Carlson, Feder finish second at state

     Park Rapids’ Austin Carlson and Nevis’ Jordan Feder capped off their senior seasons in style by bringing home runner-up medals from Saturday’s state Class A boys track and field meet at Hamline University.

     Carlson took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.98 while Feder cleared 6 feet, 7 inches to claim runner-up honors in the high jump.

     Also bringing home medals were Park Rapids junior Isaac Overmyer and the Park Rapids girls 4 x 800 relay team of sophomore Megan Olson, freshmen Lydia Kantonen and Ellery Overmyer and eighth grader Tori Hilmanowski. Overmyer finished fourth in the 3,200 Friday with a time of 9:45.14 while the 4 x 800 relay team finished ninth in 9:52.90 Saturday.

     Also competing at state for Park Rapids were seniors Kurt Fritze, Bryce Brovitch and Mady Vaudrin; junior Megan Grimes; and sophomores Tristan Breitweser, Remington Hagan, Paige Hill and Abby Mueller.

     Park Rapids tied for 19th place in the boys standings with 16 points. That was the best finish for the Panthers since winning the state Class A title with 51 points in 1996. Minnehaha Academy took first with 50 points while Feder gave Nevis 10 points for 30th place. A total of 77 teams scored points in the boys meet.

     In the girls meet, Park Rapids tied for 81st place with 1 point. Minneapolis Edison won the team title with 40 points while United North Central tied for 53rd place with 6 points.

Carlson wins first state medal

     Carlson was hoping to cap off his senior season by going under 50 seconds for the first time and bringing home his first state medal in his third state appearance.

     Finishing as the state runner-up with two times below 50 seconds exceeded those expectations.

     Carlson entered the state meet as the No. 7 seed after winning the Section 8A title in 50.63.

     During Friday’s preliminaries, Carlson earned a spot in the finals by taking second in his heat and third overall with a time of 49.86. Minnehaha Academy’s Jonathan Webb had the best time of 49.33 while Breck’s Bryce Johnson won his heat in 49.79.

     “I just wanted to give it my all and make it to the finals,” said Carlson. “I didn’t expect to finish second in my heat.”

     In Saturday’s finals, Webb led the field with a 49.34 while Carlson followed in 49.98. Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Seth Wiechman was third in 50.18.

     Carlson moved into the No. 2 spot in school history in the 400, passing Kent Fritze’s time of 50.10 and missing the school record of 49.57 by Frank Schaap when he won the state title in 1993. Carlson finished 14th in 51.32 last season and 13th in 52.06 in 2012.

     The runner-up finish was the best showing for the Panthers since Mark Jacobson (110 hurdles and 300 hurdles) and Dane Larson (800 and 1,600) took second in their events in 1996.

     “It was a great way for him to conclude his high school career,” said Park Rapids head coach Patrick Deegan.

     “Being in Lane 3 and having the fastest runner next to me in Lane 4 helped. I wanted to stay with him and make it a good race,” said Carlson, who was first seven times, second twice and third once in 10 races in the 400 this season. “I didn’t believe I finished second until I looked at the scoreboard and saw my name. I wanted to be in the top 5. After Friday, I thought I would get fourth or fifth. After getting 13th and 14th the last two years and being ranked seventh this year, making it up to second was a big jump. It was a nice way to go out.”

Feder contends for state title

     After winning the title in the high jump at the Hamline Elite meet earlier this season, Feder was expecting to contend for the state title in his third trip to the state meet.

     Feder was a major contender, finishing second with a school record height of 6-7.

     Feder entered the state meet as the No. 5 seed out of 19 qualifiers after winning the section title by clearing 6-3. Chisholm’s Jaustin Culbert was the top seed at 6-7.

     Culbert won the state title by clearing 6-8 while Caledonia’s West Spier was third at 6-5.

     The runner-up finish gave Feder his second state medal. Feder finished seventh last year by clearing 6-2 and finished 15th in 2012 by clearing 6-0.

Overmyer repeats as all-state

     Overmyer was looking to cap off his third state appearance with his third all-state honors.

     The Park Rapids junior fulfilled that goal by placing fourth in the 3,200.

     Overmyer finished ninth in his state debut in 2012 with a 9:58.20 and followed that by placing sixth in 9:43.91 last season.

     Entering this year’s state meet, Overmyer was seeded No. 10 in the 3,200 after winning the section title in 10:09.61. Rochester Lourdes’ Ian Torchia had the best time of 9:29.84.

     During Friday’s finals, Overmyer improved on that time by clocking a 9:45.14. Perham’s Keeghan Hurley was first in 9:36.58 while St. Cloud Cathedral’s Nicholas Golebiows (in 9:39.12) and Torchia (in 9:41.76) followed.

     Overmyer was also looking to place in the 1,600, but ended up finishing 11th in 4:28.96.

     Overmyer entered state seeded No. 12 in that race after winning the section title in 4:33.66. Overmyer placed 12th in that race last year with a 4:38.18. Waseca’s Shane Streich had the top seed time of 4:18.55. Streich defended his state title in 4:13.80 to set a new state Class A record while Hurley was second in 4:13.96, which also broke the old record of 4:15.20.

4 x 800 relay brings home medals

     Entering the state meet as the No. 6 seed gave Kantonen, Hilmanowski, Overmyer and Olson confidence of earning a state medal.

     That relay team accomplished that by finishing ninth during Saturday’s finals.

     That foursome, who won the section title in 9:52.15, claimed the final spot on the podium by clocking a 9:52.90. Waseca, which had the best seed time of 9:42.57, won the state title in 9:31.57.

Boys relays fall short

     The Panthers just missed advancing to the finals in the 4 x 400 relay and had some bad luck in the 4 x 200 relay.

     During Friday’s preliminaries of the 4 x 200 relay, a bad handoff resulted in the Panthers placing 16th with a time of 1:38.43. Fritze, Hagan, Breitweser and Carlson entered the state meet seeded No. 14 in that relay after winning the section title in 1:34.16. Rochester Lourdes had the top seed time of 1:30.03, took first during preliminaries with a 1:29.77 and won the state title in 1:30.03.

     The Panthers were in position to advance to the finals in the 4 x 400 relay by entering state as the No. 7 seed after winning the section title in 3:29.77.

     But during Friday’s preliminaries, Fritze, Hagan, Brovitch and Carlson clocked a 3:30.64 to finish 10th, just missing the final spot in the finals. Rush City claimed the final spot with a 3:30.55.

     Rochester Lourdes, which entered with the top seed time of 3:22.95, clocked a 3:22.63 for the fastest time during preliminaries and followed up by winning the state title in 3:21.41.

     Fritze, Brovitch and Carlson ran on this relay at last year’s state meet.

Fritze places 13th in 300 hurdles

     Fritze capped off his senior season by placing 13th in the 300 hurdles.

     Fritze entered state as the No. 15 seed with a runner-up 41.44 at the section meet. Albany’s Mitchell Kollodge had the top seed time of 38.48.

     During Friday’s preliminaries, Fritze finished sixth in his heat and 13th overall with a 41.44. Kollodge had the top time of 38.38 while St. Croix Lutheran’s Jon Tollefson defended his title with a 38.32 in the finals.

     Fritze finished 10th last year with a 41.87.

Mueller just misses finals in 200

     For the second year in a row, Mueller just missed advancing to the finals in the 200.

     Last year, Mueller finished 10th during preliminaries with a 26.43.

     This year, Mueller entered the state meet as the No. 8 seed after clocking a 26.58 for runner-up honors at the section meet. Edison’s Jia Lewis entered with the top time of 25.68.

     During Friday’s preliminaries, Mueller was fifth in her heat and 10th overall in 26.52. LeSueur-Henderson’s Kayla Stowell had the top time of 25.20 while Montevideo’s Molly Reeves earned the final spot with a 26.37. In the finals, Lewis won the state title in 25.06.

Girls relays fall short

     Park Rapids was also hoping to advance to the finals in the other two relays.

     The 4 x 100 relay team of Grimes, Mueller, Hill and Vaudrin entered the state meet as the No. 9 seed with a section-championship time of 51.25. Edison entered with the top time of 49.75.

     During Friday’s preliminaries, the Panthers finished fifth in their heat and 11th overall with a 51.35. Pequot Lakes led preliminaries with a 49.45 and won the state title in 49.46.

     Last year, Mueller, Hill and Vaudrin ran on the Panthers’ 4 x 100 relay that finished seventh at state with a 50.87.

     In the 4 x 400 relay, Grimes, Olson, Overmyer and Mueller entered as the No. 14 seed after winning the section title in 4:12.16. Holy Family Catholic had the best time of 4:02.89.

     In Friday’s preliminaries, the Panthers clocked a 4:11.98 to finish eighth in their heat and 14th overall. Blue Earth had the fastest preliminary time of 4:00.81, but Osakis won the state title in 3:58.46.

     Grimes and Mueller ran on the Panthers’ 4 x 400 relay that finished 13th at last year’s state meet in 4:13.79.

Vaudrin misses spot in 100 finals

     Vaudrin was looking to cap off her senior season by repeating as an all-state sprinter in the 100.

     A tough field prevented Vaudrin from fulfilling that goal.

     Last year, Vaudrin placed sixth with a 12.97. Despite winning the section title in 12.80, Vaudrin entered the state meet as the No. 14 seed out of 24 qualifiers.

     During preliminaries, Vaudrin finished fourth in her heat and 13th overall with a 12.91. Lewis led the field with a 12.28 and followed by winning the state title in 12.36.

     Vaudrin finished 21st with a 13.23 in 2010 before earning all-state honors last season.

Grimes places 18th in 100 hurdles

     Another strong field prevented Grimes from advancing to the finals in the 100 hurdles.

     At last year’s state meet, Grimes just missed a spot in the finals by placing 10th during preliminaries with a 16.25.

     Entering this year’s state meet, Grimes was the No. 21 seed out of 22 qualifiers after winning the section title in 16.43. Fairmont’s Sierra Schultz had the top time of 15.14.

     During Friday’s preliminaries, Grimes finished sixth in her heat and 18th overall in 16.77. Staples-Motley’s Jaelin Beachy had the top time of 15.10 and Beachy went on to defend her state title in 14.90.

Hesse places for Warriors

     Michaela Hesse capped off her junior season by placing fourth in the high jump and scoring 6 points for United North Central.

     Hesse, who entered the state meet as the No. 1 seed after winning the Section 6A title by clearing 5-5, finished fourth by clearing 5-2 during Friday’s finals. New Richland’s Carlie Wagner was first at 5-6 while Norman County’s Miki Lee was second at 5-4 and Tracy-Milroy’s Kendra Ludeman was third at 5-3.

     United North Central’s Andrea Korvela capped off her junior season by placing fifth in her heat and 11th out of 16 qualifiers with a 2:21.41 during Friday’s preliminaries in the 800 run. Korvela entered state as the No. 13 seed with a 2:24.90. Watertown-Mayer’s Liz Miller won the state title in 2:14.39.

1/2: Nevis’ Jordan Feder cleared 6 feet, 7 inches to place second in the high jump at Saturday’s state Class A meet at Hamline University.

2/2: Park Rapids’ Isaac Overmyer (10) led the pack during Friday’s finals of the 3,200-meter run. Overmyer repeated as an all-state runner by placing fourth in 9:45.14.