Gold Rush: Owatonna, Triton, BP Athletes Take Home Track Titles
Hopefully, there is no fear of heights for the Owatonna, Triton, and Blooming Prairie athletes that competed at the recent state track and field meet. As many of them had to climb way to the top of the medal stand. Each school had a champion at the Minnesota State High School League meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School. In fact, Triton's Owen Petesohn won two events, while single-handedly lifting the Cobras into a top ten finish in the Class A team standings.
All nine of Owatonna's boys made it to the podium, led by a state championship performance by Justin Gleason in the long jump. He set a school record in the process. As a team, the Huskies finished in a tie for fifth place in the Class AAA standings.
"We felt very good about all nine guys that qualified for state made the podium and either threw or jumped their best. Just a fantastic day," said coach Kevin Stelter.
"I think he came in seeded third," said Stelter about Gleason. "He was there last year as a sophomore and finished fourth. He'd been sitting in the high 22's all season. Finally hit the 23-foot jump [23 feet, 1.75 inches] to win that by an inch." Gleason also holds the school record in the triple jump and just missed qualifying for that with a third-place finish at sections.
Justin's father Joey is an assistant coach with the Huskies, "Just a great father-son bonding experience there," added Stelter. And his mother Debby is the head girls' track coach at OHS.
OHS athletes at the state track and field meet:
- Justin Gleason, jr, long jump, 23-feet, 1.75 inches - STATE CHAMP
- Ryan Gregory, sr, 300 hurdles, 38.33 (school record), 3rd place and 110 hurdles, 4th place
- Carter Johnson, jr, 110 hurdles, 5th place
- Eli Spurgeon, sr, discus, 5th place and shot put, 9th place
- Tanner Stendel, sr, long jump, 8th place
- 4x800 relay (Jacob Ginskey, so, David Smith, jr, Noah Kubicek, sr, Connor Ginskey, sr) 9th place with a school-record time of 8:07.25
- 4x100 (Janessa Moore, sr, Laken Meier, so, Lauren Waypa, jr, Ava Wolfe, sr)
Other local results:
- Owen Petersohn, sr, Triton, 110 hurdles, :15.23 and 300 hurdles, :39.97 - DOUBLE STATE CHAMPION
- Anna Forsberg, so, Blooming Prairie, high jump, 5-feet, 6-inches - STATE CHAMP
- Henry Grayson, sr, Medford, 400, :49.52 (school record), 2nd place
- Jackie Cole, so, Medford, long jump, 4th place
- Quinnn VanMaldeghem, 800, 13th place