by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls junior Kendra Mehrkens broke her own record in a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash Saturday at the Minnesota State High School League state championships in St. Michael.
Mehrkens qualified fifth in Friday’s preliminary round with a time of 25.53 and she was almost half a second faster for Saturday’s finals with a time of 25.04, which was good enough for third. Her record-breaking run came one week after she broke former Prowler Carley Johnson’s record in the 200 with a time of 25.25 in the 200-meter finals at the Section 8AA meet.
Mehrkens qualified for state in three events this year. She was a section champion in both the 100- and 200-meter dash, and she ran the anchor leg on the 4×200 relay team that finished third in the section, but still qualified for state after posting an automatic qualifying and school record-breaking time of 1:44.84.
“We went into the week of the state tournament fairly relaxed because they had made their top goal for the season in qualifying for state,” Nelson said. “Once we got to STMA and practiced on the track, it became more real, and we set a goal of making it to finals for all three events.”
The Class AA preliminary rounds were held Friday morning. Mehrkens qualified for the finals in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.46 which was good enough for second overall and the top spot in her heat.
“Kendra started us off by winning her heat and being an automatic qualifier,” Nelson said.
A little over 20 minutes later, the 4×200 relay had its chance to qualify. The team of Kendal Rantanen, Dru Harbott, Stephanie Dagg and Mehrkens finished fourth in their heat and seventh overall with a time of 1:45.64 which was good enough to qualify for Saturday’s final.
“Next up was the 4×2, they were ranked fifth overall coming in so we knew if we got out there and did their thing they would make it and they did. It was an extremely fast race but the girls stepped up and had great split times with very smooth and quick handoffs to qualify.”
A couple hours later, Mehrkens made it a three-for-three effort by qualifying fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.53.
“After making it 2 for 2 all that was left was Kendra’s 200,” Nelson said. “She was feeling good and ran another great time to make it to finals. The rest of that day was all about resting to get ready for the next morning.”
Mehrkens opened Saturday’s competition with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash.
“Most of the events on Saturday had numerous runners who got PRs, class records or moved up on the Minnesota Outdoors Rankings list, so it was intense competition but the girls felt good and felt ready,” Nelson said. “Kendra was looking to break the 100 school record but was .10s away. It was a very tight race and Kendra raced to a fifth-place finish overall with her second best time all season.”
Seventeen minutes after starting the 100, Mehrkens was back on the track as the anchor of the 4×200 team. The Prowler foursome of Rantanen, Harbott, Dagg and Mehrkens was about a second slower in Saturday’s final, but they still managed an eighth-place finish with a time of 1:46.11.
“The girls 4×2 again did their thing,” Nelson said. “Kendal led off and kept us with the group. Her and Dru had a very smooth handoff and then Dru was off. She had a very good split time. Her handoff with Stephanie was quick and Stephanie gained some ground on the other teams. Stephanie’s handoff to Kendra has been extremely quick all year and it was no different at state. Kendra ran a great final leg to place the relay eighth, with our third best time for the season.
Mehrkens saved the best for last as she shattered Carley Johnson’s 200-meter school record in Saturday’s finals with a time of 25.04. Johnson set the 200-meter record of 25.39 during the preliminary round of the 2019 state meet. Johnson went on to finish eighth that year.
“Kendra’s 200 was very impressive,” Nelson said. “She has been running so smooth and focusing on running her race and not worrying about the other runners. She flew down the track into a third-place finish while getting a PR and breaking her own school record that she had set just a week prior.”
The state meet marked the end of the high school track careers of Rantanen, Harbott and Dagg.
“It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to these three seniors but it made it a bit easier having a prolonged season and they ended it with an eighth-place finish, a state medal and a school record in the 4×200 at sections,” Nelson said. “Dru Harbott was pulled up to varsity as a seventh grader to run distance and ended her senior season running 200s and 400s and being a vital part in our 4×2 and 4×4 relays.
“Kendal Rantanen was a mid-distance runner that we moved up as an eighth grader and she too ended her senior season as a top sprinter and vital to our relays.
“Stephanie Dagg lost a couple of competition seasons due to injuries in eighth grade and she didn’t get her freshman season due to Covid. Despite those lost seasons she has worked incredibly hard to comeback and has dabbled in many different sprint events including hurdles and 4×1 relay. She really found her stride this year in the 400, 4×4 and of course 4×2 relay.
“Two years ago when we were in Class A and qualified for state in numerous events, Dru and Kendal were on the state 4×800 relay team and Stephanie Dagg was an alternate for our 4×200 relay. It’s crazy to see how much has changed in the last two years. All three of these seniors stepped up, put in the time and effort and worked together to accomplish something great. From going from mid distance runner to a state qualifying sprinter in just two years is a great feat.
“Last year, we were .17s away from qualify for state and I had Dru, Kendal and Kendra all coming back. At the beginning of the season I had a few different options to fill Jeanne Olson’s spot and I am so glad I picked Stephanie to fill it. She really worked hard to get handoffs down and improve her speed and became a vital part of this relay. These four girls worked together so well that it will be hard to find another group of girls with such chemistry. It is going to be a huge gap to fill next year for not only these three outstanding seniors but for the rest of our seniors. We wish them all the best of luck in the future and will miss them.”