be the year the record goes down?
| Rank | Runner | Time |
| 1 | Bria Wetsch | 4:49.50 |
| 2 | Lauren Ping | 4:50.64 |
| 3 | Sydney Drevlow | 4:50.93 |
| 4 | Lauren Peterson | 4:51.78 |
| 5 | Bethany Hasz | 4:51.91 |
| 6 | Isabelle Schmitz | 4:52.07 |
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A junior at the 2006 Hamline Elite Meet, Otto leaped ahead of the pack en route to a Hamline Elite Meet record of 23 feet 6 inches, a mark that has been unmatched by the best of the best Minnesota has to offer in the year's since. His mark of 23' 6" is still a top 30 mark of all-time in Minnesota among all performances and his PR of 24' 8.75" ranks #3 all-time in Minnesota only behind current Irondale standout Juriad Huges Jr. and Von Shepard.
All-Time MN Boys Long Jump Marks
| Rank | Runner | Mark |
| 1 | Juriad Hughes Jr. | 24' 11.75" |
| 2 | Von Shepard | 24' 9.25" |
| 3 | BJ Otto | 24' 8.75" |
| 4 | Leonard Jones | 24' 4.75" |
| T-5 | Dave Eiland | 24' 3" |
| T-5 | Tyrone Minor | 24' 3" |
Only three boys have come close to BJ Otto's mark of 23' 6", both Isaiah Weston and Trevon Clay jumped 23' 3" in 2016 and Mason Roomes wasn't far behind that same year with a jump of 23'. This year's challengers might be up to the task of breaking the record as state record holder Juriad Hughes Jr. is in the pack as is the current state leader in Carter Reckelberg who owns a PR of 23' 7.5".