Concordia Academy’s Zinter caps strong day at state track and field meet by winning 200-meter dash

posted in: News | 0

Judah Zinter was a busy guy at Friday’s Class A state track and field meet.

The Concordia Academy junior competed in four events — the long jump, the 300-meter hurdles and the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

That last event was the day’s highlight as Zinter captured the boys 200 state title in a time of 22.14 seconds, holding off Medford senior Jesse Ortiz, who finished in a time of 22.30.

Nova Classical Academy senior Henry Peklo finished fifth in a time of 22.44.

“I remember being so disappointed when I was here last year,” said Zinter, who competed in the 300 hurdles and 4×200 relay a year ago, but did not advance to finals in either event.

“This year is the complete opposite. It feels amazing.”

The title came after Zinter finished third in the 100 (10.98) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (40.51). He turned in a leap of 20-feet-4.75 in the long jump, which left him in 14th place. Peklo finished seventh in the 100 (11.13). Math and Science Academy junior Malcolm Lewis finished seventh in the long jump (21-1).

“I was happy with how things went overall,” Zinter said. “I was feeling pretty disappointed after the 300 hurdles because I thought I could have run a lot better. But winning the 200 made up for all that.”

A broken arm suffered mid-season a year ago kept Zinter’s Concordia Academy teammate Logan Swanson from competing in the hurdles.

And while Swanson did compete at the state meet as part of the Beacons’ 4×200 relay team, this season marked the junior’s first appearance in an individual event.

He made the most of it, finishing second in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.86 seconds. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted senior Hayden Brown won the event in a time of 14.77.

“Now I know I can compete here,” Swanson said. “Coming in, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. But now I have a lot more confidence in myself.”

Winning 400

St. Paul Academy and Summit School junior Oliver Thompson only ran the 400 dash twice last season. But the second time came at the section meet, where he just missed qualifying for state by less than a second.

That performance raised the bar coming into this season.

“I talked to my coaches coming into the season and they told me they were going to get me in there,” Thompson said. “They said they were going to have me running two (400s) a meet (including relays), and I was just going to get better.”

It turned out to be sound strategy as Thompson — competing in his first state meet — won the boys 400 Friday in a time of 48.78 seconds.

“It feels great,” said Thompson, who ran the 400 twice in prelims Thursday, first in his own event, then as part of Spartans’ 4×400 relay team that did not qualify for finals. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I’m still feeling a little sore from all these 400s. But it’s really exciting.”

Girls 300 hurdles

St. Paul Academy and Summit School sophomore Elizabeth Tuttle is also going home a state champion after winning the girls 300 hurdles in a time of 44.82 seconds. That came after she finished second in the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.00. A.B.E. senior Lucea Wales won the event in a time of 14.76. Trinity/Unity senior Mariah Willard finished third (15.11). Willard placed eighth in the 300 (46.41).

“I got a PR (personal record) in the 100, but I was aiming to go sub-15 and I finished in 15 flat,” said Tuttle, who finished sixth in the 100 hurdles and third in the long jump at the Class 2A state meet a year ago (the Spartans dropped to Class A this season).

“And I finished as runner-up. So I was pretty motivated going into the 300.”

Another big day for Lewis

Math and Science freshman McKaylen Lewis followed up a huge day on Thursday with a second-place finish in the girls 200 Friday, turning in a time of 24.76 seconds. Bagley/Fosston junior Ava Phrakonkham won the event with a time of 24.60.

The day before, Lewis won state titles in the high jump (5-5) and long jump (19-9).

“I didn’t come into this season with any expectations in the high jump because I’d never tried it before,” said Lewis, who finished second in the long jump and third in the 200 at the state meet a year ago. “In the long jump, my goal was to come back and do better than I did last season. So I couldn’t be more happy.

“(Friday) was just a really calm day,” she continued. “It was nice to slow down and focus on getting ready for my race.”

Long distance win

It wasn’t quite the same feeling as winning the Class A state cross country title last fall. That, after all, was Mounds Park Academy junior Eddie Snider’s first state championship. But winning the boys 3,200 Thursday was still a thrill.

“It was less of a shock than it was in cross country,” said Snider, who finished in a time of 9:31.95. “But it was still fun. Now I can call myself a two-sport champion.”

Snider — whose sister Megan, a freshman, competed in the girls 1,600 and 3,200 — was back on the track Friday for the 1,600. He finished 11th in a time of 4:30.96. Math and Science Academy sophomore Liam Caldwell was 10th in a time of 4:29.04. Redwood Valley junior William Ahrens won the event in a time of 4:19.91.

“The mile isn’t really my best event,” Snider said. “So I just tried to do the best I could. It went OK.”

A St. Croix run

The St. Croix Lutheran boys 4×400 relay team finished third overall in a time of 3:24.12.

Related Articles

High School Sports |


State track and field: Mechura, Snider complete distance doubles

Boys state tennis: St. Paul Academy wins singles, doubles titles to complete Class A state sweep

posted in: News | 0

St. Paul Academy freshman Zahir Hassan won the Class A singles state title in straight sets Friday at Reed Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

To do so, he had to knock off his teammate.

Hassan, the No. 2 seed, bested the tournament’s top seed, Spartans’ eighth-grader Winston Arvidson, 6-4, 6-1 to win the championship.

Hassan didn’t drop a set throughout his state tournament run, and the first set of the title match marked the only time in the two days that he lost more than two games in a set.

St. Paul Academy — which won the team title Wednesday — completed the Class A state week sweep as Leo Benson and Maik Nguyen repeated as doubles champs. The top seed downed the No. 2 seed, Carter Reinbold and Charlie Paul of Mound Westonka, 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match.

The senior duo didn’t drop a set this week.

CLASS 2A

Rochester Mayo’s Tej Bhagra beat Wayzata’s Aaron Beduhn 6-4, 6-4 to claim the Class 2A individual state crown at Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

Mahtomedi’s Brandon Pham claimed third place after Zephyrs teammate Sam Rathmanner retired following a grueling three-set, semifinal loss to Beduhn.

Orono’s Anthony Perrill and Quinn Martini beat Wayzata’s Tanay Panguluri and Jacob Salisbury 6-2, 6-4 to win the doubles title.

Related Articles

High School Sports |


State boys tennis: St. Paul Academy wins third straight Class A championship

High School Sports |


Boys state tennis: Mahtomedi bests Eagan in quarters

State softball roundup: Carter Raymond dazzles again to lead Randolph to 2A title

posted in: News | 0

Randolph 3, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 0

Carter Raymond tossed her second consecutive shutout in as many days to lead Randolph to a Class 2A state championship.

The star junior hurler allowed just four hits in the title game victory over the No. 2 seed, one day after tossing a one-hitter in a semifinal win over St. Agnes.

She finished the state tournament with 17 consecutive scoreless innings tossed. Raymond struck out 28 batters in 21 innings pitched in North Mankato this week.

Allie Gillette delivered the key offensive blow for the top-seeded Rockets (27-1), connecting on a two-run double down the left-field line in the third inning to put Randolph up 2-0. Kylee Carey supplied an RBI single in the seventh for an insurance run.

Julia Montgomery had two hits for second-seeded Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial (23-3). The title is Randolph’s second, with the first coming in 2021 in Class A.

Rogers 3, New Prague 0

Making just its second state tournament appearance in program history — and first since 2005 — Rogers now has a Class 4A state title.

Kamryn Messer led the third-seeded Royals (22-3) with two hits, but it was Olivia Ohme who put the Royals on the board in the second with an RBI double. Seven different Rogers players collected hits in the title game, as the Royals scored runs in the second, fifth and seventh frames.

That was more than enough offense for AnnaBelle Waldoch. The eighth-grader was dominant in the circle, tossing a three-hit shutout that featured seven strikeouts.

Jordyn Marsh had 10 strikeouts for fourth-seeded New Prague (21-4), who was also making its first title game appearance.

New Ulm Cathedral 10, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 4

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley’s Cinderella run from unseeded team to the state final in just the program’s second state tournament appearance — and first since 2004 — finally succumbed in the Class A final to the dominant bats of the top seed.

Jenna Hotovec went 4 for 5 at the plate for New Ulm Cathedral (26-2), while Alexa Hornick and Abbey Hillesheim each had three runs batted in. Ava Schmid drove in two runs while scoring two of her own.

Hillesheim hit a three-run homer in the second, part of a four-run frame after Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (20-5) claimed a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Jayde Altermatt threw a complete game for New Ulm Cathedral.

Related Articles

High School Sports |


State softball: Mankato East rallies past Cretin-Derham Hall in seventh for Class 3A title

High School Sports |


State softball: Randolph edges St. Agnes in 2A semis in epic pitching duel between Raymond, Proper

High School Sports |


State softball: Pair of late-game homers push Cretin-Derham Hall into first state final since 1991

High School Sports |


State softball: Rosemount generates a bevy of hits, but not enough runs in semifinal loss to New Prague

High School Sports |


State softball: First-inning charge leads Rogers to upset win over Forest Lake

Kennedy says he has secured ballot access in enough states to win. That’s not yet true

posted in: Politics | 0

By JONATHAN J. COOPER (Associated Press)

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claimed Friday that he’s qualified for the ballot in enough states to win the presidency as an independent candidate, but there’s a major caveat: at least 10 of the states have not certified his candidacy.

Kennedy is racing to secure a place on the ballot in states with at least 270 electoral votes, the minimum needed to become president, before a June 20 deadline to qualify for a CNN debate later this month.

Kennedy’s campaign said he submitted 3,300 signatures in Minnesota on Friday and listed the state among 19 states with 278 electoral votes where he claims ballot access. But by the campaign’s own admission, at least half of those states have not verified that his submission is valid.

CNN has signaled that it won’t count states where Kennedy has applied for ballot access but not been confirmed. Kennedy filed a Federal Election Commission complaint last month alleging the cable network is colluding with Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to exclude him from the debate.

Kennedy also has not met the debate’s requirement to get at least 15% in four reputable polls.

Biden and Trump agreed to the CNN debate and a second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC, bypassing the nonpartisan commission that has organized debates for nearly four decades.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and prominent anti-vaccine activist, abandoned his Democratic primary challenge to Biden last year and began campaigning as an independent. Among the major obstacles he faces is an expensive and time-consuming requirement to secure ballot access state by state, which will require him to collect millions of signatures that must be verified by election officials before his candidacy is approved.

He’s built a loyal following among people disaffected by American institutions including the government, corporations and the media, an ideologically eclectic group that will have an unpredictable impact on the election. Biden and Trump both fear that Kennedy will draw voters who might otherwise vote for them.