The sun shined down as 17 Murray County Central individuals along with six relay squads made they way to Redwood Falls for the Section 3A Track and Field meet for their chance at a state birth.
Nicole Thovson, junior, was a three-time competitor during the meet on Thursday. Thovson held the top spot going into the 100 meter dash competition. She raced her way down the track and clipped Montevideo’s Molly Reeves by 3/10’s of a second. Thovson clocked a time of 12.92 while Reeves crossed the line at 12.95. With the win Thovson will advance to state competition at Hamline University this Friday and Saturday. Prelims are scheduled for Friday at 3:48 p.m. and finals will be Saturday at 4:32 p.m.
Jack Erickson will also advance to state competition earning a second place finish in the 1600 meter run. Erickson got out front and held a nice steady pace as he made his way around the 4 laps of the event. As they neared the finish line, Erickson put everything he had into it and finished with his best time of the season at 4:28.31 – just three seconds behind first place Kurt TeBeest of Montevideo (4:25.43). Erickson will compete at Hamline University in the Twin Cities on Saturday at 5:18 p.m.
Thovson also competed in the 200 meter dash finishing just one spot shy of a state birth in this event. Thovson finished in the third place spot with a time of 26.84 – 10 second off her sub section time of 26.96.
Her third event was the long jump. Thovson made the top 10 to compete in the finals of the event – finishing with a fifth place medal as she leaped 16’0” bettering her sub section jump of 15’11”.
Alyssa Groves, 8th grade, finished with a fifth place medal in the 400 meter event crossing the finish line with a fine time of 1:03.70.
Senior Linnea York earned the 10th place spot in the 800 meter run. She clocked a time of 2:29.98.
Riley Schmitz, sophomore, competed in the 1600 meter run finishing the race in the 14th place spot. She managed to clip a full two seconds off her sub section time and crossed the finish line with a fine time of 5:58.29.
Josie Harms, seventh grade, was a competitor in the 3200 meter run. As she finished her 8th lap, Harms clocked a time of 13:38.03.
Alyssa Groves, Julia Arruda, Kasey Bose and Ciarra Schmidt joined forces to compete in the 4×200 meter relay event. The foursome finished with a time of 1:58.43 for 15th place.
Groves, Bose, Linnea York and Lissette Garza made up the MCC 4×400 meter relay team and earned the 8th place overall crossing the line at 4:23.85.
Garza joined forces with Faith Bose, Josie Harms and Mallory Loosbrock in the 4×800 meter relay race earning the 14th place spot over all and clocking a time of 11:15.48.
Erica Gervais, sophomore, competed in the pole vault event.
Ethan Swanson, freshman, competed in the both the 100 and 200 meter races. He earned a sixth place medal in the 100 crossing the finish line at 11:78. Swanson cruised down the track in 24.20 for the 200 meter race for the 11th place spot.
Dakota ThunderHawk, junior, also earned a medal finishing the 400 meter dash in a time of 53.07 – over 30 seconds faster than his sub section time of 53.76 for the seventh place spot.
Patrick Platt, junior, earned a fifth place medal (4:45.05) in the 1600 meter run clipping two seconds off his sub section of 4:47.78.
Clayton Hartle and Justin Clarke were competitors in the 3200 meter run. Hartle finished the event in the sixth place spot with a time of 10:40.28. Justin Clarke, 8th grade, earned the 10th place finish with a time of 10:54.59.
Mason Whitehead, Aaron Johnson and Zach Aanenson raced in the 110 meter hurdle event finishing with the 11th, 12th and 15th overall spots with times of 18.13, 18.44 and 18.89.
Whitehead was also a competitor in the 300 meter hurdle event and earned a seventh place spot crossing the finish line at 44.17.
Garhok Gatchey, Mason Whitehead, Grant Rohrer and Dakota ThunderHawk made up the 4×200 relay team. The group clipped around the track in a time of 1:37.96 for a 10th place finish.
Whitehead, Rohrer, ThunderHawk joined forces with Patrick Platt for the 4×400 relay squad. The foursome clocked a time of 3:43.50 – good for the 10th place finish.
Clayton Hartle, Justin Clarke, Rylan Behnke and Tyler Aanenson were MCC’s 4×800 meter relay team. They finished 11th overall with a time of 9:11.58.
Garhok Gatchey, junior, cleared the high jump bar at 5’7” – a full two inches better than his sub section leap. Gatchey tied for the 10th place spot overall.
Zach Aanenson, sophomore, cleared 10’0” in the pole vault. Aanenson earned a 12th place finish overall.
Senior Wyatt Heezen competed in both the shot put and discus events. Heezen tossed out a throw of 132’6” in the discus to earn a fourth place medal. He came back and heaved the shot put 43’8.5” for the 8th place spot overall.