By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.comNews and notes on recent state championships in Minnesota:
Track and Field
Rosemount won the Class 2A state track and field title last weekend, the first title in the sport in school history. Rosemount had 65 points, followed by Irondale (60) and Woodbury (42).
Leading the way for Rosemount was senior Obai Hussein, who won the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.67. The Irish also got a runner-up finish from sophomore Jordan Carlson in the 1,600 meters. Carlson finished with a time of 4:07.12, with Rob Finnerty of Burnsville winning the event with a time of 4:06.49. Rosemount’s 4x200 relay team of ZachVraa, Christian Willman, Andrew Anderson and Austin Eliason finished second.
Zach Mellon of Buffalo broke the state AA meet record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.69. That broke the previous record of 1:49.76 set by Mounds Views' Trent Riter in 2001. The national high school record is 1:46.45, set in 1996 by Michael Granville of Bell Gardens, Calif.
Fairmont won the Class A state title with a score of 52 points. Glencoe-Silver Lake was second with 33 points, followed by St. Croix Lutheran (32) and Perham (31).
Frazee’s Skyler Jackson set a new state meet record in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.86. The previous state meet record was 10.94, set in 2005 by Isaac Anderson. The national record is 10.15, set in 1990 by Henry Neal of Greenville High School in Austin, Texas.
Donny Wasinger of Winona Cotter set a new state meet record in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:20.73. The previous record was 4:15.71, set in 2004 by Chris Erichsen of Kingsland. The national record is 3:59.51, set by Alan Webb of Reston South Lakes, Va.
Eastview won the girls big school title with 74 points, ahead of Mounds View (60) and Apple Valley (50).
Baseball
The 2008 Minnesota state high school baseball tournament is being played June 12 and 13. Look for a complete state tournament report at MaxPreps.com.
Boys Tennis
Buffalo’s Michael Sicora defeated Blaine’s Paul Swanson 6-4, 6-2 to win the Minnesota big school tennis title. While that was the title match, the matchup that everyone wanted to see happened in the semifinals, when Sicora, the 2006 2A state champ, faced Mounds View’s Wyatt McCoy, the 2007 state champ.
Sicora won that match as well, handling McCoy with relative ease, winning 6-3, 6-1.
In the Class 1A finals, Ben Kopecky of Rochester Lourdes defeated St. Paul Academy’s Pierce Norton 6-3, 6-4 to win the 1A title. Norton defeated Kopecky in the team finals, helping SPA win the team title over Lourdes.
Girls Golf
The Minnewaska girls golf team tied a Minnesota state high school record by winning its third straight team title – by 54 points over Red Wing. In addition, Laker teammates Sarah Roering, Allie Ostrander and Emily Roering were the top three placers and the team was 24 strokes better than last year, shooting a 643 total score.
Softball
Eagan continued its dominant season, led by pitcher Sara Moulton, winning the AAA state title 14-1 over Mankato West in six innings at the 2008 girls state softball tournament. Paige Ashton was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, third baseman Kaylyn Korth was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and designated player Brittney Erdman was 2-for-4, with 2 RBI
Orono won the AA event with a 4-3 win over Pipestone, the 2007 state champ. Designated player Gennie Bunting was 2-for-3 with three RBI, all coming on a double in the third inning.
New Life Academy of Woodbury won the A title with a 3-0 win over Maple Lake.
Inside The Numbers
17 - Strikeouts for Danielle Schmidt of New Life Academy in a 9-0 state tournament win over Wabasso in class A softball action.
5 – Teams making their first-ever appearance in the state softball tournament last weekend: Verndale and Maple Lake (A), Becker, Zumbrota-Mazeppa, and Ottertail Central in Class (AA).
3 – Teams making their first-ever trip to the state baseball tournament: Hawley, Browerville/Eagle Valley and Southland of Adams. All are Class A schools.
