State Boys' and Girls' Track and Field Meet
Champions returning to defend 23 individual titles, 11 relay titles

Twenty-three individual champions and representatives from 11 relay teams that won gold medals last year have qualified to defend those titles this Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12, when high school athletes gather at the National Sports Center in Blaine for the 2004 State Track and Field Meet.

Preliminaries in track events for both classes will be conducted on Friday. All of the 3,200-meter run events will be finals only on Friday, as will be some field events. Friday's schedule begins at 9:30 a.m. with Class AA field events, followed by Class AA track events at 10 a.m. The Class A field events begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by Class A track events at 3 p.m. Finals for most Class A and Class AA girls and boys track and field events will be conducted Saturday, with field events beginning at 9:00 a.m. and track events starting at 9:45 a.m.

Class A Girls Highlights
Champions in four individual events return and representatives from four teams that won relay events last year will also be competing.

Liz Palkie of Carlton/Wrenshall, the defending champion in the 1,600-meter run, returns to defend her title. Nicole Calabrese of Kingsland, Spring Valley, has the fastest qualifying time of 5:05.58. Three additional medalists from 2003 also return.

In the 300-meter hurdles, Katie Newgard of Pipestone Area is seeking her second gold medal. She faces tough competition as four additional medal-winners also return in this race. Abby Lien of St. Cloud Cathedral has the best qualifying time of 45.46.

Cedar Mountain returns two relay teams in the 4x400 and 4x800. In the 4x400 they will compete against three other returning teams. Cedar Mountain has the best qualifying time of 4:01.07. In the 4x800, the Perham team has the fastest qualifying time of 9:34.86. In addition to Cedar Mountain, two other medal-winning teams from 2003, International Falls and Staples-Motley, also return.

In the 4x100 relay, St. Cloud Cathedral is defending its title. The Crusader team will compete against four other returning teams. Hermantown, which earned runner-up honors in 2003, has the best qualifying time of 50.28. Pipestone Area is the final returning relay champion. They will defend their title in the 4x200. St. Paul Academy & Summit School has the fastest qualifying time of 1:45.54.

Two champions return in field events: Lauren Burmeister of Hayfield in the triple jump, and Courtney Wagner of Byron in the pole vault. Sarah Deutsch of Jordan has the best qualifying distance in the triple jump of 36 feet, five-and-a-quarter inches. Jennifer Hensel of Frazee has the best qualifying height of 11 feet, one inch in the pole vault. She placed second last year. Overall, six of the 2003 medal-winners return in the triple jump, and five return in the pole vault.

Class A Boys Highlights
There are three individual champions returning to defend their titles. Two relay teams will also be defending their titles.

Mike Minnemann of Melrose Area returns to defend his title in the 200-meter dash. He will compete against one other returning medalist from the 2003 field. Alexander Robinson of DeLaSalle, Minneapolis, has the best qualifying time of 22.39.

In the 400-meter dash, Jake Carlson of East Central, Sandstone, returns to compete against five other returning medal-winners. Pat Leaf of Winona Cotter has the fastest qualifying time of 50.09.

Parker Robinson of Crosby-Ironton is the final returning individual qualifier. He won the high jump last year and will compete against five other returning medalists. Jeff Lillevold of Martin County West, Sherburn, who earned runner-up honors in 2003, has the best qualifying jump of six feet, six inches.

In the relays, Redwood Valley, Redwood Falls, is looking to repeat in the 4x100, and Annandale is hoping to repeat in the 4x200. Last year's third-place finishers from DeLaSalle, Minneapolis, have the fastest qualifying time in the 4x100 at 43.33. Overall, three teams are returning in the 4x100. In the 4x200, the Annandale team will compete against three other returning teams. Hermantown, which finished as runners-up last year, has the best qualifying time of 1:29.93.

Class AA Girls Highlights
Champions in seven individual events return and representatives from three teams that won relay events last year will also be competing.

Bloomington Kennedy’s Vanessa Clarida returns as the three-time defending champion in the 200-meter race, and as the four-time defending champion in the 400-meter race. In the 200-meter dash, Clarida has the fastest qualifying time of 24.96 and she'll compete against three other returning medal-winners. In the 400-meter dash Clarida will square off against four returning medalists from the 2003 field. Heather Dorniden of Rosemount has the fastest qualifying time of 55.47 in the 400.

Andrea Wahlin of Rocori, Cold Spring, is seeking her third title in the 800-meter run. She owns the fastest qualifying time of 2:12.04, but will face two other medal-winners from the 2003 field.

Shannon Bergstedt of Hopkins will seek her fourth consecutive title in the 1,600-meter run. Four competitors from last year’s finals, including Bergstedt, will compete in this event. Lisa Waananen of Maple Grove, who placed third last year, owns the best qualifying time of 5:05.40. Waananen and Bergstedt will also face each other in the 3,200-meter run. Waananen won last year, but Bergstedt owns the best qualifying time of 10:34.39. Overall, three competitors return in the 3,200 run.

Woodbury in the 4x100, Anoka in the 4x200, and Minnetonka in the 4x800 all return to defend relay titles. Woodbury will compete against four other medal-winning teams in the 4x100. Last year's runners-up from Minneapolis Washburn own the best qualifying time of 48.15. In the 4x200, the Anoka Tornadoes will face off against two other medal-winning teams. Washburn also owns the fastest qualifying time of 1:40.76 in that race. The defending champions from Minnetonka own the best qualifying time of 9:14.44 in the 4x800. Five teams, including Minnetonka, also competed in this event in 2003.

Hannah Skildum of Mounds View will seek her second consecutive title in the high jump. Four other 2003 medalists will also compete. Tressa Beckel, who placed second last year, has the best qualifying jump of five feet, six inches.

In other field events, Andrea Smith of Bemidji returns to defend her title in the pole vault. Overall, four medal-winners return. Alicia Rue of Robbinsdale Armstrong had the highest qualifying vault of 11 feet, seven inches.

Class AA Boys Highlights
Champions in nine individual events and representatives from two championship relay teams return to compete.

Ibrahim Kabia of Champlin Park returns to defend his title in the 100-meter dash. Three additional medal-winners also return. Jon Boyd of Mankato East, who earned runner-up honors in 2003, owns the best qualifying time of 10.61.

Garrett Heath of Winona is seeking his second gold medal in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs. He has this year’s fastest qualifying time of 4:16.61 in the 1,600 and will compete against one other medalist. In the 3,200 he will compete against two 2003 medal-winners. Stillwater Area's Jake Watson, who placed seventh last year, owns the best qualifying time of 9:14.94.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Lawrence Lipsey of Bloomington Kennedy is looking for his third consecutive title. He has the fastest qualifying time of 14:47, and will compete against one other medal-winner.

In the relays, Eastview of Apple Valley and Woodbury are the returning champions. Eastview is the defending champion in the 4x100. The Lightning runners will compete against one other returning team. Champlin Park has the best qualifying time of 42.67. Defending champion Woodbury has the best qualifying time of 3:19.02 in the 4x400 and will compete against two additional returning teams.

Jade Ellis of Totino-Grace, Fridley, returns in two field events. He is seeking his third gold medal in the triple jump and his second in the long jump. He has the best qualifying distance of 47 feet, two-and-a-half inches in the triple jump. Five other 2003 medalists also return in that event. In the long jump, Nick Colvin of Eastview, Apple Valley, has the best qualifying distance of 22 feet, six inches. Four medal-winners, including Ellis, return from the 2003 field.

In the discus and shot put, Nate Englin of Mounds View returns to defend his titles. If successful, it will be his third title in the discus and his second in the shot put. He owns the best qualifying throws in both events — 61 feet, three-and-a-quarter inches in the shot put and 187 feet, one inch in the discus. Three returning medal-winners will compete in each event.

Jonathon Thompson of St. Louis Park is the final returning individual. He won the high jump in 2003 and will compete against two other returning medalists. Julian Morris of Osseo had the best qualifying jump of six feet, seven inches.