Irish’s victory is fourth in a row
For evidence there’s more than one way to win a track and field meet, look no further than last week’s South Suburban Conference championships.
Rosemount won its fourth consecutive conference boys championship in dominating fashion, finishing more than 50 points ahead of runner-up Shakopee and winning nine of the 18 events.
Lakeville South topped Prior Lake by 23 points for the girls championship despite not winning any events. Defending SSC girls champion Rosemount placed third at the May 22-23 meet at Eagan High School.
There were similarities between the two winning teams. Both had the depth and balance to score points in the majority of the events. The Rosemount boys had points in 16 of 18 events (points were awarded to the top eight finishers), and Lakeville South’s girls picked up points in 15 of 18 events.
The Irish boys continued their end-of season push at the Class 3A, Section 3 meet that started Wednesday at East Ridge High School. Finals start at 9 a.m. Friday, also at East Ridge. Rosemount has finished in the top two at the last four state large-school meets, including championships in 2021 and 2023.
Lakeville South’s girls won their seventh South Suburban Conference championship the week following their second-place finish in the Class 3A True Team finals. For some track followers, it might have brought back memories of the Cougars’ success in the 2010s. From 2012 through 2016, Lakeville South won two Minnesota State High School League large-school championships and four state True Team titles.
Asked if this Lakeville South group is poised for a similar run, coach Andrew Hilliard said, “that’s the goal, right? We’ll graduate a lot of horsepower, but we’ve got some young kids and we have some good leaders who are going to be juniors and seniors (next year). The goal is to keep the train rolling, but we’re just going to enjoy this while it’s happening right now.”
While none of the Cougars took the top step of the awards podium, their conference championships spreadsheet is dotted with high finishes. Senior Alexa Drew was runner-up in the 100 meters (12.62 seconds) and long jump (17 feet, 1.75 inches). Also finishing second in two events was sophomore Eva Welsch in the 100 hurdles (15.40) and high jump (5-2). Avery Sandmann, a junior, finished second in the 300 hurdles (46.82) and triple jump (34-11.75). Senior Kate Flicek was second in the discus (122-7) and shot put (38-3.25), while sophomore Amaya Pahl picked off a third place in the shot put and a fourth in the discus. Junior Claire Vukovics placed third in the 3,200.
The Cougars also were solid in relays, placing in the top five in all four races and adding 24 points to the team score. The 4x800 relay placed second.
“We were pretty consistent,” Hilliard said. “The good thing about our team is we’re strong across the middle. I think that kind of showed in this meet. We had a great first day and that was enough to carry a lot of kids through to the finals. If you get to the finals you score points, and those points accumulate.
“You need to have some kids step up, and we had some kids out-perform their seeds. A few didn’t hit their seeds, but as a collective, they performed great.”
Other top performers in the conference girls meet included Prior Lake’s Addyson White, whose three individual victories were the most of any female or male athlete in the championships, and Lakeville North senior Trinity Wilson, who won the shot put and discus.
Wilson’s winning shot put of 42-1.25 is the farthest recorded in Minnesota this season, and her 124-02 in the discus is a personal record.
Rosemount won the 4x100 and 4x200 relays, with Catelyn Ketterling, Elizabeth Narloch and Abby Essler running both events. Kendall Grate, who won an individual conference championship in the 200, also ran on the Irish’s 4x100 relay.
Farmington’s Lauren Lansing and Mariah Fenske were conference champions in the 800 and 3,200. The Eagan team of Norah Sjerven, Lilah Bartels, Ella Walters and Ava Ligtenberg won the 4x800 relay in 9:29.13, the fourth-fastest time recorded in the state this season.
Rosemount seniors Maki Whelan and Andrew Schultz each won two events in the South Suburban Conference boys meet. Whelan won the 110 and 300 hurdles races; his winning time of 38.38 in the 300 moved him to No. 2 on the state honor roll. Schultz, meanwhile, won the 1,600 and 3,200. His 3,200 time of 9:15.92 is eighth-best in the state.
Rosemount’s Aidan Kough (shot put, 51.8.75) and William Riddel (discus, 152-5) swept the throwing events.
Kwabena (Ricky) Yawson, a senior from Rosemount, prevented Apple Valley standout Dwyne Smith Jr. from sweeping the three boys sprint races. Yawson won the 100 in 10.81, barely in front of Smith (10.88).
Smith was the conference 200 champion in 21.87 (with Yawson second at 22.12) and won the 400 in 47.70. Smith set the all-time state 400 record of 46.93 at the Hamline Elite Meet in late April.
Lakeville North junior Darby Griffin won the 800 in 1:54.35 and establish the top reported time in the state. Rosemount senior Noah Rodenwald cleared 15 feet to win the pole vault and record the second-best height on the Minnesota honor roll.
The Eagan team of Adam Dorsey, Owen Ford, Jake Sondag and Noah Daniel won the 4x400 in 3:23.90, moving to second on the state honor roll. The horizontal jump champions were two Eastview athletes – Isaac Field in the long jump (21-3.5) and Samuel Ngando in the long jump (44-8).
Eagan and Eastview tied for third in the SSC boys standings, with each scoring 88 points.
SSC championships
Boys team scores
Rosemount 156.33, Shakopee 103, Eagan 88, Eastview 88, Apple Valley 58, Lakeville North 55.33, Prior Lake 53.5, Lakeville South 43.5, Farmington 31.33, Burnsville 25.
Event winners
100 meters – Kwabena Yawson, Rosemount, 10.81 seconds.
200 – Dwyne Smith Jr. Apple Valley, 21.87.
400 – Smith, 47.70.
800 – Darby Griffin, Lakeville North, 1:54.35.
1,600 – Andrew Schultz, Rosemount, 4 minutes, 20.23 seconds.
3,200 – Schultz, 9:15.92.
110 hurdles – Maki Whelan, Rosemount, 14.88.
300 hurdles – Whelan, 38.38.
4x100 relay – Rosemount (Riddik Collier, Kelan Johnson, Kavari Flowers, Yawson), 42.27.
4x200 relay – Shakopee (Sir Brody Miller, Jack Hove, Joseph Taye, Aaron Nelson), 1:28.19.
4x400 relay – Eagan (Adam Dorsey, Owen Ford, Jake Sondag, Noah Daniel), 3:23.90.
4x800 relay – Lakeville North (Eli Olson, Chase Altergott, Landon Nerison, Griffin), 8:09.88.
Pole vault – Noah Rodenwald, Rosemount, 15 feet, 0 inches.
High jump – Clifford Jones, Apple Valley, 6-2.
Long jump – Isaac Field, Eastview, 21-3.5.
Triple jump – Samuel Ngando, Eastview, 44-8.
Shot put – Aidan Kough, Rosemount, 51-8.75.
Discus – William Riddel, Rosemount, 152-5.
Girls team scores
Lakeville South 139, Prior Lake 116, Rosemount 88.5, Lakeville North 78, Eagan 77.5, Eastview 66, Farmington 62, Shakopee 37, Apple Valley 20, Burnsville 17.
Event winners
100 meters – Addyson White, Prior Lake, 12.49 seconds.
200 – Kendall Grate, Rosemount, 25.89.
400 – Isabelle Reinders, Prior Lake, 56.88.
800 – Lauren Lansing, Farmington, 2 minutes, 16.95 seconds.
1,600 – Layla Vennink, Prior Lake, 5:06.40.
3,200 – Mariah Fenske, Farmington, 11:07.50.
100 hurdles – White, 15.01.
300 hurdles – White, 42.87.
4x100 relay – Rosemount (Catelyn Ketterling, Elizabeth Narloch, Grate, Abby Essler), 48.78.
4x200 relay – Rosemount (Ketterling, Narloch, Stella Garcia, Essler), 1:43.88.
4x400 relay – Prior Lake (Delaney Holz, Vennink, Linnea Jungers, Reinders), 4:01.32.
4x800 relay – Eagan (Norah Sjerven, Lilah Bartels, Ella Walters, Ava Ligtenberg), 9:29.13.
Pole vault – Annaliese Cundiff, Prior Lake, 11 feet, 4 inches.
High jump – Samantha Carr, Shakopee, 5-3.
Long jump – Carr, 18-0.
Triple jump – Geneva Rasmussen, Eagan, 35-3.5.
Shot put – Trinity Wilson, Lakeville North, 42-1.25.
Discus – Wilson, 124-2.
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