With a 5:35.79 finish, eighth grader Charlotte Meyer ran away with the 1600 at the Cleveland/Mankato Loyola’s season opening track & field meet, which was held inside the MSU,M field house on Monday.
The second-place runner was over 28 seconds behind.
As a team, the Crusader girls were fourth of five teams while Crusader boys took second.
Meyer also led off the third-place 4x800 team and handed the baton to her sister, Savannah Meyer, a senior. Rounding out the quartet were Lily Philips and Izzy Endres. Their 10:46.01 was 4.36 seconds behind the winners.
Savannah Meyer finished fifth in the 800 with a 2:38.41. The winning time was 2:34.50.
Vivian Hilfer, a junior, completed the 55-m hurdles in 11.79 for 12th place. Sophomore Liviana Lee was 1.22 seconds behind her for 16th place. Both are out for track & field for the first time. Lee was ninth in the 400 with a 1:14.65 finish.
Also a Crusader rookie, freshman Aubrey Blaschko was eighth among the 22 entries in the 200. She finished in 31.97. Blaschko also ran the third leg of the seventh place 4x200 team. The other members of the quartet included Taryn Hecksel, Titoluwani Ehinmowo and Kailyn Hecksel.
With an 8:58 finish, Sophomore Miah Bauer took a respectable fifth in the 55-m dash. In the 200, she recorded a 32.27 for 11th place. With a 9.03 finish, freshman Daisha Faulkner was 14th in the 55-m dash. She was 12th in the 400 with a 1:19.23 finish.
Senior TJ Waldron crossed the 1600 finish line in 5:27.76 for eighth place. The winning was blazing 4:43.69.
Sophomore Oliver Starke threw the shot put 20-9 for 22nd place. He was also 11th in the 400 with a 1:21.39 finish. Participating in track & field for the first time, sophomore Carter Kern threw the shot 22-10 for 21st place.
With 98 points, 37 more than the Crusaders, Waseca won the boys competition. Third place River Valley (Sleepy Eye) also had 61 points. With 57 points, St. James/Madelia was fourth, and St Clair/Immanuel Lutheran, with 33 points, was fifth.
Totaling 86 points, River Valley won the girls meet. With 76 points, Waseca was second. St Clair/Immanuel Lutheran was third with 73 points, Loyola/Cleveland was fourth with 39 points, and St James/Madelia was fifth with 37 points.
Also for the Crusaders boys, Soren Kelley took first in the 800 with a 2:08.94 and second in the 1600 with a 4:44.21. With an 8:86, Casey Fogal took first in the 55-M hurdles. Chase Kijenski was second with an 8:91. The 4x800 team of Mitchel Buboltz, Sam Vetter, Jack Green and Andrew Tieva took silver. With a 38-foot toss, Christian Barker was second in the shot put. Brayden Hecksel vaulted 10-6 for second place. With a triple jump of 36-6, just 6 inches shorter than the winner, Eli Blace was third.
For the Crusader girls, Maddie Huiras was second in the 55-M hurdles with a 9.34. With a 4:57.78 finish, the sprint medley team of Huiras, Aryah Zuehlke, Maddie Cooney and Molly Koester took second. With a throw of 30-2, Brianna Michels took second in the shot put.
The Crusaders return to the MSU,M field house on Monday.
Above: Crusader seniors include, from L-R, front row: Savannah Meyer, Titoluwani Ehinmowo, Maddie Huiras, Gabby Bemmels and Maddie Cooney. Back row: TJ Waldron, Chase Kijenski, Eduardo Sanchez Serrano, Sam Vetter, Casey Fogal, Iker Juarez, Taiton Moore, Jacob Miller, Danny Wood and Eli Blace. Missing is Brianna Michels. (Photo courtesy of Casey Olson).