Eagan’s Koenen finishes third in 200
Apple Valley senior Dwyne Smith Jr. earned three medals at the boys Class 3A track and field finals, including the one he wanted most – for first place in the 400-meter dash.
Smith, running the 400 at state for the fourth consecutive year, took first in 47.55 seconds in the finals June 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School. He was 1.09 seconds ahead of Burnsville junior Albert Ongwenyi, the runner-up.
Smith’s highest previous finish in the 400 was second to Ramy Ayoub of Farmington two years ago. Smith and Ayoub will be teammates at the University of Minnesota in the fall.
In the 100, Smith finished fourth in 10.72. He was runner-up in the 200 with a personal-best 21.43, also the second-fastest time recorded in Minnesota this season.
Irondale senior Juriad Hughes Jr. won the 100 in 10.35 and the 200 in 21.22. He added a victory in the long jump for a trifecta of state first-place medals.
Smith holds the all-time state 400-meter record of 46.87, set in the Section 3 finals May 31 (he ran 46.93 at the Hamline Elite Meet in late April, becoming the first Minnesota high school athlete to break 47 seconds in the event).
The all-time Minnesota State High School League meet record of 47.34 was set by Ayoub two years ago. That record did fall, going to Mound Westonka senior Jack Markstrom, who ran 47.28 to win the Class 2A 400 meters.
The sprinter who might have been able to push Smith toward the state meet record – defending Class 3A champion Harlow Tong of St. Paul Central – missed the event because of an injury. Smith and Tong are the only Minnesota athletes to go below 47 seconds in the 400.
“I was looking forward to running against Harlow,” Smith said. With Tong out of the meet, “I just wanted to push myself, try to go for another all-time state record. But honestly, once I got into the race and felt that wind on the back stretch, I just looked to secure the win.”
Smith said he thought he got everything he could have from his 200 and 400 races and came close in the 100.
“In the 100 I didn’t get what I was really looking for,” he said. “Fourth place is great, but I wanted to get a (personal record), which right now is 10.60.
“But I’m 100 percent satisfied with the 200 and 400. I have the record for the 100, 200 and 400 at my school now, so I can’t really be much happier than that.”
He scored 28 points in the three sprints, enough to lift Apple Valley to 11th place in the Class 3A team standings.
Eagan
The Wildcats tied for 19th in the Class 3A boys team competition and tied for 29th in the girls meet.
Eagan scored 21 points in the boys meet. Senior Blake Koenen and junior Noah Daniel earned points in individual events, with Koenen taking third in the 200 in 21.86 and Daniel placing sixth in the 800 in a personal-best 1 minute, 54.95 seconds.
Koenen and Daniel also were factors on two Eagan relays that medaled in the state finals. The 4x100 relay of Nicholas Tesdall, Brooklyn Evans, Tyler Sperl and Koenen placed fourth in 42.25. Daniel anchored the 4x400 relay, with Adam Dorsey, Owen Ford and Jake Sondag running the first three legs. They placed seventh in a season-best 3:22.80.
Eagan’s girls team reached the state finals in two relays. Norah Sjerven, Lilah Bartels, Ella Walters and Ava Ligtenberg were sixth in the 4x800 in a season-best 9:23.21. Also placing sixth was the Wildcats’ 4x400 relay of Josie Seehafer, Walters, Sjerven and Ligtenberg, which ran a season-best 3:57.95.
Burnsville
Blaze junior Albert Ongwenyi medaled at state in the boys 400 meters for the second consecutive year. He took second in the finals in 48.64 seconds, finishing behind only state champion Dwyne Smith Jr. of Apple Valley.
Ongwenyi finished fifth in the 400 at the 2023 state meet.
He scored all 10 of the Burnsville boys’ team points at state. Caleb Kamara (100) and Jeremy Sherlock (long jump) also competed in the Class 3A meet, and Burnsville also was in the 4x200 relay preliminaries.
Burnsville got on the team scoreboard in two events in the Class 3A girls meet. Sophomore Carley LaMotte ran the 1,600 meters, finishing seventh in a personal-record 4:58.17.
Senior Madison Malecha tied for seventh in the high jump at 5-2, only 2 inches short of the winning height. Four jumpers cleared 5-4, but all four missed three attempts at 5-5. Brainerd sophomore Cora Clough won the event because she had the fewest missed jumps through 5-4.
Eastview
Two Lightning athletes scored points in the boys Class 3A meet.
Bryson Mwaura, a junior, finished seventh in the 100 in 10.78 seconds. He ran the same time in preliminaries to advance to the finals.
Senior Samuel Ngando went 43-9.75 on his second triple jump attempt to finish eighth.
The Lightning were one of 50 schools to score team points in the Class 3A boys competition. They tied for 39th place with five points.
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