Benjamin and Woods rise high for Park Center at state

Park Center track and field got a share of the spotlight last week with two competitors at the Class AAA state meet on June 6 and 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School. The strength of the program’s girls athletes was on display in the 300-meter hurdles and girls triple jump.

Maya Woods

Park Center junior Maya Woods took on a competitive crowd in the girls 300-meter hurdles last week at the state meet, finishing 11th in the preliminary round with a time of 48.14. The preliminary was won by Minnetonka’s Claire Kohler with a time of 43.85 seconds.

Woods had a busy and impressive junior year, shining in the hurdles along with performances in the 100 meters, 400 meters, and 4x200 relay. Her season-best time in the 300-meter hurdles came at the right time when she hit 45.85 at the Section 5AAA Championships to earn second place and a state meet spot.

Breanna Benjamin

Park Center senior Breanna Benjamin starred in the girls triple jump, earning sixth in a crowd of 18 at the Class AAA meet. She reached a mark of 36 feet, 4 inches from three attempts, which reached 434.50, 432.50, and 436.00 respectively.

Benjamin qualified for state by reaching personal best at the Section 5AAA Championships, finishing first with a mark of 37-7.75. Prior to that, she also took first in the triple jump at the section True Team meet and District 279 Championships. She earned second at both the Armstrong and Osseo invitationals.

She competed in three other events this season, including the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and long jump.