Gopher sending seven to state

The Gopher Conference will send seven athletes to the MSHSL state track meet from Thursday, June 8 to Saturday, Jun 10 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

Leading all three Gopher Conference schools is NRHEG, who will have four individuals compete in their respective events.

Returning to the state meet for the Panthers is 800-meter athlete Quinn VanMaldeghem, who took first place in the event with a time of 2:24.89.

Also competing on the track for the Panthers is a pair of hurdlers in William Tuttle and Evelyn Nydegger.

Both athletes placed either first or second in the 100- and 300-meter hurdle events to punch their ticket to the big show after a season of stellar consistency in their events.

Tuttle showcased his speed in the 300-meter hurdles with a first-place finish in 41.96 seconds, and came close to another win, but fell just 0.01 seconds shy of first to Mankato Loyola/Cleveland’s Simon Morgan at 15.15-15.16.

Nydegger took second in both events, finishing less than one second behind her opponent both times.

“What fantastic performances by Evelyn Nydegger qualifying for state in both hurdle events.

Quinn [VanMaldeghem] ran a fantastic second lap in the 800-meter, passing two girls to take the section championship. Will was fantastic in both hurdles today. He set a new school record in the 110-meter hurdles previously held by Brady Agrimson from 2019 and won the section championship in the 300-meter hurdles handily,” said NRHEG head coach Duey Ferber.

In the field, NRHEG will be represented by Lucas Hanna, who took second place in the discus event with a final distance of 134 feet and seven inches.

Blooming Prairie featured one athlete making it to the state tournament, and her name will surely be on the title watchlist of many fans in attendance.

2022 high jump state champion Annaka Forsberg will return to the state meet to defend her title and will also shoot for the state title in the triple jump after leaping 36 feet at the section meet.

Rounding out the list of Gopher athletes headed to the state meet are Jesse Ortiz and Jackie Cole.

Cole is no stranger to the state meet and competed last year in the long jump event.

This year she will return to the hunt for the state long jump title but will also compete in the 200-meter dash as well.

Joining Cole in the 200-meter dash is Ortiz, who will compete in the boys’ division after taking second place at the section meet.

Preliminary rounds for the Class A state meet will begin at 3:30 p.m. for both races and field events on Thursday, June 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

Races will go until roughly 7:30 p.m., with field events ending around 5:30 p.m.

Athletes who make it to the finals will compete again on Friday, June 9, beginning at the same allotted times.