07 April 2013

Track: Tigers close indoor season

Isabelle Ferm paced 4x400 relay to win (photo by Jim Lindquist)
The Tiger track teams closed the books on the 2013 indoor season with an appearance at the 14-team All-American Invitational held Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Neither Farmington squad was at full strength as the meet was a last minute addition to the schedule due to continuing inclement weather conditions that have delayed the start of the outdoor season.

Despite the skeleton squads the Tigers scored three firsts and and three seconds against a quality field from Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The boys registered a pair of firsts, including a meet-opening win by the 4x800 relay team of Justin Hyytinen, Tyler Lerbakken, Devon Webb and Eric Stoeckman that checked in with a finishing time of 8:34.98.

Hyytinen supplied the other first place points with a victory in the 3200-meter run, clocking 10:01.5.

For the girls, the 4x400 relay quartet of Isabelle Ferm, Maria Kiminski, Alicia Hett and Megan Graham came in first with a quality indoor time of 4:11.29.

Two-time state champion Nadia Lorencz added two seconds and a third for the Tigers. Lorencz finished runner-up in the 55-meter hurdles and long jump and placed third behind runner-up Ferm in the triple jump.

Justin Hyytinen 1st place 3200-meter run, 4x800 relay (photo by Jim Lindquist)
Farmington finished third overall in the girls standings while the shorthanded boys ranked 12th.

 "We added this meet kind of late, so some of our athletes were not able to attend." girls coach Tom Hart said, "but overall I thought our team did very well."

Boys coach Brian Helmstetter said he wasn't overly concerned with his team's second division finish in the final standings.

"I am happy with the performances of the boys that came on the bus and experienced a top-of-the line meet," he said. "They competed hard and got a good taste of the speed they will face at the big meets this season."

Other top 10 Farmington finishes:

Girls
400-meter dash: 4. Kiminski; 7. Graham
4x200 relay: 6. Sofia Chadwick, Hett, Nicole Ellis, Alex Frost
4x800 relay: 8. Ferm, Destiny Schmitz, Kelsey Lindell, Jennifer Miller
55-meter dash: 9. Emma Record
800-meter run: 9. Chadwick
3200-mter run: 10. Maricia Pacheco

Boys
4x400 relay: 6. Nehemiah Rockett, Stoeckman, Webb, Lerbakken
4x200 relay: 7. Lerbakken, Alex Chadwick, Mason Gaylord, Mason Auge
800-meter run: 10. Jake Rudeen
55-meter dash: 10. Mason Auge