Four out of the last five Aprils, track athletes and fans have enjoyed everything about the Hamline Elite Meet except the weather.
It almost seems the Hamline extravaganza is jinxed. One year it might be raining hard, the next year it might be 36 degrees, and the next year it might be both raining and cold. The meet was tolerable last Friday, but there was intermittent rain and a steady wind. Therefore, meet records from past seasons were not broken.
The best thing about Hamline Elite is that it brings together athletes from all three Minnesota track enrollment classes. There are the big schools like Minnetonka and Wayzata and there are the small schools like Hills-Beaver Creek, Barnum and Perham. Even if you’re from a small school, your times and meters can get you into the Elite Meet.
One of the problems this year is that the weather has not cooperated for April meets. So there are oddities, such as the fastest man in Minnesota, Tobias Williams of Minnetonka, not posting a qualifying time in the 100-meter dash, an event he won at state last spring.
Williams was prominent in Friday’s meet, even so. He long jumped 21 feet, 10.5 inches for fourth place. The winner was Cater Reckelberg of Class AA Becker, who jumped 22-9.
Minnetonka’s 4x100-meter relay was the Hamline Elite champion with Hadi Ibrahim, Williams, Grady Giebenhain and Will Hairston running 42.59.
Friday’s highlights
I had a chance to follow some of my favorite local athletes, while bouncing from one event to another Friday afternoon. Edina had two high place winners in field events. Nick Presthus triple jumped 43 feet, 1 inch for eighth place and Tate Rasmussen high jumped 6-2 for fifth place. It was disappointing that the high jump and pole vault were held indoors because of the rain, but safety concerns figured in that decision.
“Tate Rasmussen is going to have a warm day outside pretty soon, and I think he will clear 6-6 or even higher,” Edina head coach Matt Gabrielson said.
Edina girls sprinter Molly Bennett tan 57.33 to take second place in the 400 Friday. The only runner ahead of her was Lake Conference rival Emma Kvant of St. Michael-Albertville.
Relay duel
The race between the girls 4x800-meter relay teams from Minnetonka and Wayzata was one of the best events of the afternoon. Wayzata led early on, but Minnetonka ninth-grader Evie Malec brought the baton home for first place. Wayzata was second and another of our local teams, St. Louis Park, finished 10th.
Girls high jump competition came down to Annaka Forsberg of Class A Blooming Prairie and Minnetonka’s Mya Folken. Both cleared 5-6 indoors with Folken winning via the “fewer misses” criteria.
Providence Academy senior Brooke Hohenecker had a pair of top performances with a second place in the 200-meter dash and a fourth place in the 100. She was one of the first athletes to arrive at the venue and one of the first on the track for warmups.
In the open 800 for girls, Sydney Drevlow of Hopkins placed third and Minnetonka’s Malec took fourth place.
The breakthrough athlete of the Hamline Elite Meet might have been Edina sophomore sprinter Cooper Drake, who took third in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. He ran the 200 in 22.94 and the 400 in 48.84.
Hopkins junior Henry Risser continued to make a statement with a second place in the 800-meter run. His time was 1:55.44. Jack Leuer, the star runner from Big Lake, beat Risser by a stride.
A double winner
As expected, Claire Kohler, the Minnetonka High junior, won both girls hurdles events. She won the 100s in 14.32 seconds and the 300s in 43.53. Her teammate, senior Anna McKinney, took sixth in the 300s and Providence Academy basketball phenom Maddyn Greenway was seventh in the 300s.
Will Weber, the junior 3200-meter runner from Wayzata, took second place at Hamline. Tyler Vos of Minnetonka finished second in the 1600 with a personal best of 4:19.39.
Congratulations to all of the athletes who persevered through a rainy afternoon to give it their all on the Hamline track. It is always a pleasure to watch so many great athletes perform.
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