Tied school indoor high jump record (6-2)
After just five days of practice the Tiger boys put a toe in the competitive waters with an appearance at an indoor meet Saturday, Mar. 19, at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Coach Brian Helmstetter said he didn't bring anywhere near a complete team to the non-scored meet but offered it provided a good opportunity for his athletes to test their early season conditioning.
"We looked at it as a good practice and a chance to get some times so we could start setting realistic goals for the first half of the season," he said.
Helmstetter said he was encouraged by the performance of his senior class in the indoor opener. Defending Missota Conference 400-meter champion Tyler Grubb showed good form in stints on the 4x200 and 4x400 relays and CJ Record won his heat in the 55-meter dash before tweaking a hamstring muscle later in the meet.
High-jumper Sam Hanson tied the indoor school record by clearing 6-2 in the high jump and also ran an impressive 200 meters in the 4x200 relay.
Throwers John Schimmel, Dillon Pariseau and Joe Ouyang all showed good early season form in the shot put with Schimmel tossing the 12-pound ball over 47 feet.
Senors Zach Wyatt (4x200 relay and high jump), Andrew Cayard (sprints), Matt Stephan (1600-meter run), Tyler Beckett (hurdles) and Justice Detzel (hurdles) also turned in promising performances.
That promise wasn't limited to seniors, however. Junior Justin Hett long-jumped 18-1 and looked good in the 55-meter dash and sophomores Trevor Breezley, Tyler Lerbakken and Clayton Webb turned in quality times in distance events.
Helmstetter also brought a contingent of ninth graders--Tanner Grubb, Eric Stoeckeman, Jake Erickson, Mason Auge, Mason Gaylord, Jake Rudeen and Jeff Guitierrez--to get their first taste of varsity competition and all seemed more than up for the task.
"As coaches, we saw a lot of kids working hard and focusing on form and warms-ups and cool-downs which we have been stressing in practice," Helmstetter said.
