State champs! Fridley boys, Anoka's Salami win track and field championships

Seven. Six. Five. Two. One.

Seven podium performances, put together by six superstar performers.

Five top-three finishes, including two individual state titles.

A weekend of eye-popping numbers, all adding up to one: Fridley boys track and field as the final team standing at the Class AA Track and Field Championships at St. Michael-Albertville June 6-8, team state champions.

“This is the outcome these boys deserved,” Fridley head coach Elizabeth Winkelman said. “They have worked so hard and are so deserving of this recognition. I just keep saying that this is a once in a lifetime experience with a once in a lifetime group of kids.

“I could not be more proud of the team and their performances. All of our boys did what they needed to do in their events, not only for themselves, but also for the team. This is an incredible group of kids; not even just their athletic abilities, but they are phenomenal leaders and just genuinely great kids. Us coaches had talked early on in the season about how if all went well we had a shot at winning state, but we had some injuries early on in the season with two of the boys, so we had just started focusing on even making it to state.”

As the state meet unfolded, that focus grew.

The opening day of competition featured preliminary races and half of the field events, among them the boys triple jump.

Fridley senior Fadel Johnson, whose first full season in the event a year ago ended with a fourth-place state finish, came in poised to compete for the top spot.

“State was a goal I had going into the season, mainly because I had studied a lot in the offseason and going to state last year and getting fourth my first year jumping made me want to go back and get a taste of state again, but with the gold medal,” Johnson said.

Johnson opened with a pair of strong distances, hitting 42-8.75 and then 44-1 on the first two of six attempts.

Then, a leap into history.

“I knew the third jump was good because everything just felt too smooth from my run up to my phases,” Johnson said. “Everything just felt right. I knew right after I landed it was far from the way everything felt, and I stared at the sand for a couple of seconds because I knew it was a big jump. I was just waiting to see how far it really was.”

The mark came in at 47-3.25, standing up through the remainder of the competition.

“When the event ended, I was very happy and a little emotional because of all the hard work I had put in to make this happen,” Johnson said. “I broke my ankle in the fall and I had lots of doubt and uncertainty as to whether I’d be the same athlete or not, but I worked hard every day and put in extra hours, and now I’m a state champion.”

Teammate Isaiah Watson added a third-place finish in the event at 46-3.5.

With the duo’s electric performances, the opening day ended with the Tigers in position to contend for the team title.

On the final day, it was time to pounce.

“Initially we were just focused on our athletes doing their best and seeing who we could get to place first,” Winkelman said. “After day one, we were second with 20 points and we started doing some calculations to see what the possibilities would be, so the boys knew going into day two that we had a shot.”

Sophomore Lorenzo Hampton III posted a seventh-place finish in the second race of the finals in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.95 seconds.

In the field, the Tigers’ dominance in the jumps continued on day two, as Watson finished as the runner-up in the long jump at 21-11.25, and Johnson earned third in the long jump at 21-7.75. Tykeilan Hy Shaw-Moore earned 11th in the long jump (20-3.5), and added a 14th-place finish in the high jump (6-0).

Later on in the day on the track, the 4x100 relay team of Lex Korti, Tykeilan Hy Shaw-Moore, Cartez Cook Jr. and Hampton III earned fourth place in 42.48.

“After the 4x100, a few of the boys were upset about their handoffs and were worried they had messed things up for the team because they knew we had a shot at winning it all, but that it would be close,” Winkelman said. “However, they ran a new school record and ran four-tenths of a second faster than they did at state last year and placed exactly where we needed them points wise. Once they realized that we were still in the running for first, they locked back in and focused on supporting Lorenzo in his 300 hurdles race because he was the last athlete from the team to compete.”

Hampton III entered the finals of the 300 hurdles as the top seed. Not bad for someone who only took up the event a year ago.

“Initially, my goal for the season was simply to have a great season, improve my personal best, and place highly at state,” Hampton III said. “However, midway through the season, I realized that winning state was an attainable goal. This realization came after I became the conference champion and noticed my times were consistently improving each night. By then, I knew I could do it.”

With the team’s title hopes resting on the race, the start was not quite perfect.

But the finish was.

“The 300 race went well in the end, despite a bumpy start,” Hampton III said. “I eventually pulled through coming off that curve and pushed myself to my body’s limit. It was really a mind-over-body run. My time of 37.66 is definitely my personal best, and I feel amazing about it because my goal at the beginning of the season was to hit 37 seconds. Achieving that goal felt incredible and I knew my hard work and training paid off. Crossing the finish line and realizing I had just won the state title as a 10th-grader was unreal. I felt so fulfilled, but everything also felt like a dream. I’m still processing it all. As I approached that last hurdle, all I could think about was not falling. Then, when I crossed the finish line, the reality of what I had achieved started to sink in. The support and guidance from my family, coaches and friends made it all possible, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

With the championship time of 37.66 seconds securing 12 team points, Fridley’s total for the meet came in at 59, enough to outpace runner-up Mankato East by two points in thrilling fashion.

“Lorenzo was so excited about winning his race that he did not realize that he had pretty much just solidified the win for us,” Winkelman said. “He was shocked and so excited! The boys all got together and started celebrating!

“(Fadel and Lorenzo) both have worked so hard over the last two years to get to where they are now. Last year was really both of their first years trying these events. Fadel missed out on his freshman year because of COVID and he got injured early on in his sophomore season with a torn hip flexor. Lorenzo took some convincing to try hurdles last year, but took to them very quickly. We were very excited when they both made it to state last year, but they did not have the performances they wanted at the state meet. Lorenzo fell in the 300 hurdles and Fadel jumped about a foot off from his PR, but still placed fourth last year. This was a redemption season and state meet for them. I was overjoyed to see them both take first in events they had worked so hard in. We knew before the 300 hurdles that we had a chance as a team to win the whole meet, so once Lorenzo crossed that finish line first we were pretty confident it was going to happen. Our AD and I just hugged and jumped for joy! It is just incredible to say that your team won state with six kids, but if you knew these amazing kids, you wouldn’t be surprised.”

Salami wins Class AAA boys high jump title

The day started with hopes of a top-five finish, and a personal-best.

It ended with disbelief, and a dream, as Anoka sophomore Isaiah Salami captured the Class AAA boys state high jump championship with a height of 6-5.

Salami opened the day by clearing 5-10, 6-0 and 6-2 in succession, all on the first attempt, as the field narrowed from 16 to nine. After missing the first try at 6-4, Salami breezed above on the second jump.

“I hoped to get 6-4 at least, because I have been battling with trying to clear 6-4 for a while now,” Salami said. “I knew it was going to be a good day because my knee was not really hurting that much, and when I almost cleared 6-4 on my first attempt. After that first attempt at 6-4 which I was so close to getting, I knew I could clear it, and once my coach told me to add more speed, I apparently was way over the bar at 6-4 on my second attempt and cleared it.”

That jump served as a springboard for Salami’s next attempt, which proved to be historic.

“I was so happy I finally got 6-4, and that gave me the confidence to get 6-5 on my first attempt,” Salami said. “I was in disbelief that I was now in the top two.”

With that final foe having missed their first attempt at 6-5, they needed to clear 6-7 to surpass Salami. When they couldn’t, Salami became state champion.

“Once the second-place guy missed his last jump at 6-7, I was in disbelief that I actually won the whole thing,” Salami said. “It felt surreal. I came to this meet thinking I was going to place fifth or something, not knowing that I would end up winning the whole thing. It still has me in disbelief that I actually won it all. I owe it all to Coach Leaf, who in my opinion is the best high jump coach in the state.”

Along with Salami, the Anoka boys were led in the Class AAA meet by Aaron Peterson in third in the 800 (1:53.27), Afanna Ibekwe in fifth in the 110 hurdles (14.31) and ninth in the 300 hurdles (40.19) and the 4x800 relay team (Dustin Larson, Wyatt Rothrum, Thomas Radtke and Peterson) in ninth in 7:59.86. The 4x400 relay team (Radtke, Rothrum, Larson and Peterson) earned 10th in 3:28.82, Salami earned 16th in the triple jump (42-10.5), and Blake Sieben earned 17th in the pole vault (13-6).

The Andover boys were led by a pair of fourth-place finishes from Jackson Froslee in the pole vault (14-6) and the 4x800 relay team (Jack Jendro, Nolan Potvien, Aidan Gomes and Tyler Flippen) in 7:57.76. Shae Wyszynski earned eighth in the 300 hurdles (40.06) and 11th in the long jump (21-1), and Gomes earned 17th in the 3,200 (9:46.93).

The Coon Rapids boys had a trio of medal-winning performances, including the 4x200 relay team (Jerry Freeman, Cyril Lifika, Lance Hill and KhiJohnn Cummings-Coleman) in fifth in 1:27.84, Sam Dennis in sixth in the shot put (54-8.75), and Freeman in eighth in the 400 (50.61). Cummings-Coleman also earned 11th in both the 100 (10.91) and in the 200 (22.57), the 4x400 relay team (Carnell Robinson, Mekhai Martin, Tyler Vossen and Freeman) earned 18th in 3:32.80, and Dennis also qualified in the discus.

The Blaine boys had a trio of relay and individual podium finishes. The 4x100 relay team of Jamareon Douglas, Samuel Shaughnessy, Michael Olomiyete and Michael Douglas earned fifth in 42.49, the 4x800 relay team of Nathan Taylor, Connor Bialka, Jack Zellmer and Evan Koerber earned fifth in 7:58.81, and the 4x200 relay team of Michael Douglas, Shaughnessy, Olomiyete and Jamareon Douglas earned sixth in 1:27.90. River Santiago medaled with a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 (4:15.32) and a seventh-place finish in the 3,200 (9:20.61), as did Shiloh Ayitey in eighth in the high jump (6-2). Garald Ferguson Jr. earned 14th in the triple jump (43-3.5), Haevian Cole earned 16th in the 400 (51.76), and Olomiyete earned 22nd in the 100 (11.18).

The Spring Lake Park boys had a pair of medalists, as Jamal Smith earned eighth in the 100 in 10.82, and Luke Fehrenbacher earned ninth in the 800 in 2:04.83. Brady Paulson earned 10th in the 300 hurdles (40.59), Sebastian Santiago earned 12th in the pole vault (13-6), and Rich Adeniyi-Akins earned 15th in the long jump (20-8).

Class AAA girls

The Blaine girls were led by the 4x200 relay team of Katelyn Woniak, Hannah Claussen, Grace Kowhega and Hope Dweh, which finished as the state runner-up in 1:40.47. Claussen added a fourth-place sprint in the 200 in 25.03, with eighth-place podium finishes by Jordan Blair in the long jump (17-2.5) and Dweh in the 200 (25.53). Aliyah Adepoju earned 11th in the 100 (12.56), Yvonne Marsh earned 13th in the triple jump (35–3), the 4x400 relay team (Wozniak, Addison Stadden, Claussen and Dweh) earned 14th in 4:07.75, Wozniak earned 15th in the 400 (1:00.12), the 4x100 relay team (Adepoju, Blair, Tayalekay Borh and Kowhegba) earned 16th in 50.85, Blair earned 16th in the triple jump (34-5.75), and Marsh earned 21st in the long jump (15-4.5).

The Spring Lake Park girls had five podium finishes, led by a pair of fourth-place performances by Brianna Finnegan in the 100 (12.04) and Arabella Sutch in the shot put (40-1.25). The 4x100 relay team of Malaya James, Finnegan, Nevaeh Coffer and Ellyana Prairie earned seventh (49.13), Sutch earned eighth in the discus (118-5), and Tiffanie Huynh earned ninth in the pole vault (11-0) to also medal. Genevieve Dabout earned 12th in the shot put (37-2.25), Prairie earned 12th in the 100 hurdles (15.82), Finnegan earned 13th in 200 (25.79), and Coffer earned 14th in the long jump (16-9.5).

For the Andover girls, Payton McKnight earned fourth place in the 100 hurdles in 14.71, and Avah Shaw finished fifth in the high jump (5-2) and ninth in the long jump (17-0.5).

The Anoka girls were led by Lydia Lakanen in sixth place in the shot put (39-4.25) and 11th in the discus (114-8), and Macie Beall in seventh in the pole vault (11-0).

For the Coon Rapids girls, Nyebol Jock earned fifth place in the 100 hurdles (14.98) and eighth in the 300 hurdles (46.38).

Class AA boys

The Totino-Grace boys also posted a top-10 finish in Class AA, earning ninth. Josiah Young earned third place in the high jump at 6-6, while the Eagles’ 4x400 relay team of Owen Lamb, Matthew Lindgren, Zachary Bartsch and Justin Kuharski also took third in 3:25.69. Kuharski added a fourth-place sprint in the 200 in 22.25 and a fifth-place sprint in the 100 in 10.98, Lamb earned fifth in the 400 in 50.14, and Lindgren earned seventh in the 1,600 in 4:19.51.

The St. Francis boys had a trio of Class AA placers, including Jacob Tilly in fourth in the long jump (21-7.25), Samuel Ruid in seventh in the discus (157-1) and Wyatt Lind in seventh in the high jump (6-2). Ruid added an 11th-place finish in the shot put (47-3.75), Lind earned 13th in the triple jump (42-5.75), Evan Peterson earned 13th in the discus (147-9) and Charles Narcum earned 26th in the triple jump (40-5).

Class AA girls

Columbia Heights had a pair of entrants in the Class AA girls meet, with Il M’aime Ntambwe earning 13th in the triple jump (34-5.75) and Danchau Le earning 18th in the long jump (16-3.5).

St. Francis’ Anniston Rolf earned 17th place in the Class AA girls 1,600 in 5:31.0.

Class A boys

Legacy Christian’s Joren Rudzitis finished as the Class A runner-up in the 300 hurdles, finishing in 39.98, and Dominic Zoa added a fourth-place sprint in the 400 in 50.19.

Class A girls

Legacy Christian had a pair of top-five relay finishes in the Class A state meet. The 4x400 team of Grace Thompson, Favour Adetunji, Kylee Loren and Addisyn Kimmel earned fourth place in 4:06.20, and the 4x200 relay team of Thompson, Loren, Adetunji and Kimmel earning fifth in 1:45.22. Loren also earned 10th in the 300 hurdles (47.22), the 4x800 relay team of Isabella Lindquist, Xandra Jackson, Anna Stromberg and Paige Heppner earned 16th (10:13.74), Kimmel earned 17th in the 400 (1:02.74), and Campbell Remus qualified in the pole vault.