Thief River Falls sophomore Kendra Mehrkens qualified for the MSHSL State Track and Field Meet for the second straight season on Saturday with a second-place finish in the 100 meters in Saturday’s Section 8AA Finals at the secondary school in Alexandria.

Mehrkens qualified for the state meet a year ago as part of the Prowlers 4×200-meter relay team. Mehrkens ran a 13.63 to finish fourth in Wednesday’s (June 1) Section 8AA preliminaries held at Detroit Lakes High School. Three days later, she shaved almost a full second off her time (12.77) to finish second and qualify for the national competition.

Mehrkens came close to qualifying in two other events. She finished fourth in the 200m, which had arguably been her best event of the regular season, and she was part of the 4×200-meter relay team that finished third, 0.17 seconds behind runner-up Detroit Lakes.

“Kendra ran amazing Saturday in the section finals,” said Katie Nelson, co-head coach of Thief River Falls. “She started her day on a great note qualifying for the state in the 100 meters placing second overall. She set one of her best times this season to qualify. The women’s 4×200 relay team of Kendal Rantanen, Dru Harbott, Jeanne Olson and anchored by Kendra had their best season, dropping three seconds off their previous best. Their transfers were nearly perfect and all split times were the best of the season, but unfortunately they missed state qualifying by 0.17 seconds. We have all of the relay members returning except for Jeanne Olson, so next year they should have continued success. Kendra also finished the competition strong with a season best in the 200m to place 4th overall.

Another close call came the boys’ 400-yard dash. Freshman William MacLean finished third with a time of 51.99, 1.47 seconds behind runner-up Cruz Megazzini of Pequot Lakes.

“Will clocked a personal best in the 400 with a time of 51.99 to come in third in the state qualifier missing by one spot,” Nelson said. “It would have taken a long time for him to drop out to be able to make it to state, but the good news is that the top two are both seniors, so if he continues to improve and run like he did this year, so next year looks very promising, he is also less than a second away from breaking our school record, which I believe he will break next season.

Overall, the Prowlers have finished in the top eight nine times. Brookie Bakke, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and 4th in the 300-meter hurdles, joined Mehrkens and MacLean on the medal stand; Dru Harbott finished 5th in the 400 meters; Kendal Rantanen finished 7th in the 400 meters; the women’s 4×200 team of Rantanen, Harbott, Jeanne Olson and Mehrkens finished third and the men’s 4×400 team of Nolan Lubarski, Isaac Mauch, Griffin Lundeen and MacLean finished eighth.

“Brookie Bakke ran very well in both of her hurdle races,” Nelson said. “She placed sixth in the 100 hurdles with a personal best.

“Dru Harbott improved his race time in the 400 meters by more than a second to rank fifth overall. It was his first year racing the 400 open. Kendal Rantanen ran surprisingly well to place 7th overall in a very close 400 race. In the section preliminaries she was able to lose over three seconds on her 400. Then in the final she lost almost a second more on his time. It will be great fun watching her and Dru compete next year in the 400m.
Nelson said the team peaked in the sectional meet, with nearly every relay and open event achieving a personal best for the season.

“Our 4×1 girls of Chesnie Wojciechowski, Vanessa Thibert, Stephanie Dagg and Haley Davis raced for the podium but were a bit short,” Nelson said. “The 4×1 boys of Ethan Osowski, Isaac Dakken, Keaton Hoverson and Taylor Engebretson also ran PR splits but missed the podium. The 4×2 boys of Ethan Osowski, Brady Olson, Isaac Dakken and Carter Engebretson lost a full second to execute a PR narrowly missing the podium by one spot. Our 4×4 girls of Brookie Bakke, Gwen Wojciechowski, Josie Peterson and Dru Harbott put up great split times to place sixth overall and earn a medal. The 4×4 boys of Nolan Lubarski, Griffin Lundeen, Isaac Mauch and William MacLean were able to fight their way onto the podium with a nice 8th place and also lose 3 seconds off their time to achieve a PR.

Alexandria won both Tag Team Championships. The Thief River Falls women’s team finished seventh and the men’s team finished 11th in their respective 12-team fields.

“The kids knew they had to come and compete and they did,” Nelson said. “Our section was much tougher this year, but our athletes showed they can compete with them and still be successful. I’m so proud of everyone who competed and how hard the team worked this year to achieve good results and success. It will be a big change next year without our large group of seniors to lead the subclasses. They have brought a lot of skill, hard work, determination, competitiveness and fun this season. We will miss them and all they have done for the team and we wish them the best of luck in the future.

Team results
• Girls – 1. Alexandria 165.75; 2. Rocoris 130.75; 3. Willmar 85; 4. Detroit Lakes 73.75; 5. Pequot Lakes 72; 6. Small drop 49.5; 7. Thief River Falls 36; 8.Albany 21; 9. Fergus Falls 20; 10.East Grand Forks 19.75; 11. Melrose area 15.5; 12. New London Spicer 13.

• Boys – 1. Alexandria 169.5; 2. Willmar 142.5; 3. Fergus Falls 81; 4. Rocoris 67; 5. Pequot Lakes 60.5; 6. Detroit Lakes 45; 7. Small fall 41; 8.East Grand Forks 40; 9.Albany 28; 10. New London Spicer 14.5; 11. Thief River Falls 7; 12. Melrose Area 6.

State Qualifications/TRF
Places-Girls
100 – 1. Abby Larson, Detroit Lakes, 12.63; 2. Kendra Mehrkens, Thief River Falls, 12.77; Preliminaries – 4. Mehrkens 13.63; 12. Haley Davis 14.12; 15. Jeanne Olson 14.22.

200 – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 26.24; 2. Abby Larson, Detroit Lakes, 26.26; 4. Kendra Mehrkens 26.92; Preliminaries – 3. Mehrkens 27.02; 11. Kendal Rantanen 27.98; 21. Jeanne Olson 28.91.

400 – 1. Jasmine Sieben, Rocori, 1:00.93; 2. Elena Fuglestad, Alexandria, 1:01.12; 5. Dr. Harbott 1:01.72; 7. Kendal Rantanen 1:02.10; Preliminaries – 5. Rantanen 1:02.83; 6. Harbott 1:02.99; 21.Josie Peterson 1:08.94.

800 – 1. Calia Chaney, Pequot Lakes, 2:16.68; 2. Jaelyn Miller, Alexandria, 2:17.06; Preliminaries – 18. Josie Peterson 2:43.45; 23. Maren Espe 2:56.07; 24. Kelsey Baltes 2:56.94.

1600 – 1. Aleah Miller, Alexandria, 4:56.16; 2. Calia Chaney, Pequot Lakes, 4:56.83; 3. Olivia Goebel, Albany, 5:02.68Q; 12.Livia Harbott 5:48.67; 25. Sophia Eidsmoe 6:43.84.

3200 – 1. Olivia Goebel, Albany, 10:43.28; 2. Emma Ecker, Alexandria, 11:21.29; 18.Livia Harbott 13:00.08; 33. Samantha Zoller 16:03.94.

100 hurdles – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 14.78; 2. Danielle Schirmers, Little Fall, 15.27; 6. Brookie Bakke 17.25; Preliminaries – 7. Bakke 17.54; 28. Stephanie Dagg 20.09; 31. Livia Thibert 21.88.

300 hurdles – 1. Cecelia Woods, Rocori, 45.28; 2. Annie Paulson, Detroit Lakes, 46.59; 4. Brookie Bakke 49.44; Preliminaries – 4. Bakke 49.48; 27. Livia Thibert 1:01.19.

4 × 100 – 1. Pequot Lakes 50.48; 2. Alexandria 51.26; 10. Thief River Falls 54.49.

4 × 200 – 1. Pequot Lakes 1: 46.37; 2. Detroit Lakes 1:47.18; 3. Thief River Falls 1:47.35.

4×400 – 1. Willmar 4:03.61; 2. Alexandria 4:05.83; 6. Thief River Falls 4:22.54.

4×800 – 1. Willmar 9:37.58; 2. Alexandria 9:39.64.

High jump – 1. Ainsley Hanson, Fergus Falls, 5-06.00; 2. Danica Pederson, New London-Spicer, 5-04.00; 13. Kelsey Baltes, 4-06.00.

Pole Vault – 1. Jerzie Horner, Detroit Lakes, 10-01.00; 2. Danielle Schirmers, Little Falls, 9-10 a.m.; Stephanie Dagg NH, Kendal Rantanen NH, Maren Espe NH

Long jump – 1. Hailie Kent, Alexandria, 17-00.50; 2. Alison Krasky, Alexandria, 16-09.50; 28. Chesnie Wojciechowski 13-01.00; 29. Lillian Man 12-10.00; 31. Vanessa Thibert 12-06.75.

Triple jump – 1. Hailie Kent, Alexandria, 37-05.50; 2. Isabelle Jaenicke, Melrose area, 36-01.50; 15. Jeanne Olson 31-06.25; 20. Avah Waldal 29-04.50; Chesnie Wojciechowski-foul.

Shot Put – 1. Makenna Larson, Willmar 36-07.50; 2. Brianna Schneider, Rocori, 35-09.00; 22. Megan Peterson 27-05.00; 25. Brianna Berg 26-01.50; 30. Brylee Lingen 24-05.75.

Disc – 1. Sophia Vinie, Alexandria, 111-03.00; 2. Amaria Sowada, Alexandria, 108-05.00; 17. Brianna Berg 79-08.00; 27. Megan Peterson 71.04.00; 32. Brylee Lingen 62-05.00.

State Qualifications/TRF
Places-Boys
100 – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 10.94; 2. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 11.03; Preliminaries – 25. Ethan Osowski 12.68; 27. Taylor Engebretson 12.98; 28.Isaac Dakken 13.12.

200 – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 10.94; 2. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 11.03; 10.William MacLean 24.41; 19. Carter Engebretson 25.38; 22. Brady Olson 07.26.

400 – 1. Christian Doumbia, Alexandria, 49.63; 2. Cruz Megazzini Pequot Lakes, 50.52; 3. William MacLean 51.99; Preliminaries – MacLean 53.35; 24. Keaton Hoverson 58.47; 25. Lundeen Griffin 58.61.

800 – 1. Colin O’Farrell, Willmar, 2:00.64; 2. Wyatt Baum, Little Falls, 2:01.49; Preliminaries – 11. Isaac Mauch 2:06.92; 24. Griffin Lundeen 2:20.48; 30. Zach Wikert 2:39.01.

1600 – 1. Vincent Kaluza, Rocori, 4:25.33; 2. Myles Sansted, Alexandria, 4:29.19; 18. Jaxon Tanner 5:16.10.

3200 – 1. Vincent Kaluza, Rocori, 9:40.87; 2. Sully Anez, Willmar, 9:45.18; 24. Zach Wikert 12:27.37; 26. Lincoln Davis 13:13.58; 28. Austin Tabatt 15:03.36.

100 hurdles – 1. Charles Schiessl, Pequot Lakes, 15.78; 2. Samuel Williams, Alexandria, 15.87; Preliminaries – 15. Nolan Lubarski 19.42; 19. Austin Tabatt 21.83.

300 hurdles – 1. William Sportel, Willmar, 41.08; 2. Cooper Smith, East Grand Forks, 41.14; Preliminaries – 10. Isaac Mauch 45.04; 20. Nolan Lubarski 48.00.

4×100 – 1. Willmar 43.17; 2. Detroit Lakes 43.95; 11. Thief River Falls 48.29.

4×200 – 1. Willmar 1:32.40; 2. Alexandria 1:33.17; 10. Thief River Falls 1:39.44.

4×400 – 1. Willmar 3:31.50; 2. Alexandria 3:32.27; 8. Thief River Falls 3:44.55.

4×800 – 1. Willmar 8:13.14; 2. East Grand Forks 8:24.19.

High Jump – 1. Criz Megazzini, Pequot Lakes, 6-01.00; 2. Luke Newman, Fergus Falls, 5-11 a.m.; Keaton Hoverson NH.

Pole vault – 1. Jordan Lee, Fergus Falls, 14-03.00; 2. Grant Hubbard, New London-Spicer, 13-03.00; Zach Wikert NH, Griffin Lundeen NH.

Long jump – 1. Michael Price, Willmar, 21-08.50; 2. Brandon Marsh, Detroit Lakes, 20-03.25; 20. Ethan Osowski 17-02.00.

Triple jump – 1. William Heydt, Alexandria, 43-05.75; 2. Shane Zierden, Fergus Falls, 41-08.25; 16. Isaac Mauch 36-08.50; 19. Carter Engebretson 36-05.50; Nolan Lubarski-foul.

Shot put – 1. Alexander Jensen, Fergus Falls, 54-01.50; 2. Joseph Lanoux, Alexandria, 50-04.00; 10. Taylor Engebretson 41-11.75; 14. Carter Engebretson 40-07.00; 25. Trian Petrescue 37-01.00.

Disc – 1. Alexander Jensen, Fergus Falls, 140-10.00; 2. Layten Drouillard, Fergus Falls, 140-03.00; 14. Taylor Engebretson, Thief River Falls, 110-01.00; 18. Trian Petrescue 103-08.00.