When a team makes the 1A State True Team meet in track and field, it means they have depth and talent of athletes. With five “Journal 11” teams having made the state true team meet (GMLOKS, LFCMC, and Chatfield girls, GMLOKS and LFCMC boys), it only figures each squad would be represented well at the Section 1A individual track and field meet. All told, from those four squads, 27 athletes (a “Fillmore County Journal Sports” record) qualified for the 2021 State Class A track and field meet including five relays and eight multiple event qualifiers. The 1A meet in Triton, competed in 90-degree temps, saw area teams steam in the heat.
GMLOKS Girls Take Home 1A Title Trophy
Photo by Paul Trende
For a few races, it looked like GMLOKS girls track and field would send somebody to state in every event. To start Day Two, GMLOKS qualified someone in each of the first three track races. The opening event saw Kendyl Queensland pass runners from Cotter and Lake City late to give the 4×800 (Lauren Queensland, Shelby Beck, McKenna Hendrickson) a first place finish. GMLOKS ran 9:53.31 to Cotter’s 9:53.53 and Lake City’s 9:54.15 in a super close three-team race. The Bulldogs top two athletes then took their turn at center stage. Senior Hailey Hindt took step one in cementing her spot as 1A’s top hurdler. Hindt (15.55) beat Lake City’s Ashley Veronen (16:06) for the 100-meter hurdle title. One event later, it was sophomore Anika Reiland’s turn. Reiland (12.6) beat La Crescent-Hokah’s Amanda Iverson (12:75), Cotter’s Olivia Gardner (12.76), and St. Charles’ Lindsey Root (12:76) to claim the 100-meter title. Hindt (45.80) added an easy win in the 300-meter hurdles, again over Veronen (47.21), to stake her undisputed claim as 1A’s best hurdler. She broke the stadium record (46.23). Hindt was real close to qualifying in three individual events. In the Triple Jump, Hailey went 34’0 1⁄2” to take third behind Stewartville’s Maia Peterson (35’10”) and Pine Island’s Jaci Newman (34’9”). Reiland (25.79) came back later to clip SC’s Root (25.81) by .02 seconds to win the 200-meters, thus sweeping the sprints. She came in seeded second (16’10 3⁄4”) in the Long Jump too, but took seventh (15’6”). Root won that event (17’8”). The 4×800 wasn’t the only relay making state. The 4×100 and 4×200 each requalified. The 4×100 (Chantle Reiland, Ellie Buchholtz, Anna Oehlke, Madison Hindt) ran 50.93 to take second to Rochester-Lourdes (50:46). The 4×200 (Oehlke, Hailey Hindt, M-Hindt, A-Reiland) ran 1:46.82 to take second to Stewartville (1:45.97), just ahead of Lourdes (1:46.87). Reiland anchored the latter, just catching the Eagles anchor runner at the end. And thus, both Hailey Hindt and Reiland qualified three times for state. Just a sophomore, Reiland now has seven state qualifications (4×100 and 4×200 in 2018 and 2019). GMLOKS has sent its girls 4×100 to state four straight years, the 4×200 five straight years. Finally, McKenna Hendrickson ran second (2:23.65) behind Z-M stand-out Katrina Sortland (2:17.34) to earn a trip to state in the 800-meters (her second event). K-Queensland (6th High Jump, 7th 800), Beck (6th Pole Vault), and C-Reiland (7th 100) added top eight finishes. Becca Hoffman (5th Discus) and Lexy Foster (5th Shot Put) finished high in the throws. The 4×400 (K-Queensland, Beck, Hendrickson, M-Hindt) took sixth. On the guys’ side, things weren’t quite as rosy as 10 state qualifiers. Coach Austin O’Hare will take six to state. The Bulldogs had two after Day One. Sophomore Garrison Hubka (10:03.45) topped Lake City’s Reese Anderson (10:05.36) and Lourdes’ Kevin Turlington (10:09.69) to win the 3,200. Riley Paul (51’10 1⁄2”) beat RPH’s Ben Wieser (51’9 1⁄2”) by one inch to secure second place and a state berth in the Shot Put. PEM’s fire-hydrant phenom Leo Silha (57’10”) set a stadium record to win the event. He also won discus, setting a meet/stadium record with a toss of 181’4”. On Day Two for GMLOKS, Hubka came back and qualified for state in the 1,600. He (4:37.23) took second to Turlington (4:36.59), just ahead of RPH’s Tyler Rislov (4:34.65). The final GMLOKS state qualifier was the 4×200 team (Jacob Kerrins, Luke Speer, Blake Ludemann, James Howard). They (1:31.78) took third behind St. Charles (1:30.87) and PEM (1:31.47), but qualified on standard (1:32.02). The 4×100 (same guys) also took third (44.37) behind St. Charles (43.84) and Lake City (44.29), but didn’t qualify for state. The boys 4×400 (Kerrins, Cam Ruechel, Ludemann, Howard) took fourth, the 4×800 (Andrew Imm, Brendan Kennedy, Erik Shaw, Christian Hjelmen) sixth. It was a great year for GMLOKS relays, either sex. Christian Luthe (5th Shot Put, 8th Discus) and Ethan Imm (6th Triple Jump) also finished top eight. Girls head man Aaron Thauwald was named 1A’s Coach of the Year while Jim Hubka was the Assistant Coach of the Year. The girls teams (129) took first overall over nearest foe Stewartville (104). No other team had more than 67 points. The boys took fifth (69) behind Pine Island (100), PEM (84.5), LFCMC (84.5), and Lake City (72).
LFCMC Sends Eight Total to State
The 2021 LFCMC track and field season will end up being a big success. Both teams qualified for state True Team, and finished high, and the Burros will send eight kids to the state individual meet. It could’ve been even better had injuries not hindered a couple of top stars. LFCMC got its first state qualifier on Day One of the 1A Meet. Senior Ben Snyder, who injured a hamstring and thus didn’t compete fully, like if healthy, took on the Triple Jump. Only K-W’s Laden Nerison (42’5 1⁄2”) was better. Snyder went 42’5 1⁄4” to claim second place to earn a trip to the state meet. Snyder raced with two LFCMC state relay teams in 2019. Leading the Burro contingent was Brielle Ruen. The junior first qualified in the 400. Ruen (58.68) took second to Maia Peterson (57.49) of Stewartville. Already the LFCMC 400-meter dash school record-holder from earlier this year, beating her coach, Lori (Bearson) Anderson (59.1), Brielle re-set the mark at sections. In the last race of the night, Ruen was anchor for the LFCMC girls 4×400. She brought home another berth, alongside Morgan Pickett, Lillyan Kiehne, and Macayla Brogle. The 4×400 (4:07.16) took second to Stewartville (4:01.76). Madison Simon kept LFCMC pole vaulting on the map. She (9’2”) took second to L-A’s Jonna Gunderson (9’2”), beating out PEM’s Rylee Nelson (9’2”) and Emilee Otto (9’2”) for the state berth.
All went the same height, but Gunderson and Simon accomplished the feat in fewer attempts. LFCMC had state pole vaulters in 2018 (Ashley Miner) and 2019 (Kassidy Broadwater). On the guys’ side, J.T. Rein fulfilled his promise as the sections premier long-distance hurdler. Despite running over the final two hurdles, Rein (40.67) won the 300-meter event over Triton’s Owen Petersohn (40:77). The finish came just two nights after he qualified first (40.56), setting the LFCMC record in doing so. He broke his dad John Rein’s mark (40.82) from 1994. LFCMC’s fifth individual qualifier wasn’t a surprise by last name. Jayce Kiehne (1:59.62) was only late passed by Lake City’s Joe Kozlowski (1:59.1) in the 800-meters. The freshman Kiehne took second and qualified for state. Older brother Carson also qualified for state as a freshman. His fabulous track and field career came to a quiet end in Dodge Center. C-Kiehne, recovering from a hamstring injury, jumped the gun in a 100-meter qualifier and was disqualified. He then ran the last leg of the boy 4×400. Kiehne made up good distance on the two runners ahead of him, but had too much space to close. LFCMC’s boys 4×400 (Rein, Carter Clarke, Snyder, C-Kiehne) took third (3:29.13) behind Pine Island (3:26.42) and Lake City (3:27). They didn’t make state. So oddly enough, younger Kiehne siblings Lillyan (4×400) and Jayce (800) qualified but the part-injured senior Carson didn’t. He was a triple state qualifier in 2019 (400, 4×200, 4×400) as well as going in 2018. He’s the second notable area track and field star to miss out on state his senior year (Noah Carlson) due to injury. Other Burros finishing top eight were Jake Gathje (4th-tie, Pole Vault), Will Harvey (4th 110-hurdles, 5th 300-H), Carson Ruen (5th 3,200, 5th 1,600), L-Kiehne (5th 1,600), Lynsey Ruen (6th 300-hurdles), Seth Semmen (6th Discus), Sydney Taylor (6th Discus, 9th Shot Put), Kelly Ristau (7th High Jump), Jacob Peterson (7th Discus), Caleb Kunz (8th 110-H), and Carter Clarke (8th Long Jump). C-Ruen set the LFCMC boys 3,200-meter record (10:17.92), surpassing Travis Troendle (10:19.63) from 2014. The boys 4×800 (Jeremy O’Connor, Mason Howard, Luke Ruen, Isaac Snyder) took fifth, the 4×100 (Rein, Clarke, Gathje, Semmen) eighth. The girls 4×800 (Katie Pickett, Addie Miner, Brooklyn Simon, Sahara Morken) took eighth. Team-wise, LFCMC’s boys took second (tie), the girls eighth respectively. A healthy Kiehne and Snyder might’ve given LFCMC even more boys state qualifiers (relays in particular).
Photo by Paul Trende
Backer/Priebe Carry Chatfield Flags
Chatfield track and field had two kids qualify for state. On Day One, junior Zayda Priebe did so in the Discus. She (116’3”) took second to Stewartville’s Raina Stecher (120’2”), as the duo were head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field. The next longest toss went 101’6”. Priebe also took sixth in the Shot Put. Day Two of the 1A Meet was about sophomore speedster Sam Backer. In the 100-meters, Backer (11.10) out-raced Pine Island’s Jarod White (11.27) and St. Charles’ Luke Berends (11.44) to win the event and earn a berth at state. Later in the day, Backer (22.59) took third in the 200-meters behind PEM’s Kyler Bade (22.42) and PI’s White (22.43). Sam qualified (22.66) by standard for state. It is his first year of track. Older brother Chance anchored two Chatfield state short-relay teams in 2019. Other Gophers finishing top eight were Rylee Burnett (6th 100), Tessa McMahon (6th 1,600), and Aletta Strande (7th 3,200). The boys 4×100 (Isaac Erding, Braden Thompson, Eli Hopp, Backer) took fourth, the 4×800 (Gabe Erding, Adam Pagnano, Logan Thompson, Alex Wright) seventh. The 4×200 (I-Erding, Cole Johnson, B-Thompson, Hopp) made the finals, but were disqualified. The girls 4×100 (Burnett, Chloe Berg, Evy Goldsmith, Lauren Cole) took fifth, the 4×200 (Becca Fox, Saige Schild, Jaelyn LaPlante, Cole) seventh.
Pieper the Only “Eastern” Field Athlete to Make State
While western and central “Journal 11” programs GMLOKS, Chatfield, and LFCMC each had multiple athletes qualify for state, eastern “Journal 11’ programs RP/H and C/SG had just one. Caledonia’s Chris Pieper made it. Pieper and PEM’s Kaiden Peters each reached the mark of 6’1” in the High Jump, with Pieper taking second. Reid Bjerke (4th 200, 5th 100) was C/SG’s next best athlete. Logan Banse (6th Shot Put) also had a top eight finish. The boys 4×100 (Hunter Holland, Banse, Eric Mauss, Bjere) took seventh. RPH’s best threats at state came up just short. Tyler Rislov (3rd 1,600, 4th 3,200) and Ben Wieser (3rd Shot, 4th Discus) each got close in two events. Wieser (51’9 1⁄2”) took third to GMLOKS’ Riley Paul (51’10 1⁄2”) by one inch to just miss state in the shot. Rislov (4:43.65) was just behind Lourdes’ Turlington (4:36.59) and GMLOKS’ Hubka (4:37.23) in the 1,600. Aaron Prinsen (4th-tie Pole Vault, 7th 110-H) and Dalton Hoel (4th 800) each also got close. Elizabeth Jandt (8th Discus) and Allison Papenfuss (8th 200) also had top eight finishes. The girls 4×200 (Brielle Rasmussen, Tayler Helgemoe, Emma Geiwitz, Papenfuss) took sixth, the 4×100 (same girls) eighth.
Caledonia Baseball Finishes Third at Sections
A loss to Chatfield in the 1AA East semifinals assured Caledonia baseball a long road through the rest of the Section 1AA playoffs. The Warriors won three straight after that defeat, getting within one game of the section championship. Brad Augdahl’s group played a couple hot games at Hudson Field in Rochester on Tuesday the 8th. First up, the Warriors (20-4, 1AA East runner-up) took on Pine Island (17-5, 1AA West runner-up). Team Cal put two up in the first inning. But the Panthers did the same for a 2-2 game. Caledonia put another on the board in the second, but so too did PI. Though two innings, 11 Warriors and batted and 12 Panthers in a 3-3 game. But Caledonia went to the “bullpen” in the third. Junior Brady Augedahl came on in relief of Thane Meiners. Augedahl sat down the first eight Panthers he faced. And Caledonia kept putting runs up; one in the third, three in the fourth (two by way of an Andrew Kunelius two-run single), one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh. Augedahl’s four scoreless innings of mound work, combined with Caledonia’s offense and PI’s walk-woes, allowed the Warriors to build a 12-3 lead. Pine Island scored three in the bottom of the seventh, but it was academic. The Warriors prevailed 12-6. Lead-off man Meiners only pitched two innings (3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 3 BB) but was strong at the plate (4-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R). Kunelius (2-5, 3 RBI, R) was the big RBI guy. Jake Staggemeyer (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI), Augedahl (1-2, RBI), Devin Vonderohe (1-3, RBI), and Casey Schultz (1-4 RBI) also drove in runs.
Augedahl (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB) picked up the win. Walks were the big story. A trio of Warriors pitchers combined for four, with three coming in the first two innings. Panther hurlers Nick Bauer (4 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, Loss) and Matt Horkey (3 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) combined to issue nine free passes. Six Warriors to score reached base via walk and a seventh via bean-ball. Caledonia also out-hit PI 10 to 7. In the winner’s bracket, PEM (19-3, 1AA East champ) beat Rochester-Lourdes (19-2, 1AA West Champ) by a 9-7 final. So the Eagles (19-3) made the crosstown trip from John Adams Middle School to play the Warriors (21-4) for a spot in the section title game. Lourdes set a tone early. The first six Eagle hitters all put good aluminum on the ball. Included was back-to-back doubles to start the game by Sam Stanley and Nolan Jurgenson, the later of the RBI variety. Back-to-back long fly-ball outs moved and plated Jurgenson. Lourdes led 2-0. Seth Haight then opened the second inning with a well-hit double. He plated via a balk and wild pitch. Lourdes led 3-0. They added an unearned run in the fourth via another long well-hit sac-fly. After three, the Eagles were up 4-0. Warrior pitcher Devin Vonderohe didn’t surrender any more runs, but the Caledonia offense only thrice had a runner in scoring position.
Photo by Paul Trende
The sixth inning was their best shot. Staggemeyer stood on third and Kunelius second (following a double). A hit would’ve been big, but Lourdes pitcher Alex Rudquist got Vonderohe to fan for out number three. The Warriors went 1-2-3 in the seventh and Lourdes prevailed 4-0, moving on to the section title game. Caledonia just couldn’t string hits together versus Rudquist (6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), who also walked just two in picking up the shut-out win. Vonderohe (6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) went the distance for Caledonia, taking the loss. Each team had five hits, but the Warriors raps accounted for six total bases while Lourdes accounted for eight. They had three doubles and three long flies that advanced runners. Kunelius (2-3, 2B) had two of Cal’s hits. Schultz (1-3), Vonderohe (1-3), and Ayden Goetzinger (1-3) the others. Lead-off man Stanley (1-3, 2B, 2 R), Jurgenson (1-3, 2B, RBI, R), and Haight (2-3, 2B, R) did big work for Lourdes at the plate. Caledonia’s excellent season, they won the TRC-East and were 1AA East runner-up, ends at 21-5. Over the last four played-years, the Warriors have averaged 20-plus wins a season and have posted at least three post-season wins each year. Vonderohe, Austin Klug, Schultz, Kunelius, Staggemeyer, and Sam Privet are the squad’s six seniors. Lourdes moved on to lose to PEM in the section title game 11-6 in 10 innings. The Bulldogs (21-3) claimed the 1AA title, making state.
Mabel-Canton Softball Takes Third at Sections
It has arguably been the best spurt Mabel-Canton softball has ever had. The last four years of competition (neglecting the COVID-annulled 2020) season, Kati Bergey’s Cougars have won at least two playoffs games, and they’ve reached Austin and the Section “Final Four” three times. Like in 2019, the Cougars went to “Spam-town” and stayed for more than a game. M-C (14-10, 1A East Runner-Up) opened up with a loser-out game versus Hayfield (1A West Runner-Up, 11-10). The contest was a departure from the Cougars games thus far in the post-season, 24-0 win over Schaeffer, 8-0 win over FC/L, 13-3 loss to W-K, and 15-5 win over FC/L. It was a low scoring pitchers’ duel. Hayfield started quick with to two straight hits, but an illegal bunt started the beginning of the end for a Viking first inning rally. The runners were stranded on first and second. M-C got on the board in the third, as the top two hitters in the order came through with two out. A Molly Lee single and a Kenidi McCabe double plated one run. McCabe then scored following a pair of passed balls. M-C led 2-0. The Vikings had another threat in the third inning, but didn’t get on the board until the fifth. Anna Bamlet doubled. She scored via a bases loaded hit-batter. The bags were still juiced with one out, but Cougar pitcher Emily Carolan struck out the Vikings six and seven hitters to get out of a big jam. M-C led 2-1. A 1⁄2 inning later, Cougar Lauren Wyffels led off with a walk. With two outs and three batters later, Thea Snyder singled home Wyffels and M-C’s lead was back to two at 3-1. Hayfield got a runner on base in each the sixth and seventh, but only four Vikings batters came to the plate in each inning. M-C grabbed the 3-1 win. The teams combined for a modest 11 hits. McCabe (1-4, 2B, RBI, R) and Snyder (1-2, RBI) had the Cougars two runs-batted-in. Wyffels (0-2, R) and Lee (1-4, R) joined McCabe in crossing home plate. Jordyn Newgard (1-3) and Emma Tollefsrud (1-3) had M-C’s other two hits. Carolan (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, Win) had a very good game on the mound. She out-dueled Viking stand-out pitcher Caitlyn Hendrickson (7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, Loss). Bamlet (3-4, R) had half of the Vikings hits. Kylie Freeburg (1-3, RBI) contributed the RBI. W-K was felled by W-E-M 5-4 in the no-losses game. The game was decided late. So M-C (15-10) took on the Falcons (12-11) for a berth in the 1A title game. After four innings, the score was 1-0 in favor of the Falcons. But W-K exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth, capitalizing on a trio of Cougars errors. Megan Solberg’s two-run double was a key hit, as the Falcons took control 8-0. But M-C then exploded with a big inning of their own in the bottom of the sixth. All with two-out, M-C used five hits, a walk, and one W-K error to plate five runs. Newgard and Wyffels had RBI-doubles in succession, the Tollefsrud twins (Gwen and Emma) RBI-singles in succession. The Cougars kept it a game, trailing 8-5. But in the top of the seventh, W-K tacked on three insurance runs, as Solberg had another big hit, a two-run single. W-K led 11-5 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
The Cougars plated three runs, as Gwen T. had a key 2-run single making the score 11-8. Emma T. followed with a single, as the Cougars had two on and two-out with the tying run at the plate. But a strikeout ended the game and the Cougars season. W-K won a high-scoring affair 11-8. M-C out-hit W-K 12 to 8, but out-errored the Falcons 4 to 1. Emma T (3-4, RBI) and Gwen T. (2-4, 3 RBI, R) led the charge with three hits and 3 RBI’s respectively. McCabe (2-4, 2 R) and Newgard (2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R) also had multiple hits. Wyffels (1-4, 2B, RBI, R) and Carolan (1-3, R) also contributed. The latter took the loss (7 IP, 8 H, 11 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) but only gave up four earned runs. Julia Schmoker (7 IP, 12 H, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) took the win, only giving up three earned runs. Solberg (3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R) was the big Cougar killer for W-K. Jacqueline Avilez (2-4, R) also had multiple hits. They combined for five of W-K’s eight hits. M-C’s excellent season ends at 15-11. The Cougars won seven of nine to end the year, only losses coming to the Falcons. Newgard, McCabe, Wyffels, and Natalie Murray are the Cougars four seniors. McCabe and Wyffels each played on all three M-C 1A “Final Four” teams while Newgard played on the last two. The Cougars have won 13 playoff games the past four years. W-K went on to beat W-E-M 9-1 and 4-2, pulling the rare feat of unseating the team with zero losses. They became the second Three Rivers Conference team to make state, as St. Charles won the 1AA title over Z-M.
*The Fillmore County Journal Sports is a written collaboration of Paul Trende and Lee Epps.