Avandre Brandt bursts between the two leaders halfway through the 200 meter dash, before catching them by the finish line. (Staples World photos by Mark Anderson)

Cardinals sending six to state track and field

Six athletes on the Staples-Motley track and field team are headed to the state meet in nine events.

In the boys meet, Sawyer Ferdon qualified in the long jump and triple jump, Avandre Brandt in the high jump and 200 meter dash, Adrian Gomez in the shot put, Noah Larson in the 110 hurdles and Turner Beachy in the pole vault.

In the girls meet, Audrey Brownell qualified in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs.

Cardinal athletes set Section 6A records, had many personal bests, a few surprise performances and several new top-ten results in school history. The meet was held May 29 at Pelican Rapids. The top two in each event qualify for state, plus more who meet the qualifying standard that is determined by top five state placing in previous years.

Brownell set section records in the 1,600 and 3,200 to win each race by a wide margin. In the 1,600, she pulled four other opponent runners along to qualify for state by time, showing how fast the race was. In the 3,200, Brownell led from the beginning and ran a relaxed 11:12 to set the section record.

Ferdon qualified for the state triple jump for his third straight year and earned his first section title. After fouling on his first attempt, Ferdon unleashed his personal best ever, 43 feet, 8.5 inches to launch into first place. He didn’t need another jump and ended up winning by eight inches.

In the long jump, Section 6A showed they have some of the best jumpers in the state. Ferdon passed the state qualifying standard and only finished fifth. Brandt was suffering from a leg injury and ended up a foot short of his personal best, but was still only two inches away from the state qualifying standard. 

In the 200 meter dash, Brandt was in third place coming off the turn, but he gutted out the final 100 meters, pushing his way between the two leaders until he caught them so it appeard to be a three way tie for first place. In a photo finish, Brandt missed the victory by two thousandths of a second. The preliminary results showed the top two at 22.51, but they gave his opponent 22.506 and Brandt 22.508. Third place was three hundredths of a second behind those two, all three qualifying for state by time. Brandt’s time moved him up to fourth on the all time school rankings.

Brandt equalled his personal high jump best of 6’2” to reach the state qualifying standard.

Gomez surpassed his personal best on his first throw of the shot put competition, then improved it again on his second. His third throw was spectacular, going three feet, eight inches farther than his best coming in. It landed at 46 feet, 11.5 inches, putting him in second place in the section. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he threw 45 feet on his fourth throw. All five of his throws were farther than his previous personal best and he stayed in second place to qualify for state. His top throw moved him to number seven in school shot put history.

Beachy set the section pole vault record, clearing 14’7”. The previous record had been held by his father, Arden Beachy. He had already won the section title after clearing his first height at 13’2”. He then cleared 13’8” and moved it up to 14’7 since he was all alone in the competition. He cleared it on his first attempt to set the section record but missed when going after a new personal record at 15’6”.

Larson lowered his personal best in the 110 meter hurdles, dipping down to 15.62, very close to the school’s top ten list. The race had two competitors neck and neck, but Larson emerged two tenths of a second ahead for his first section title and second trip to state in this event.

Other notable performances included some personal bests by individuals and relay teams. Logan Robben ran 4:48 to finish third in the 1,600, one spot out of going to state. Drake Dukowitz threw 127 feet in the discus, well past his previous best. The boys 4x400 relay team kept lowering their times this year and ended up in sixth. Dillan Robben Ramiro Gallardo, Carson DeWald and Logan Robben combined for a 3:45 1,600 to finish the season.

The Staples-Motley boys finished third as a team, behind Sauk Centre and Osakis. The girls were 14th out of 22 teams.

The Class A State Track and Field meet is Tuesday and Wednesday, June 10-11, both meets starting at 3:30 p.m. Cardinal athletes will be competing each day, with boys triple jump, pole vault and shot put on Tuesday, long jump and high jump on Wednesday. Running events include 110 hurdles, 200 prelims and 3,200 on Tuesday, 1,600 on Wednesday.

Girls results

Section 6A track and field

100 - 12. Corinne Olson 13.60

200 - 14. Lucille Maros 28.12

1,600 - 1. Audrey Brownell 5:03, 11. Naila Mikhaeil 5:56

3,200 - 1. Brownell 11:12.97

100 hurdles - 13. Abby Brichacek 19.06

Pole vault - 15. Chadia Schultz 6’8”

Discus - 13. Annie Schlosser 87’4”

Boys results

Section 6A track and field

100 - 15. Gavin Chenoweth 12.31

200 - 2. Avandre Brandt 22.508

400 - 7. Brandt 52.55, 10. Dillan Robben 54.07

800 - 5. Logan Robben 2:10

1,600 - 3. L. Robben 4:48.79, 8. Blaine Plattner 5:02.80

3,200 - 11. Andrew Dobson 11:25

110 hurdles - 1. Noah Larson 15.62

4x100 relay - 8. SM (Chenoweth, Jesus Gallardo, Adrian Gomez, Owen Frisk) 48.15

4x200 relay - 6. SM (Larson, Gallardo, Chenoweth, Frisk 1:43

4x400 relay - 6. SM (D.Robben, Gallardo, Carson DeWald, L. Robben) 3:45

High jump - 3. Brandt 6’2”, 13. Larson 5’4”

Pole vault - 1. Turner Beachy 14’7”, 6. Conner Kuhns 11’8”

Long jump - 5. Sawyer Ferdon 20’11.25”, 7. Brandt 20’8.75”, 9. Gallardo 19’7.75”

Triple jump - 1. Ferdon 43’8.5”, x. Alexander Helstrom (no distance)

Discus - 6. Drake Dukowitz 127’1”, 11. Gomez 113’8”

Shot put - 2. Gomez 46’11.5”, 14. Dukowitz 37’11.5”

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