by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls senior Kendra Mehrkens added to her own legacy with a pair of top-five finishes at the 2024 MSHSL Class AA State Track and Field Meet, held Friday and Saturday, June 7-8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael.
Also competing in the state meet was first-time state participant Kelsey Baltes, who finished in a 23rd place tie in the high jump.
Baltes was the first to compete, with the entire high jump competition taking place Friday morning. She was able to clear 4-9 and 4-11, but she was unable to replicate the height of 5-1 that she cleared at the section meet. That height was the state standard for 2024, which is the average of the fifth place height from the previous five state meets. This year, it would have been good enough for 13th.
“Kelsey’s three attempts at 5-foot, 1-inch were so close,” said Co-Head Coach Nathan Hruby. “She has the drive and fire power to get it next year for sure and have her sights set on another trip to state as well as the school record.”
“Kelsey had a great season overall and really improved since last year,” said Co-Head Coach Katie Nelson. “She now has had a taste of state and has competed at such a high level – all with her season ending at the state meet, so it will be very fun to watch what she can accomplish next season. I am extremely proud of Kelsey and all she accomplished this season.”
Mehrkens began her state meet Friday morning with 100-meter prelims. She was seeded the fastest time in her heat, with the top-two in each heat plus the next 3 fastest overall times advancing to the finals. Mehrkens won her heat, while also breaking her own school record in the 100 with a time of 12.08.
“She looked completely relaxed during the race and had a great start,” Nelson said.
The preliminaries continued in the afternoon with the 200-meter dash. The top two finishers from each heat, plus the next five fastest times qualified for Saturday’s final.
Mehrkens placed second in her heat to automatically advance her finals in the 200 as well.”
“Kendra did what she does best, and that was to run her race and have fun doing it,” Hruby said. “She won her prelim heat in the 100 and second in the 200, which are automatic qualifiers for finals. She told Katie and I in the 100 she felt so relaxed and smooth, and it showed.”
The finals of the 100-meter dash were contested Saturday morning.
“The majority of the finalists in the 100 were the same from 2023, so it was very tough competition, but I knew Kendra was ready as this was her fourth trip to the state meet,” Nelson said. “She ran a fantastic race and ended up placing fifth overall with a time of 12.32 seconds. There were only .05 seconds between second through fifth places, so it was extremely tight.”
Saturday afternoon was the 200-meter dash finals, and once again, the field was extremely tough with multiple returners from the previous year and multiple sprinters that have already placed high in other events.
“Kendra accomplished a lot in her 200 race,” Nelson said. “She ran 24.88 seconds to place third overall. She also ran a PR and broke her own school record in the 200-meter dash. Only the top the times ran in the 24s.”
Mehrkens concludes her career as a four-time state qualifier and six-time place winner. Mehrkens also placed fifth in the 100 and third in the 200 at the 2023 state meet as a junior. She finished fourth in the 200 and was part of the third place-finishing 4×200 relay in 2022 as a sophomore, and she was part of the state runner-up 4×200 relay team as a freshman in 2021.
“I had a couple of goals for Kendra for this season besides getting to the state meet and qualifying for finals,” Nelson said. “One goal was for her to break the school record in the 100-meter dash, which she did twice this season. My other goal was to get her down under 25 seconds in the 200 and break her own school record again. She accomplished that goal in the state finals. I couldn’t be more proud of everything Kendra has accomplished this year and over the last four years.
“She has competed in the state meet for the last four years and has placed at state in six events over those 4 years. Over her high school career, she has broken 7 school records and currently holds the school records in the 100, 200, 4×200 relay and sprint medley relay. It is bittersweet having her compete at the State Meet, as that means her high school track career is coming to a close, but it was such a great way to end with two new school records, PRs and All-State finishes.”
Over the past four years, Mehrkens has been a consistent leader by example.
“I know, being mostly on the boys side, I still see the impact she has on our younger boys coming up,” Hruby said. “I will, however, say she has made an incredible impact amongst our community of young girls who look up to her. She has shown them how track can be such a major impact in their life as well as something they can lean to knowing there will be success when you put your mind to it. She will be missed, but has certainly been instrumental in showing future girls what makes Prowler Track and Field so great and so special. It’s been an honor to coach her and watch her grow into her own.”
“We as a team will miss her next year, not only because of her talent but because she is humble, modest, kind, hard-working and passionate,” Nelson added. She has been a great leader and role model on our team, and her graduating will definitely leave a hole in our team next year that our underclassmen will need to work hard to fill. Her track career is not done yet, however, as she has committed to running Division 1 track and field at NDSU. I look forward to watching her grow even more and seeing what she can accomplish in the coming years.”
Team Scores
• Girls – 1. Alexandria 79; 2. Monticello 68.5; 3. Providence Academy 62; 4. Mankato East 52; 5. Pequot Lakes 50; 6. Academy Of Holy Angels 40; 7. Simley 35; 8. Rocori 34.5; 9. Mankato West 34; 10. DeLaSalle 31; 11. Winona 28; 11. Minnehaha Academy 28; 13. Hutchinson 27; 14. Byron 26; 15. North Branch 25.5; 16. Marshall 25; 17. Detroit Lakes 20; 18. Willmar 18.5; 19. St. Peter 17; 20. Mahtomedi 16; 20. Kasson-Mantorville 16; 22. Foley 15; 23. Thief River Falls 13; 24. Perham 12; 24. Breck School 12; 24. Milaca 12; 27. Becker 11; 28. Princeton 10; 29. Stewartville 9; 30. Chisago Lakes 8; 30. Fairmont 8; 30. Tri-City United 8; 30. Grand Rapids 8; 34. St. Paul Highland Park 7; 35. Waseca 6; 35. Northfield 6; 35. Richfield 6; 38. Delano 5; 38. Cloquet 5; 38. Blake School 5; 38. South St. Paul 5; 38. Hibbing 5; 43. Spectrum 4; 43. Mound-Westonka 4; 45. Big Lake 2; 45. Watertown-Mayer 2; 45. Orono 2; 48. New London-Spicer 1.5; 49. Annandale 1; 49. Southwest Christian 1.
• Boys Top 10 – 1. Fridley 59; 2. Mankato East 57; 3. Rockford 47; 4. Alexandria 42; 4. Becker 42; 6. St. Peter 39; 7. Mound-Westonka 38; 8. Winona 37; 9. Totino-Grace 35; 10. Mahtomedi 33.
Winner/TRF Places-Girls
100 Finals – 1. Brooke Hohenecker, Providence Academy, 12.07; 2. Sasha Steinbach, Monticello, 12.27; 3. Ashley Fisher, Academy Of Holy Angels, 12.28; 4. Ruby Marble, Mankato West, 12.30; 5. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 12.32; 6. Emelia Skistad, Monticello, 12.36; 7. Arabella Knudson, Kasson-Mantorville, 12.61; 8. Ayanna Zarlee, DeLaSalle, 12.66; 9. Ervina Swaray, DeLaSalle, 12.71.
100 Prelims – 1. Brooke Hohenecker, Providence Academy, 11.93; 4. Sasha Steinbach, Monticello, 12.07; 2, Ashley Fisher, Academy Of Holy Angels, 12.08; 3. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 12.08; 5. Emelia Skistad, Monticello 12.15; 6. Ruby Marble, Mankato West, 12.20; 7. Arabella Knudson, Kasson-Mantorville, 12.31; 8. Ayanna Zarlee, DeLaSalle, 12.33; 9. Ervina Swaray, DeLaSalle, 12.38; 10. Janiya Moore, Richfield, 12.44; 11. Ka’Niyah Eberhardt, Simley 12.46; 12. Zeija Moore, Duluth Denfeld, 12.50; 13. Dakota Esget, North Branch, 12.59; 14. Tavashia Hill, Belle Plaine, 12.66; 15. Avery Olson, Mound-Westonka, 12.66; 16. Emma Madison, New London-Spicer, 12.72; 17. Grace Porter, Faribault, 12.73; 18. Ella Paulson, Detroit Lakes, 19. Kaija Schneider, Alexandria, 12.81.
200 Finals – 1. Brooke Hohenecker, Providence Academy, 24.52; 2. Emelia Skistad, Monticello, 24.53; 3. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 24.88; 4. Lulu McGarry, Breck School, 25.00; 5. Janiya Moore, Richfield, 25.12; 6. Sasha Steinbach, Monticello, 25.29; 7. Sophia Thorsen, North Branch, 25.31; 8. Arabella Knudson, Kasson-Mantorville, 25.47; 9. Olivia Sauer, Foley, 25.66.
200 Prelims – 1. Emelia Skistad, Monticello, 24.95; 2. Brooke Hohenecker, Providence Academy, 25.21; 3. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 25.33; 5. Sophia Thorsen, North Branch, 25.38; 4. Lulu McGarry, Breck School, 25.61; 6. Sasha Steinbach, Monticello, 25.65; 7. Olivia Sauer, Foley, 25.76; 8. Janiya Moore, Richfield, 25.77; 9. Arabella Knudson, Kasson-Mantorville, 25.98; 10. Erin Spence, Academy Of Holy Angels, 26.24; 11. Ayanna Zarlee, DeLaSalle, 26.25; 12. Ashley Slaybaugh, Pequot Lakes, 26.29; 13. Zeija Moore, Duluth Denfeld, 26.54; 14. Adriana Brenengen, Winona, 26.57; 15. Lexi Heminover, Mankato East, 26.58; 16. Mila Bailey, Orono, 26.61; 17. Avery Schuh, Mankato East, 26.85.
High Jump Finals – 1. Grace Gunderson, Detroit Lakes, 5′ 6; 2. Kyleigh Noble, Princeton, 5′ 5; 3. Ginger Pogorelc, Grand Rapids, 5′ 5; 4. Audrey Shindelar, Stewartville, 5′ 3; 5. Lexie Rehman, Mound-Westonka, 5′ 3; 5. Leila Pratt, Mankato West, 5′ 3; 5. Paige Halder, Byron, 5′ 3; 8. Danica Pederson, New London-Spicer, 5′ 3; 8. Ava Thoennes, Rocori, 5′ 3; 10. Riley Freed, Rockford, 5’ 3; 11. Nyadak Ruei, Tri-City United, 5′ 3; 12. Ava Bringgold, Chisago Lakes, 5′ 3; 13. Rylee Johnson, Detroit Lakes, 5′ 1; 13. Eloise Homelvig, Alexandria, 5′ 1; 13. Naja Giles, DeLaSalle, 5′ 1; 16. Amber Mahal, Northfield, 5′ 1; 17. Lydia Fell, St. Peter, 5′ 1; 18. Hailee Stich, Albany, 5′ 1; 19. Alexis Heminover, Academy Of Holy Angels, 4′ 11; 19. Chloe Fratzke, Winona, 4′ 11; 21. Layla Wenderski, Albany, 4′ 11; 22. Brooklyn Purrington, Marshall, 4′ 11; 23. Kelsey Baltes, Thief River Falls, 4′ 11; 23. Stella Carlin, Faribault, 4′ 11; 23. Lillian Voss, Milaca, 4′ 11; 23. Sarah Smith, Spectrum, 4′ 11; 23. Ruby Ellison, Fergus Falls, 4′ 11; 28. Tegan Madow, Northfield, 4′ 11; 29. Morgan Schild, Stewartville, 4′ 9; 29. Joy Garvey, Hill-Murray, 4′ 9; 31. Brynn Taurinskas, Visitation, 4′ 9; NM. Molly Church, Jordan.