On Thursday, April 14 the William Kelley High School track team traveled south to Rosemount High School to compete in a triangular meet with Rosemount and Lakeville South High Schools. The Mariners were first invited to compete at Rosemount last year when Nate Bilben and Sophia Blanck competed unattached.
Despite the 80 degree weather in Rosemount, the Mariners track team had a good meet. On the girls side Sophomore Sophia Blanck placed 2nd in the 800 meter run, topping her school record run at State last year by 5 seconds, running a 2:19. Junior Tonja Thomas finished 7th in the 100 (14.11) and 5th in the 200 (28.95). Freshman Valerie Melander finished 4th in the 400 meter dash (70.73). 8th grader Sierra Gaetz ran a strong 800 coming in 4th with a time of 2:37. Freshman Christina Kaiser had a three foot PR in the shot put, placing 7th with a toss of 24’09”.
On the boys side, Freshman Nick Swartz won the 1600, just a few seconds off a PR, coming in at 5:30. He also finished 3rd in the 800. Junior Cash Williams had a strong meet, taking 4th in the 400 (58.63), 5th in the 100 (12.22) and 8th in the 200 (25.64). First year runner Jacob Carpenter ran a good first outdoor meet, running a 12.66 100, 26.68 200, and finishing 6th in the 400 (60.25). Junior Andrew Wehrman placed 5th in the 400 (59.68) in between his teammates.
Head Coach Rick Frericks said of his team’s first outdoor meet of the season, “It’s nice to be able to get on a track and compete. The athletes have set the bar at a good spot to have a great season.” The Mariners will compete down south again when they travel to Osseo on Thursday, April 20.
