Ryan McIntyre, Head High School Track and Field Coach at Two Harbors High School, “could not be prouder,” of the Agates teams that competed at the state meet last week. “They really gave it their all and represented their school and their community incredibly well.”
Indeed, both the boys’ and girls’ teams outdid themselves this year. According to the coach, “They showed that competitiveness and grit that they displayed all season long and really turned some heads and opened some eyes around the state as far as what the Agates can do.”
As I scanned through the results Coach McIntyre sent me, the words “School Record” stood out amongst many other impressive achievements. Looks like everyone had a great time. (See what I did there?)
Much of the success can be credited to the strong leadership from seniors Ian Thorpe, Grace Swanson, Lamar Gordon, Jenna Marxhausen, and Karly Holm. With their talent and experience, they “influenced their younger teammates during the season, and capped off some great careers with their best performances.”
Ian Thorpe broke the school record for the Boys 1600m Run, taking 9th place in All-State. He also ran his personal best in the 3200m Run, with a time of 9:53.21. Grace Swanson ran in the Girls 400m Dash and took 4th place, All State, in 59.14 seconds, and ran her personal best time in her preliminary heat of 58.99 seconds. This is the 3rd fastest time in the history of the school. Katie Holm took 12th Place in the Girls Triple Jump, reaching 33’9”.
The senior girls also contributed to school record breaking relays. Delaney Nelson, Karly Holm, Jenna Marxhausen, and Trinity Giddings broke their own school record in the preliminary heat when they ran the 4x200m Relay 1:45.22 to qualify for finals. They then broke that record at finals with a time of 1:44.85.
Jenna Marxhausen, Lamar Gordon, Grace Swanson, Trinity Giddings took 2nd place All State in the 4x400m Relay. Their time was 4:02.99. In the preliminary heat they ran 4:02.51, which broke their own record early in the season by almost 4 seconds. In the 4x800m Relay, Jocelyn Carr, Karly Holm, Lamar Gordon, Grace Swanson took 8th Place, All State, with a time of 9:56.48. The girls 4x800m Relay has made it to state every year since 2018, with the streak unfortunately put on pause during the 2020 season due to Covid.
Tate Nelson also impressed the fans multiple times during the meet. He walked away as State Champion, All State, for the Boys 100m Dash, after running it in 11 seconds. This incredible run is believed to be the first time an Agate sprinter won the State Championship. He is also State Champion, All State, and record breaker for the Boys Long Jump when his final jump of the competition reached 22’5.75”. He is the first State Champion in Track and Field for the Agates since Caleb Hamp-Sill won both the Long Jump and Triple Jump back in 2011. As if that wasn’t enough, Tate also took 2nd Place, All State in the 200m Dash with a time of 22.44 seconds. He beat the school record in the preliminary heat with 21.94 seconds.
Delaney Nelson ran her 3rd fastest time in her career, taking 14th place in the Girls 100m Dash with 12.83 seconds. She also took 11th place in the 200m Dash. Her personal best time of 26.12 was only two spots away from making it to finals.
Trinity Giddings took 3rd place, All-State, running it in 57.45 seconds. Her preliminary heat broke the school record of 57.11 and she broke her own record set at the Section 7A meet with a time of 57.50. Lamar Gordon took 9th Place, All-State with the 2nd fastest time of her career in the 1600m Run, completing it at 5:21.44.
The Agate girls’ team finished 6th overall in the team standing with 33 points. The last time the team has placed that high is unknown.
The Agates boys’ team placed 2nd overall in team standings with 35 points. This was 1 point behind the 3rd place Perham, and 6 points behind 1st place St. Croix Lutheran and was the first time the team has been in the top 3 since the 2011 team, which placed 3rd in the team standings.
“The comments received from people at the meet from all over the state, from Agate alumni, and our friends in Section 7A, really showed how impressive this group of athletes is. It wasn’t just Two Harbors fans cheering them on for those two days,” commented Coach McIntyre. “It was just so much fun to watch.”
Congratulations to the Two Harbors Agate’s Track and Field Teams, coaches, and fans for a great season!
Feel free to contact me at sarahwritesnsj@yahoo.com with any news we should news about!
