Boys Track: One big highlight reel

All-stater Tanner Grubb one of 19 seniors (photos by J. Lindquist)

Three meet championships, including both the Missota Conference and Section 1AA titles; a strong showing at the prestigious Hamline Elite meet; nine-state meet qualifiers; a record ninth place finish at the state championships; multiple school records and countless personal best performances.

Not even a late spring and the miserable weather that followed could keep Farmington from another memorable season.

"A big goal for this season was to make sure the seniors left something behind to remember," coach Brian Helmstetter said. "Many of them had been varsity athletes for four years and we wanted them to show the younger grades how hard work equals success. They certainly did that."

A large class of 19 seniors received letters for their efforts during the 2014 campaign: Mason Auge, Alexander Burton, Sean Dougherty, Jack Erickson, Mason Gaylord, Tanner Grubb, Jeff Gutierrez, Jacob Hove, Brendan King, Derek Klotter, Jakob Lee, Sean McHenry, Godfrey Mpetey, Josh Patterson, Santana Perdomo, Hunter Sevenich, Riley Stevenson, Jared Wolt and CJ Wynings.

**A complete list of letterwinners appears at the bottom of the page.

Although most coaches would be more than satisfied with a second place finish, Helmstetter noted his team's runner-up effort at the Section 1AA True Team Championships was the only meet he would like to have back.

"We came within 10 points of winning it so that was somewhat of a disappointment," he said. "But instead of falling part after not achieving that goal, we re-grouped and rose up to win the conference and section."

Justin Hyytinen broke 3 school records (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Six individuals and two relay teams won all-Missota Conference honors. The individuals included Grubb (200 and 400-meter dashes); Justin Hyytinen (1600 and 3200-meter runs); Nehemiah Rockett (110 and 300-meter hurdles); Wyatt Ferm (high jump); Wynings (discus) and King (discus).

The 4x400 relay team of Rockett, Ryan Parco, Devon Webb and Hyytinen won all-league honors as did the 4x800 quartet of Sevenich, Wolt, Adam Dougherty and Webb. Webb also received all-conference honorable mention in the 800-meter run.

The individual state meet qualifiers included Hyytinen (1600 and 3200), Grubb (200 and 400) and Wynings (discus).

The Tigers set a school record by qualifying all four relay teams for state: 4x100 (Caleb Bray, Erickson, McHenry, Auge); 4x200 (Auge, Erickson, Ryan Parco, Grubb); 4x400 (Rockett, Parco, Webb, Hyytinen) and 4x4800 (Hart, Adam Dougherty, Wolt, Webb).

Grubb (track) and Wynings (field) were named team co-MVP's while Hyytinen, who personally re-wrote the FHS distance record book by setting new standards in the 800, 1600 and 3200-meter runs, was the recipient of the Tiger Award. McHenry and Parco shared the team's Most Improved Award.

In addition to Hyytinen's record-shattering season, Grubb also set a new standard in the 400-meter dash (48.82). The 4x400 relay foursome of Rockett, Webb, Hyytinen and Grubb also established a new school mark at the state meet (3:20.97).

"Justin has another year left but those other two records may stand for awhile," Helmstetter said.

Helmstetter said one of his biggest tasks next spring will be replacing this year's seniors, especially when it comes to leadership.

"Because we had such a strong senior group, our younger athletes haven't had as many opportunities to be team leaders," he said. "The success we have next season will depend on the work and dedication we put in during the off-season. That will start with our leaders."

Getting more athletes to come out for the sport also ranks high on Helmstetter's to-do list.

"There are too many FHS athletes that are not out for spring sports," he said. "Those are the guys who could help us make some noise in our new conference next season."

Farmington moves to the highly competitive South Suburban Conference next year but Helmstetter said he doesn't see his team suffering much in the way of culture shock.

"The South Suburban Conference meet will obviously be tougher," he said, "but we compete against most of those schools already. The new conference should help us better prepare for the section."

2014 Boys Track letterwinners (grades 9-11)
Juniors 
Jake Bauerle,  Wyaatt Ferm, Garret Haugen, Zach Herrera, Mike Husnik, Justin Hyytinen, Ryan Parco, Nehemiah Rockett, Dan Som and Tanner Thode
Sophomores
Caleb Bray, Adam Dougherty, Alex Hart, David Husnik, Dalton States, Alex Swearingen and Devon Webb
Freshmen
David Gutsalyuk and Alexander Hall 

2014 Boys Track participants (grades 9-12)
Seniors
Sam Ellison and Westin Loeshke
Juniors
Max Aldana, Jonathan Bovee, Cristian Brollier, Robin DeCastro, Dylan Hammerschmidt. Matthew Jenny, Elie Kahlerrah, Long Lam,Dylan Pitzen, Luis Rodriguez, Jacob Roepke, Zachary Teiken, Calvin Vue, Peyton Woller and Nick Zellen
Sophomores
Gavin Bassett, Jesse Chanthakhoun, Alexander Clemonts, Derek Cole, Adriano DeOliveira, Nino Doungbouty, Cole Dubbels, Dylan Gerlach, Josh Grimm, Zachary Knutson-Rivers, Aaron Koenigsberg, Jake Langr, Ryan Newton, Dylan Otterness, Braeden Peterson, Robel Ponds, Jackson Reed, Kyle Rotvold, Matthew Rowe, Samule Rutz, Nhezzim Salmeron, Jackson Schneider, Jake Schwartz, Tyler Shafer, Kyle Smith, Ben Sorenson and Matthew Townsend
Freshmen
Zachary Adamson, Bryant Aguilar, Christopher Erickson, Keon Gates, Kellen Grundman, Zachary Johnson, Derek Kulla, Kurawel Negash, Matthew O'Malley, Sam Okikiolu, Miguel Ponce, Zachary Redlin, Bryan Scavone, Taylor Tabolich, MacCoy Urbia and Rob Vasquez
 

Track: Hyytinen, Grubb shine at wet state track

Justin Hyytinen (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The weather outside was frightful but the performances of Tigers Justin Hyytinen and Tanner Grubb were delightful at the 2014 Class AA Track and Field Championships held Saturday at soggy Hamline University.

Junior Hyytinen and senior Grubb had their hands in all 25 team points as Farmington finished in a three-way tie with North St. Paul and Moorhead for ninth place in the final team standings.

The Tigers qualified for the state meet in nine events and earned points in four.

"Justin and Tanner were outstanding against the state's best," coach Brian Helmstetter said.  "I would say we had a good state meet.

"There were a couple of places where we could have done better, but overall it was good."

Hyytinen started his busy state run with a seventh place finish in Thursday's 3200-meter run, finishing in 9:22.46.

Tanner Grubb (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The same day, Grubb made the 400-meter dash finals with a school record time of 48.88 and the 4x400 relay team of Nehemiah Rockett, Ryan Parco, Devon Webb and Grubb set another school mark of 3:21.74 in qualifying for Saturday's finals.

Hyytinen placed third in the 1600-meter run on Saturday in a star-studded field that saw the top six finishers hit the line in a span of fewer than three seconds.

Grubb added fourth place points in the open 400, slicing 06. of a second off his school record in the process with a finishing time of 48.82.

Hyytinen stepped in to join Rockett, Webb and Grubb for the 4x400 relay final and erased Thursday's school mark with a third place effort in 3:20.97.


Other state meet results:
Grubb finished 12th in the 200-meter dash preliminaries in 22.46 and did not qualify for the finals
The 4x800 relay team of Jared Wolt, Alex Hart, Sean Dougherty and Webb finished 15th in 8:25.02
The 4x100 relay team of Caleb Bray, Jack Erickson, Sean McHenry and Mason Auge did not qualify for the finals.
The 4x200 relay team of Auge, Bray, Erickson and Parco did not qualify for the finals
 CJ Wynings did not qualify for the finals in the discus.

Tiger Girls Results
Farmington scored a single team point at the state meet on a ninth place finish in the 4x200 relay by the team of Isabelle Ferm, Emma Record, Jennifer Miller and Megan Graham.

The 4x800 relay foursome of Sofia Chadwick, Lauren Peterson, Morgan Mach and Alicia Hett ranked 15th in 9:42.46.

Farmington's 4x400 team of Hett, Miller, Graham and Ferm ran a 3:59.08, three spots out of qualifying for the finals.

Ferm triple jumped 35-7.25 and finished in 15th place.

"We competed hard but it just wasn't there for us today," coach Tom Hart said.

"If there was a disappointment it came in the 4x400 where I thought we would run around a 3:57 in the prelims but it didn't happen. If we had gotten to the finals, I thing we would have had a shot a top five finish."

Farmington placed second in the 4x400 at the 2013 state meet.

Boys Track: Having their cake and eating it, too

Tanner Grubb (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Justin Hyytinen (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Most coaches have one of two goals in mind when it comes to the section track: 1) advancing as many athletes as possible to the state meet or 2) winning the team title.

After the conclusion of Saturday's Section 1AA Championships at Lakeville South, Tiger coach Brian Helmstetter found his deep and talented squad had accomplished both.

Farmington qualified for next weekend's state finals at Hamline University in St. Paul in a school-record tying nine events and in doing so came away with its third-ever section title with 135.5 team points.

"The goal was to qualify as many athletes for state as we could..." Helmstetter said, "but with that being said, we knew if the boys took care of business, a top three placement was well within reach also."

Turns out the Tigers took home the championship hardware with relative ease with runner-up Hastings well back with 99 points. Owatonna ranked third with 84 followed by Lakeville North 78, Rochester Century 55.5, Rochester John Marshall 50, Austin 43, Red Wing 41, Lakeville South 39, Faribault 26.5, Winona 17.5, Albert Lea 12, Rochester Mayo 12, Kasson-Mantorville 7 and Northfield 2.

As has been the case all season, the Tiger effort was led by senior Tanner Grubb and junior Justin Hyytinen. Each qualified for state in two individual events and a relay.

Grubb won the 200-meter (22.32) and 400-meter (49.47) dashes and anchored the winning 4x200 relay team of Mason Auge, Jack Erickson and Ryan Parco (1:29.83). Grubb's winning time in the 400 shaved .17 seconds off his school record time set earlier this year.

Hyytinen out-kicked Hastings' Zack Benning down the stretch to win the 1600-meter run in 4:13.83 to break his old school mark. He also took second in the 3200-meter run and showed his versatility in joining Nehemiah Rockett, Parco and Devon Webb on the second place 4x400 relay team.

CJ Wynings (center) won the discus with a throw of 158-2

Farmington's third individual to qualify for state was CJ Wynings who eclipsed his old personal mark by eight feet in the discus with a winning throw of 158-2.

The 4x800 relay foursome of Alex Hart, Sean Dougherty, Jared Wolt and Webb started the meet out on a high note by posting a winning time of 8:12.70.

The 4x100 relay quartet of Caleb Bray, Jack Erickson, Sean McHenry and Auge punched its ticket to the state meet with a second place finish.

"Our 4x100 and 4x800 were up in the air as to how they would compete with the other teams," Helmstetter said. "Those were huge positives as both move on."

Helmstetter said if there were any disappointments to take away from the productive day it was the three third place finishers who fell one spot short of making the trip to Hamline.

"The toughest part about this meet is we left three athletes at the altar," he said. "Mason Gaylord (triple jump), Wyatt Ferm (high jump) and Nehemiah Rockett (300 hurdles) were one place away."

Helmstetter, who was named the Section 1AA Coach of the Year following the meet, downplayed his recognition and gave the credit to his athletes and assistant coaches.

"It was the boys who went out and ran and jumped and threw," he said. "And I wish the award had all of our coaches names on it. It's an incredible compliment from the other section coaches as they felt our program, both boys and girls, made a statement at this meet."

The 13-member contingent heading to state now has less than a week to prepare for its biggest test of the season.

"Our goal is to get as many individuals and relay teams into the finals as possible," Helmstetter said. "The team points will come if the boys perform as they are capable."

Other Farmington point scorers at the section meet:
100-meter dash: 5. Auge; 6. Erickson
200-meter dash: 6. Bray
400-meter dash: 4. Parco
800-meter run:4. Webb
1600-meter run: 7. Hart
110-meter hurdles: 5. Rockett
300-meter hurdles: 3. Rockett
Long jump: 5. McHenry
Triple jump: 6. Rockett
Discus: 8. Brendan King

All in all, 13 different Tigers qualified for the state meet

Tigers repeat in Missota in record fashion

Justin Hyytinen: three first place finishes (photo by J. Lindquist)

Missota Conference records fell, school records went by the wayside and most importantly, the Tigers defended their team title at the last-ever Missota Conference Championships held Thursday  in Chanhassen.

Farmington amassed 211 points to win the 2014 conference hardware in dominant fashion. Shakopee was well back in second with 170, followed by New Prague 117, Chaska 114 5, Chanhassen 106, Red Wing 87, Holy Angels 74 and Northfield 18.

"Shakopee and Chanhassen were the teams to beat and it all depended on where our second and third runners were going to place," Tiger coach Brian Helmstetter said. "Our relays performed well despite not having the usual names which was also a crucial piece.

"This was one of the better conference meets in recent years when you look at the times and distances which makes it even more rewarding. We needed things to fall into place and we took care of business."

The Tigers broke two conference records and two school marks at the meet. Versatile Justin Hyytinen out-kicked Chaska's Joey Duerr to win the 3200-meter run and break former Tiger Ben Kampf's league and school mark in a 9:18.61 finishing time.

Tanner Grubb set 400-meter school record (photo by J. Lindquist)

Hyytinen also cruised to an easy win the 1600-meter run in 4:32.43 and closed the meet by anchoring the winning 4x400 relay.

That quartet of team of Nehemiah Rockett, Ryan Parco, Devon Webb and Hyytinen established the other new conference mark, running 3:26.21, breaking the old standard set by Northfield in 1985.

Tanner Grubb, who won the 200 and 400-meter dashes and took sixth in the 100-meter dash, broke 50 seconds in the 400 (49.64) to erase the old school mark of 50.1 set by Rob Vetell back in 1981.

Rockett, Webb and Parco also had big days for the conference champs.

In addition to leading off the record-setting 4x400 relay, Rockett won the 300-meter hurdles, took second in the 110-meter hurdles and placed fourth in the triple jump.

Parco, meanwhile ran the second leg of the 4x400 and ranked fifth in the open 400, fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 200-meter dash.

For his part, Webb logged the third leg of the 4x400, took third in the open 800 and anchored the winning 4x800 relay team of Hunter Sevenich, Jared Wolt and Adam Dougherty.

Sophomore distance runner Alex Hart turned in a fourth place performance in the 1600-meter run and ranked sixth in the 3200. Wolt was fourth in the open 800.

In the field events, CJ Wynings won the discus with a throw of 150-2. and teammate Brednan King placed second.

Nehemiah Rockett 300-hurdles conference champion (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Wyatt Ferm placed among the leaders in two events, taking second in the high jump and fourth in the pole vault.

Two Tiger relay teams finished fourth: the 4x100 foursome of Caleb Bary, Jack Erickson, Sean McHenry and Mason Auge and the 4x200 quartet of Auge, Bray, Mason Gaylord and Erickson.

Auge also took eighth in the 100-meter dash and Erickson was seventh in the 200. McHenry and Gaylor were fifth respectively in the long jump and triple jump. Zach Herrera scored eighth place points in the high jump and Tanner Thode placed ninth in the shot put.

Ryan Parco placed in four events (photo by Jim Lindquist)

"Early in the meet we had some athletes with some big performances and not just from our first place finishers," Helmstetter said. "But the guys that scored personal bests to get into the top nine. Those are the guys that helped win this meet.  It was great to see new faces make the podium."

Saturday the Tigers travel to Lakeville South for the Section 1AA Championships with the goal to qualify as many athletes as possible for the following week's state meet.

Track: Tigers win Foley Classic the easy way

Tanner Grubb 3-event winner (photo by J. Lindquist)

Justin Hyytinen broke 800-meter school record (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington won Thursday's annual Pat Foley Classic at Carleton College in Northfield by, well, the luck of the draw.

Team points aren't kept at the triangular get-together with section rivals Northfield and Rochester John Marshall but the winner is rather determined by a random drawing of a name of of one of the 36 events (boys and girls).

In this case the "winner" was the boys' 200-meter dash and because Farmington's Jack Erickson was the winner of that event, the Tiger boys and girls teams were declared meet champions.

"It was fun to see the boys and girls run the victory lap together," Tiger boys' coach Brian Helmstetter said.

In addition to the fun format to determine a team winner, the meet also served as a final tune-up for next Thursday's Missota Conference Championships at Chanhassen.

"We had some good times and we figured out a few things tonight," Helmstetter said.

One thing he figured out was that he may face a dilemma in where to run junior Justin Hyytinen in the conference and section meets. Hyytinen, already one of the best 1600 and 3200-meter runners in the state, broke Henry Schneider's 28-year old record in the 800-meter run with a 1:56.01 clocking.

But Hyytinen's second school record run of the season wasn't the only boys' highlight. Farmington won 12 of the meet's 18 events and piled up the lower places as well.

Tanner Grubb was a three-event winner, capturing the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes and joining with Mason Auge, Ryan Parco and Erickson to claim the 4x200 relay.

Five other Tigers won individual events: Jeff Gutierrez, 3200-meter run; Nehemiah Rockett, 110-meter hurdles; Zach Herrera, high jump; Sean McHenry, long jump and Mason Gaylord, triple jump.

The 4x100 relay team of Erickson, McHenry, Auge and Caleb Bray and the 4x400 foursome of Webb, Gaylord, Robin DeCastro and Jared Wolt also put together first place finishes.

Other top three Tiger performances:
100-meter dash: 3. McHenry
200-meter dash: 2. Auge.
400-meter run: 2. Parco; 3. Rockett
800-meter run: 2. Webb
1600-meter run: 3. Roberto Vasquez
3200-meter run: 3. Hunter Sevenich
Pole vault: 3. Wyatt Ferm
Long jump: Parco
Triple jump: 3. Dalton States
Shot put: 2. Mike Husnick; 3. Tanner Thode
Discus: 2. CJ Wynings; 3. Brendan King

Isabelle Ferm was a two-event winner (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tiger girls won four individual events and one relay at the Foley Classic. Isabelle Ferm was a two-event winner, taking the triple jump and teaming with Jennifer Miller, Morgan Cecchittini and Kelli Elmer to win the 4x200 relay.

Other individual winners included Samantha Kramer, 200-meter dash; Destiny Schmitz, high jump; Jordan Walls, 100-meter hurdles and Leah Kiage, 300-meter hurdles.

"We had some good performances in less than ideal May conditions," Tiger coach Tom Hart said, "Hopefully that transfers over to next week."

Other top three Tigers finishes:
4x800 relay: 2. Maricella Pacheco, Sara Cummings, Anna Palodichuk, Alexis Johnson
200-meter dash: 2. Nicole Doran; 3. Alexandra Hermosa
400-meter dash; 3. Amanda Schmidt
800-meter run: 2. Alicia Hett
3200-meter run: 2. Lauren Peterson
4x100 relay:  2. Elmer, Doran, Cecchittini, MaKayla Ford
High jump: 2. Kaitlyn Besler; 3. Kendall Novak
Pole vault: 3. Walls
Long jump: 3. Megan Graham
Triple jump: 3. Schmitz

Track: Hyytinen has record night at Hamline

Justin Hyytinen (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Justin Hyytinen broke a meet and school record in the 1600-meter run at the Hamline Elite meet held Friday night at Hamline University in St. Paul.

The speedy Tiger junior ran the four-lap race in 4:14.05 to break the old mark of 4:15.16 set in 2008 by Irondale's Andy Richardson. It also eclipsed the previous school mark of 4:19 set in 1983 by Roger Thelen.

Hyytinen's blue ribbon performance wasn't the only Tiger first place finish at the elite meet. The girls' 4x200 relay team of Emma Record, Jennifer Miller, Megan Graham and Isabelle Ferm led the talented field with a finishing time of 1:43.07.

The Farmington boys also had several top finishes at the invitation-only meet, including:
4x400 meter relay: 3rd Ryan Parco, Nehemiah Rockett, Devon Webb, Tanner Grubb, 3:25.71; 200-meter dash: 5th Grubb, 22.59;
300-meter hurdles: 6th. Rockett, 40.22;
High jump: 6th Wyatt Ferm, 6-2 
800-meter run: 9th Webb, 2:00.74, 
3200-meter run: 13th Hyytinen, 9:53
110-meter hurdles: 15th Rockett, 15.82

Track: Tigers draw Hamline Elite bids

Farmington will be well-represented at the Hamline Elite Track and Field Meet Friday night at Hamline University in St. Paul.

The invitational only meet features athletes with the best times, heights and distances from around Minnesota.

Two Farmington boys, Justin Hyytinen and Nehemiah Rockett, made the field in two events apiece, Rockett in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles and Hyytinen in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs.

Tanner Grubb made the cut in the 200-meter dash and Devon Webb qualified in the 800-meter run. Wyatt Ferm earned his invitation in the high jump.

The 4x400 relay team of Rockett, Grubb, Webb and Ryan Parco will compete in the 4x400 relay.

The Tiger girls will be represented by the 4x200 relay team of Emma Record, Jennifer Miller, Megan Graham and Isabelle Ferm

Track: A chance to compete

With large numbers of participants out for both boys and girls track, it sometimes becomes difficult to get everyone opportunities for actual meet experience.

The Tigers solved that dilemma Tuesday by sending one team to Eagan for the Wildcat Invitational and another to a triangular with Red Wing and New Prague in Red Wing.

Farmington entrants scored many personal bests at the triangular with the best finish of the day belonging to the 4x100 relay team of Max Aldana, Dylan Otterness, Gavin Bassett and Nino Douangboutdy.

Four Farmington individual performers scored third place points: Chris Erickson, 300-meter run; Alex Hall, 300-meter hurdles; Alex Hall, high jump and Dylan Hammerschmidt, pole vault.

Jackson Schneider placed fourth in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Ryan Newton ranked fourth in the 300-meter hurdles and Jakob Lee was fourth in the discus.

All of the Tiger girls' points of the afternoon came in the 800-meter run where Alexis Johnson and Nicole Willis ranked third and fourth respectively.

Boys Track: Tigers runner-ups at Wildcat Invite

Tanner Grubb 400-mtere champion (photo by J. Lindquist)

Farmington scored points in all 18 events but it wasn't quite enough to bring home the first place trophy from the talent-rich Wildcat Invitational held Tuesday in Eagan.

Apple Valley won the team title with160 points. The Tigers ranked a solid second with 129.5, followed by Eagan 89, Bloomington Jefferson 71.5, Woodbury 60.5, Cretin-Derham Hall 24 and Park 23.5.

"We are a little like our girls team a couple of years ago," coach Brian Helmstetter said.. "We have some major standouts, just not quite as much depth for the big team meets. We will see though, some young guys are working hard.

"We have work to do, but the boys that are listening to the techniques the coaches are presenting are starting to break through and rise at the right time."

Three Tiger individuals scored first place finishes at Eagan. Tanner Grubb won the 400-meter dash in 50.99 seconds and Justin Hyytinen cruised to an easy win in the 3200-meter run with a finishing time of 9:25.01. Nehemiah Rockett added the third first with a 40.92 clocking in the 300-meter hurdles.

Farmington scored second place points in five events, three individual and two relays. Wyatt Ferm ranked second in both the high jump and pole vault and Rockett was runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles.

Nehemiah Rockett won the 300-meter hurdles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The two second place relay teams were the 4x 400 foursome of Rockett, Grubb, Ryan Parco and Devon Webb and the 4x800 quartet of Adam Dougherty, Alex Hart, Jared Wolt and Webb.

Four Tiger entrants chipped in with third place points, including Grubb in the 200-meter dash; Sean Dougherty in the 1600-meter run; CJ Wynings in the discus and the 4x200 relay team of Mason Auge, Caleb Bary, Mason Gaylord and Jack Erickson.

Justin Hyytinen 1st at 3200-meters (photo by J.Lindquist)

Other Farmington point scorers:
100 meter dash: 5. Auge; 6. Erickson
200 meter dash: 6. Parco
800 meter run: 4. Webb; 6. Wolt
3200-meter run: 5. Hart
4x100 relay: Bray, Erickson, Auge, Sean McHenry
Pole vault: 6. Garrett Haugen
Long jump: 4. Parco
Triple jump: 4. Rockett; 6. Gaylord
Shot put: 4. Tanner Thode: 5. Alex Swearingen; 6. Josh Patterson
Discus: 4. Brendan King

Next up for the Tigers are the Missota Conference Relays scheduled for next Tuesday at Chaska.

Boys Track: A solid second

Devon Webb 1st in 4x800 relay; 2nd in 800-meter run (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington finished second in a quality five-team field at the annual Tiger Invitational held Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.

Perennial state power Rosemount successfully defended its team title with 169 points. Farmington finished with 133, New Prague 106, Eagan 79 and Red Wing 67.

"The biggest lesson we can take from this is looking at Rosemount's scoring," Tiger coach Brian Helmstetter said. "We won a number of events but because the Irish had two or three scoring points in events, they passed us up...Rosemount has depth and I want the boys to see this to show the importance of our two through-10 runners and why they need to keep competing."

To illustrate Helmstetter's point, the Tigers won seven of the meet's 18 events but still finished 36 points out of first place.

Justin Hyttinen was a double winner, leading the pack in both the 1600 meter (4:19) and 3200-meter (9:54) runs.

Three of the other Tiger firsts came in relays: the 4x200 team of  Mason Auge, Mason Gaylord, Jack Erickson and Tanner Grubb clocked 1:34.25; the 4x400 foursome of  Robin DeCastro, Devon Webb, Wolt and Grubb ran 3:32.35 and the 4x800 foursome of Alex Hart, Devon Webb, Adam Dougherty and Jared Wolt won in 8:38.

Tanner Thode took 5th place in the shot put (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Two Farmington individuals also won events, Grubb in the 200-meter dash (22.94) and Wyatt Ferm in the high jump (6-0).

Ferm led a trio of Tigers who finished second with an 11-0 effort in the pole vault. Webb was runner-up in the 800-meter run and Ryan Parco was second in the long jump.

Three more Farmington entrants scored third place points: Parco in the 400-meter run; Brendan King in the discus and the 4x100 relay quartet of  Derek Klotter, Sean McHenry, Erickson and Auge.

Farmington's fourth place finishers included Erickson in the 200-meter dash; Alex Swearingen in the shot put and Jake Earp in the high jump. 

Jeff Guiterrez ranked fifth in the 3200-meter run as did Tanner Thode in the shot put. DeCastro (100-meter dash); Wolt (800-meter run); McHenry (long jump); Josh Patterson (shot put) and Dan Som (high jump) each finished in sixth place. 

The Tigers return to action next Tuesday (April 22) when they travel to Eagan for the Wildcat Invitational.

Boys Track: Tigers tops at Shakopee

Justin Hyytinen won the 800 and 1600-meter runs (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington won its only indoor meet of the year and Friday at Shakopee it topped the field at the first official meet of the outdoor season..

The Tigers tallied 96 points to lead the five-team field consisting of four Missota Conference schools and Lakeville South. Farmington finished the day with 96 points, followed by South with 87, Shakopee 83, Chanhassen 53 and Holy Angels 53.

Fifty-six of the Tigers' point total came from seven first place finishes, including five individual events and two relays.

Individual winners included Justin Hyytinen, 800-meter run (2:00.22) and 1600-meter run (4:18.96); Tanner Grubb, 400 meter dash (50.9); Nehemiah Rockett, 300-meter hurdles (41.40) and Wyatt Ferm, pole vault (10-6).
 
The 4x400 relay foursome of Rockett, Mason Gaylord, Devon Webb and Grubb clocked 3:31.9 to lead the field and the 4x200 quartet of Jack Erickson, Caleb Bray, Ryan Parco and Grubb took top honors with a finishing time of 1:34.40.

Nehemiah Rockett won the the 300-meter hurdles (photo by Jim Lindquist)
 

"Justin,Tanner and  Nehemiah had outstanding days and had times that made the Raceberry honor roll," coach Brian Helmstetter said. "And the competition to run on our 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams is great. We had two teams in the top three in both of those races. This brings even more focus and effort to practice and the importance on fundamentals." 

Rockett added second place points in the 100-meter hurdles and the 4x800 relay team of Luis Rodriguez, Webb, Jared Wolt and Adam Dougherty also ranked second, one second behind the winning Chanhassen team.

Four other Farmington entrants picked up third place points: Mason Auge in the 100 and 200-meter dashes; Gaylord in the triple jump and CJ Wynings in the discus.

A trio of Tiger performers finished fourth, including Godfrey Mpetey in the discus; Parco in the 400-meter dash and Roberto Vasquez in the 1600-meter run.

Dougherty ranked fifth in the 400-meter dash and Parco took fifth in the long jump.

" It was a great meet and we and 100 boys got marks and distances which means the goal setting can begin," Helmstetter said.

Next Tuesday the Tigers host a quality six-team field for their annual  invitational meet. Other participants include Rosemount, Woodbury, Eagan, Red Wing and New Prague.

Track: The great outdoors...at last

High-jumper Wyatt Ferm cleared the bar at 5-10 (photo by Jim Lindquist)

No official point totals were kept and snow still rimmed the track but the Tigers finally got to test their legs outside Monday afternoon when they hosted Rosemount and Shakopee for a scrimmage at Tiger Stadium.

As would have been expected, times were not record-like and rust could be seen on such things as relay hand-offs and footwork in the field events but all-in-all Farmington coaches Brian Helmstetter and Tom Hart agreed it was still a productive day.

"The first outdoor meet is a great chance to see where everyone is at," Helmstetter said. "The fact that we have so many sprinters and so few hurdlers will be a big conversation tomorrow...It looked like our first outdoor meet. I am hoping in the next week or two things will look a bit more polished, however, I am excited with what I saw and where our younger runners might go."

"We had some decent performances last night," Hart said, "but we didn’t put any A or B relay teams together. We let them compete against each other, and it was fun to see the intra-team competition....  Fri. we go to Shakopee for a five- team scored meet.  We look to load the teams up a bit more for that one."

Boys Highlights

100 meter dash: Tanner Grubb 11.33; Mason Auge 11.73
1600-meter run: Justin Hyytinen, 4:27
800-meter run: Jared Wolt, 2:10; Adam Dougherty, 2:12
200-meter dash: Grubb, 23:05; Jack Erickson, 24.19
110-meter hurdles: Alex Hart, 18.77
3200-meter run: Hyytinen, 9:45
4x200 relay: (Auge, Erickson, Ryan Parco, Grubb), 1:47
Long jump:  Parco, 19-1; Sean McHenry, 18-8
High jump: Wyatt Ferm, 5-10
Shot put: CJ Wynings, 40-10
Triple jump: Mason Gaylord, 38-2

Sprinter/hurdler Leah Kiage (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Girls Highlights

1600-meter run: Lauren Peterson, 5:30.29; Sofia Chadwick, 5:41.85; Maricia Pacheco, 5:46.77; Morgan Mach, 5:54.83

4x100 relay: (Racquel Beckett, Emma Record, Megan Graham, Izzie Ferm), 53.16
100 dash: Mikayla Ford, 13:44; Morgan Cecchittini, 13.62
800-meter run: Alicia Hett, 2:29.31
3200-meter run: Peterson, 11:42; Pacheco, 12:47
300-meter hurdles: Leah Kiage, 54.11; Rachel Kiminski, 55:28
4x400 relay: (Mach, Emily Schaffer, Chadwick,Hett), 4:28.15
100-meter hurdles: Destiny Schmitz, 18.39; Jordan Walls, 19.25; Kiminski, 19.39 

NOTE: Free, downloadable high-resolution photos from this event are available at Jim Lindquist's Photography website at http://sidekick.smugmug.com/

Boys Track: Tigers win All-American Invite

Tanner Grubb 3 first place finishes at River Falls (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Last year the Tiger boys took a limited number of athletes to the All-American Indoor Invitational at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and finished in 12th place.

Last Saturday they took a bigger group and thanks to some outstanding individual performances led the 18-team field with 70 points, 4.5 more than runner-up Hudson, Wisconsin.

"We were missing a few guys but had more varsity athletes than a majority of the teams that were on spring break," Tiger coach Brian Helmstetter said.

Wyatt Ferm won the high jump at 6-4

 "We were excited to be close enough in the end to compete for the championship, but the boys know this is only a step towards May and June. We will have a lot of work ahead of us the rest of the season."

Three of the biggest efforts of the day came from Tanner Grubb, Justin Hyytinen and Wyatt Ferm.

Grubb won the 400-meter dash in an indoor school record time of 50.9, less than a second off the school outdoor standard and also anchored the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams to victory.

Mason Auge, Mason Gaylord and Jack Erickson joined Grubb for the 4x200 relay and Erickson, Hyytinen and Ryan Paco teamed up with him in winning the 4x400.

Justin Hyytinen ran school record 1600 meters

Hyytinen shattered his own indoor school record in the 1600-meter run with a 4:18.96 clocking, a time less than a second behind the school outdoor record set in 1983 by Roger Thelen.

Ferm, who  had a strong finish in the high jump last spring, claimed that event with a personal-best leap of 6-4.

The 4x800 relay quartet of Jared Wolt, Luis Rodriguez, Alex Hart and Devon Webb came in second.

Webb also took fifth place in the 800-meter run and Nehemiah Rockett ranked fifth in the 55-meter hurdles.

Gaylord placed sixth in the triple jump and Wolt was seventh in the 800-meter run. Parco ran eighth in the 400-meter dash and Jeff Guiterrez finished ninth in the 3200-meter run. Parco took tenth in the 200-meter dash as did the sprint medley foursome of Robin DeCastro, Caleb Bray, Rodriguez and Ryan Newton.

Girls Track: Outlook bright in Tiger camp

Defending Section 1AA 400-meter champion Isabelle Ferm (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Piles of snow outside are doing nothing to dampen the enthusiasm inside as the Tigers prepare for what they expect to be another successful season.

Coach Tom Hart returns a host of veterans from last year's squad that finished runner-up at both the Missota Conference Relays and the conference end-of-the-year championships. This year Hart is looking to do even better.

"I hope to challenge for the conference titles and battle for the right to represent section 1AA in the state true team meet," he said. "And as always, qualifying for as many events for the state meet is always a prize we seek."

Included among the 29 returning veterans from last spring's team are six seniors: Kathryn Beckett, Morgan Cecchettini, Kelli Elmer, Isabelle Ferm, Aly Grebner and Maricia Pacheco.

Ferm anchored the Farmington 4x400 relay team that finished second at the state meet last spring and is the defending Section 1AA champion at 400 meters. Grebner is the defending conference shot put champion while Pacheco is a veteran of the state cross country meet.

Alicia Hett (top) and Megan Graham joined with Ferm to finish second in Class AA 4x400 meter relay (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Junior returnees include Sydney Bockelman, Sofia Chadwick, Nicole Doran, Ashley Ellefson, Megan Graham, Alicia Hett, Alexis Johnson, Destiny Schmitz and Jordan Walls.

Hett and Graham joined Ferm on the school record-setting 4x400 relay team last spring and Schmitz won the team's Most Improved award last spring as a sophomore.

Other returning letterwinners from last year's conference runner-ups include sophomores Racquel Beckett, Kaitlin Bessler, Makayla Ford, Emma Goralski, Ratinaqu Hach, Leah Kiage, Jennifer Miller, Ruiyang Qiu, Maricella Pacheco, Elizabeth Welter and Nicole Willis and ninth-graders Sammi Hytinen, Rachel Kiminski and Emma Record.

Newcomers expected to contribute include senior Abby Kampa; junior Kendall Novak; sophomores Amanda Flanscha, Lexi Hermoza and Morgan Mach and seventh graders Lauren Petersen and Anna Palodichuk.

"It appears we are going to have depth this year," Hart said. "We have a lot of girls out and many look ready to contribute right now. Our upperclassmen have been very good leaders and this has allowed our early practices to be very competitive."

Destiny Schmitz "Most Improved" in 2013 (photo by Jim Lindquist)

"Keeping everyone healthy the entire season will be a necessity. We could be a good team by the end of the year if we can keep our athletes healthy. With so many ladies out, keeping our team concept will also be important." 

Hart said a handful of other teams could offer the Tigers a challenge in the run for Missota Conference honors with Chaska, Chanhassen and Shakopee all expected to be strong. Perennial powers Lakeville South and Lakeville North expect to be the favorites in the Section 1AA chase.

Hart will has a veteran group of assistants returning, including boys coach Brian Helmstetter, Lisa and Adam Lippold, Julian Buss, Kelli and Torrion Amie, Henry Schneider, Vicki Lippert, Mallory Skoff and Callie Doffing.

After a couple of indoor scrimmages, the Tigers officially open their 2014 season Saturday, March 29, at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Boys Track: A tough act to follow

.Justin Hyytinen qualified for state in three events last year (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Last spring the Tigers  surprised more than a few people with a rash of strong performances in big meets, winning the Missota Conference title and conference relays and finishing runner-up at both the Section 1AA True Team and championship meets.

Coach Brian Helmstetter isn't promising another such run in 2014 but with a large number of contributors returning, he is excited about his team's chances.

"The expectations are high for both coaches and athletes," he said. "There are talented teams around us in both the conference and section that will be tough competition. I expect the returners will continue to improve and have focus, but our newcomers will determine our success."

As has been the case in recent years, the turnout has been massive with a long list of both returnees and newcomers expected to vie for spots in the lineup.

Senior sprinter Mason Auge (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The veterans include a strong senior class of Mason Auge, Sean Dougherty, Jacob Earp, Jack Erickson, Mason Gaylord, Tanner Grubb, Jeff Guitterez, Joe Hoeve, Brendan King, Derek Klotter, Jake Lee, Santana Perdomo, Godfrey Mpetey, Sean McHenry, Josh Patterson, Hunter Sevenich, Jared Wolt, CJ Wynings and Riley Stevenson.

All-Missota Conference sprinter Grubb ran on two relay teams at last year's Class AA state meet . Wolt ran for the Tigers' school record-setting 4x800 relay team at state last spring.

The junior class returns Jake Bauerle, Christian Brollier, Wyatt Ferm, Jacob Gerdes, Garrett Haugen, Zach Herrera, Michael Husnik, Justin Hyytinen, Long Lam, Ryan Parco, Dylan Pitzen, Luis Rodriguez, Nehemiah Rockett, Jake Ropeke, Daniel Som, Tanner Thode and Peyton Woller.

Tanner Grubb ran on two state meet relay teams in 2013 (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Hyytinen, who qualified for the 2013 state meet in three events last spring, is the defending conference 3200-meter champion. Parco also ran at state last year and Rockett was the 2013 conference 300-meter hurdles champion.

Twenty-one sophomores also return from last year's team: Gavin Bassett, Caleb Bray, Jesse Chanthakkoun, Alexander Clements, Andriano DeOliviera, Nino Douanboutdy, Adam Dougherty, Dylan Gerlach, Josh Grimm, Alex Hart, David Husnik, Ryan Newton, Dylan Otterness, Robel Ponds, Kyle Rotvold, Jackson Schneider, Jake Schwartz, Kyle Smith, Dalton States, Matthew Townsend and Devon Webb. 

Webb ran a leg of 4x800 meter relay for the Tigers at last year's Class AA State Championships.

Senior middle distance runner Jared Wolt (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Newcomers expected to make a run at the varsity lineup include juniors Max Aladana, Jonathan Bovee, Robin DeCastro, Jake Gerdes, Dylan Hammerschmidt, Matt Jenny, Zach Teiken, Calvin Vue, Elie Kallerah and Saad Shaikh. sophomores Derek Cole, Cole Dubbels, Zach Rivers-Knutson, Aaron Koenigsberg, Braeden Peterson, Jackson Reed, Matt Rowe, Sam Rutz, Ben Sorenson, Alex Swearingen, Tyler Shafer, Joe Cardinal, Jake Langr and Nazzim Sameron and freshmen Zach Adamson, Bryants Aguilera, Chris Erickson, Keon Gates, Kellen Grundman, David Gutsalayuk, Xander Hall, Zach Johnson, Derek Kulls, Kuruwel Negash, Sam Okikiolu, Matt O'Malley, Miguel Ponce, Zach Redlin, Bryan Scavone, Taylor Tabolich, Jordan Trout and MacCoy Urbia.
Helmstetter said that his team's early strengths should lie in the sprinting, middle distance and throwing events.

"We've improved in the jumps and gotten a year older as well," he said. "We have some vacancies in both hurdle events, high jump, and pole vault. However, we have a lot of newcomers giving those events a try and it will be fun to watch the boys compete for these positions."

The veteran Tiger coach said his team's recipe for success is a simple one.

"Keeping our seniors and juniors healthy and developing our ninth and 10th graders to the point of contributing," he said.

State meet sprinter Ryan Parco (photo by Jim Lindquist)

If the Tigers are to put together another championship season, they will do so against some tough competition, both in the conference and in the section.

Helmstetter said Missota Conference rivals Chaska and Chanhassen both return veteran squads and Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Owatonna all figure to have a say in the race for section honors.

"To repeat in both is absolutely a goal and attainable," he said, "but it won't be handed to us."

Helmstetter will again have a talented and diverse staff of assistants, including girls coach Tom Hart, Lisa and Adam Lippold, Julian Buss, Kelli and Torrion Amie, Henry Schneider, Vicki Lippert, Mallory Skoff and Callie Doffing.



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