Thief River Falls sophomore Kendra Mehrkens qualified for the MSHSL State Track and Field Meet for the second consecutive season Saturday with a runner-up finish in the 100 meter dash at the Section 8AA Finals Saturday at Alexandria High School.
Mehrkens qualified for the state meet a year ago as part of the Prowlers’ state runner-up 4×200-meter relay team. Mehrkens ran a 13.63 to finish fourth in Wednesday’s (June 1) Section 8AA Preliminaries held at Detroit Lakes High School. Three days later, she shaved almost a full second off of her time (12.77) to finish second and advance to the state meet.
Mehrkens came close to qualifying in two other events. She finished fourth in the 200, which had arguably been her best event during the regular season, and she was part of the 4×200-meter relay team that finished third, .17 seconds behind runner-up Detroit Lakes.
“Kendra ran incredibly on Saturday in the section finals,” said Thief River Falls Co-Head Coach Katie Nelson. “She started off her day on a very high note qualifying for state in the 100-meter dash by placing second overall. She ran one of her best times this season to qualify. The girls 4×200 relay team of Kendal Rantanen, Dru Harbott, Jeanne Olson and anchored by Kendra ran their season best, dropping three seconds off their previous best. Their handoffs were near perfect and all the split times were a season best, but unfortunately they missed out on state qualifying by .17 seconds. We have all relay members returning, except for Jeanne Olson, so next year they should have continued success. Kendra also finished the meet strong with a season best in the 200 to place 4th overall.”
Another close call came the boys 400-meter dash. Freshman William MacLean finished third with a time of 51.99 that was 1.47 seconds behind runner-up Cruz Megazzini of Pequot Lakes.
“Will ran a personal best in the 400 with a time of 51.99 to come in third missing state qualifying by one spot,” Nelson said. “It would have been a lot of time for him to drop to be able to make it to state but good news is the top two finishers are both seniors so if he continues to improve and run how he did this year, then next year looks very promising. He is also under a second away from breaking our school record, which I believe he will break next season.”
Overall, the Prowlers had nine top-eight finishes. Joining Mehrkens and MacLean on the medal stand were Brookie Bakke, sixth in the 100-meter Hurdles and 4th in the 300-meter Hurdles; Dru Harbott finished 5th in the 400-meter dash; Kendal Rantanen finished 7th in the 400-meter dash; the girls 4×200 team of Rantanen, Harbott, Jeanne Olson, and Mehrkens finished third and the boys 4×400 team of Nolan Lubarski, Isaac Mauch, Griffin Lundeen and MacLean finished eighth.
“Brookie Bakke ran very well in both her hurdle races,” Nelson said. “She placed sixth in the 100 hurdles with a personal best time.
“Dru Harbott improved her 400-meter dash time by over a second to place fifth overall. This was her first year running the open 400. Kendal Rantanen ran amazingly well to place 7th overall in very tight 400 race. In section prelims, she was able to drop over three seconds off her 400. Then, in finals, she dropped almost another second off her time. It will be very fun to watch her and Dru next year in the 400 battle it out.”
Nelson said the team peaked at the section meet, with almost every relay and open event running a personal best for the season.
“Our girls 4×1 of Chesnie Wojciechowski, Vanessa Thibert, Stephanie Dagg and Haley Davis made a run for podium but came up a bit short,” Nelson said. “The boys 4×1 of Ethan Osowski, Isaac Dakken, Keaton Hoverson and Taylor Engebretson also ran PR splits but missed out on the podium. The boys 4×2 of Ethan Osowski, Brady Olson, Isaac Dakken and Carter Engebretson dropped a full second to run a PR just missing the podium by one spot. Our 4×4 girls of Brookie Bakke, Gwen Wojciechowski, Josie Peterson and Dru Harbott ran excellent split times to place sixth overall to medal. The boys 4×4 of Nolan Lubarski, Griffin Lundeen, Isaac Mauch and William MacLean were able to run their way onto the podium with a nice 8th place finish and also dropping 3 seconds off their time to reach a PR.”
Alexandria claimed both team championships. The Thief River Falls girls team finished seventh and the boys team finished 11th in their respective 12-team fields.
“The kids knew they had to come and compete and that is what they did,” Nelson said. “Our section was a lot harder this year, but our athletes showed that they can compete with them and still have success. I am so proud of all who competed and how hard the team worked this year to get good results and success. It will be a big change next year without our big group of seniors to lead the underclassmen. They brought a lot of skill, hard work, determination, competitiveness and fun this season. We will miss them and all they did for the team and we wish them the best of luck in the future.”
Team Scores
• Girls – 1. Alexandria 165.75; 2. Rocori 130.75; 3. Willmar 85; 4. Detroit Lakes 73.75; 5. Pequot Lakes 72; 6. Little Falls 49.5; 7. Thief River Falls 36; 8. Albany 21; 9. Fergus Falls 20; 10. East Grand Forks 19.75; 11. Melrose Area 15.5; 12. New London-Spicer 13.
• Boys – 1. Alexandria 169.5; 2. Willmar 142.5; 3. Fergus Falls 81; 4. Rocori 67; 5. Pequot Lakes 60.5; 6. Detroit Lakes 45; 7. Little Falls 41; 8. East Grand Forks 40; 9. Albany 28; 10. New London-Spicer 14.5; 11. Thief River Falls 7; 12. Melrose Area 6.
State Qualifiers/TRF
Places-Girls
100 – 1. Abby Larson, Detroit Lakes, 12.63; 2. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 12.77; Preliminaries – 4. Mehrkens 13.63; 12. Haley Davis 14.12; 15. Jeanne Olson 14.22.
200 – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 26.24; 2. Abby Larson, Detroit Lakes, 26.26; 4. Kendra Mehrkens 26.92; Preliminaries – 3. Mehrkens 27.02; 11. Kendal Rantanen 27.98; 21. Jeanne Olson 28.91.
400 – 1. Jasmine Sieben, Rocori, 1:00.93; 2. Elena Fuglestad, Alexandria, 1:01.12; 5. Dru Harbott 1:01.72; 7. Kendal Rantanen 1:02.10; Preliminaries – 5. Rantanen 1:02.83; 6. Harbott 1:02.99; 21. Josie Peterson 1:08.94.
800 – 1. Calia Chaney, Pequot Lakes, 2:16.68; 2. Jaelyn Miller, Alexandria, 2:17.06; Preliminaries – 18. Josie Peterson 2:43.45; 23. Maren Espe 2:56.07; 24. Kelsey Baltes 2:56.94.
1600 – 1. Aleah Miller, Alexandria, 4:56.16; 2. Calia Chaney, Pequot Lakes, 4:56.83; 3. Olivia Goebel, Albany, 5:02.68Q; 12. Livia Harbott 5:48.67; 25. Sophia Eidsmoe 6:43.84.
3200 – 1. Olivia Goebel, Albany, 10:43.28; 2. Emma Ecker, Alexandria, 11:21.29; 18. Livia Harbott 13:00.08; 33. Samantha Zoller 16:03.94.
100 hurdles – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 14.78; 2. Danielle Schirmers, Little Falls, 15.27; 6. Brookie Bakke 17.25; Preliminaries – 7. Bakke 17.54; 28. Stephanie Dagg 20.09; 31. Livia Thibert 21.88.
300 hurdles – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 45.28; 2. Annie Paulson, Detroit Lakes, 46.59; 4. Brookie Bakke 49.44; Preliminaries – 4. Bakke 49.48; 27. Livia Thibert 1:01.19.
4×100 – 1. Pequot Lakes 50.48; 2. Alexandria 51.26; 10. Thief River Falls 54.49.
4×200 – 1. Pequot Lakes 1:46.37; 2. Detroit Lakes 1:47.18; 3. Thief River Falls 1:47.35.
4×400 – 1. Willmar 4:03.61; 2. Alexandria 4:05.83; 6. Thief River Falls 4:22.54.
4×800 – 1. Willmar 9:37.58; 2. Alexandria 9:39.64.
High Jump – 1. Ainsley Hanson, Fergus Falls, 5-06.00; 2. Danica Pederson, New London-Spicer, 5-04.00; 13. Kelsey Baltes, 4-06.00.
Pole Vault – 1. Jerzie Horner, Detroit Lakes, 10-01.00; 2. Danielle Schirmers, Little Falls, 9-10.00; Stephanie Dagg NH, Kendal Rantanen NH, Maren Espe NH
Long Jump – 1. Hailie Kent, Alexandria, 17-00.50; 2. Alison Krasky, Alexandria, 16-09.50; 28. Chesnie Wojciechowski 13-01.00; 29. Lillian Homme 12-10.00; 31. Vanessa Thibert 12-06.75.
Triple Jump – 1. Hailie Kent, Alexandria, 37-05.50; 2. Isabelle Jaenicke, Melrose Area, 36-01.50; 15. Jeanne Olson 31-06.25; 20. Avah Waldal 29-04.50; Chesnie Wojciechowski-foul.
Shot Put – 1. Makenna Larson, Willmar 36-07.50; 2. Brianna Schneider, Rocori, 35-09.00; 22. Megan peterson 27-05.00; 25. Brianna Berg 26-01.50; 30. Brylee Lingen 24-05.75.
Discus – 1. Sophia Vinie, Alexandria, 111-03.00; 2. Amaria Sowada, Alexandria, 108-05.00; 17. Brianna Berg 79-08.00; 27. Megan Peterson 71.04.00; 32. Brylee Lingen 62-05.00.
State Qualifiers/TRF
Places-Boys
100 – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 10.94; 2. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 11.03; Preliminaries – 25. Ethan Osowski 12.68; 27. Taylor Engebretson 12.98; 28. Isaac Dakken 13.12.
200 – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 10.94; 2. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 11.03; 10. William MacLean 24.41; 19. Carter Engebretson 25.38; 22. Brady Olson 26.07.
400 – 1. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 49.63; 2. Cruz Megazzini Pequot Lakes, 50.52; 3. William MacLean 51.99; Preliminaries – MacLean 53.35; 24. Keaton Hoverson 58.47; 25. Griffin Lundeen 58.61.
800 – 1. Colin O’Farrell, Willmar, 2:00.64; 2. Wyatt Baum, Little Falls, 2:01.49; Preliminaries – 11. Isaac Mauch 2:06.92; 24. Griffin Lundeen 2:20.48; 30. Zach Wikert 2:39.01.
1600 – 1. Vincent Kaluza, Rocori, 4:25.33; 2. Myles Sansted, Alexandria, 4:29.19; 18. Jaxon Tanner 5:16.10.
3200 – 1. Vincent Kaluza, Rocori, 9:40.87; 2. Sully Anez, Willmar, 9:45.18; 24. Zach Wikert 12:27.37; 26. Lincoln Davis 13:13.58; 28. Austin Tabatt 15:03.36.
100 hurdles – 1. Charles Schiessl, Pequot Lakes, 15.78; 2. Samuel Williams, Alexandria, 15.87; Preliminaries – 15. Nolan Lubarski 19.42; 19. Austin Tabatt 21.83.
300 hurdles – 1. William Sportel, Willmar, 41.08; 2. Cooper Smith, East Grand Forks, 41.14; Preliminaries – 10. Isaac Mauch 45.04; 20. Nolan Lubarski 48.00.
4×100 – 1. Willmar 43.17; 2. Detroit Lakes 43.95; 11. Thief River Falls 48.29.
4×200 – 1. Willmar 1:32.40; 2. Alexandria 1:33.17; 10. Thief River Falls 1:39.44.
4×400 – 1. Willmar 3:31.50; 2. Alexandria 3:32.27; 8. Thief River Falls 3:44.55.
4×800 – 1. Willmar 8:13.14; 2. East Grand Forks 8:24.19.
High Jump – 1. Criz Megazzini, Pequot Lakes, 6-01.00; 2. Luke Newman, Fergus Falls, 5-11.00; Keaton Hoverson NH.
Pole Vault – 1. Jordan Lee, Fergus Falls, 14-03.00; 2. Grant Hubbard, New London-Spicer, 13-03.00; Zach Wikert NH, Griffin Lundeen NH.
Long Jump – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 21-08.50; 2. Brandon Marsh, Detroit Lakes, 20-03.25; 20. Ethan Osowski 17-02.00.
Triple Jump – 1. William Heydt, Alexandria, 43-05.75; 2. Shane Zierden, Fergus Falls, 41-08.25; 16. Isaac Mauch 36-08.50; 19. Carter Engebretson 36-05.50; Nolan Lubarski-foul.
Shot Put – 1. Alexander Jensen, Fergus Falls, 54-01.50; 2. Joseph Lanoux, Alexandria, 50-04.00; 10. Taylor Engebretson 41-11.75; 14. Carter Engebretson 40-07.00; 25. Trian Petrescue 37-01.00.
Discus – 1. Alexander Jensen, Fergus Falls, 140-10.00; 2. Layten Drouillard, Fergus Falls, 140-03.00; 14. Taylor Engebretson, Thief River Falls, 110-01.00; 18. Trian Petrescue 103-08.00.