For a fifth straight year, St. Michael/Albertville High School hosted the Class A state track and field individual meet. GML-OKS, RPH, LFCMC, Chatfield, and Cale-donia/Spring Grove were all represented. One Southland runner and one Houston all-around athlete headed the cast by bringing home state titles.
For Southland sophomore, GMLOKS track and field athlete Tate Goergen, grabbing the 2025 state title in the 800-meters only made sense. He was last year’s runner-up (1:54.81) to (a since graduated) state champ Jayce Kiehne (1:53.11) of LFCMC. Goergen was unstoppable in the 800-meters all year, and even in longer races like the 1,600, where he bested 1A champ, state third place finisher, Erik Semling of Cotter/Hope Lutheran (at the 1A True Team Meet). Goergen came in with the lowest seeded time (1:56.84) and he posted the fastest time in the prelims (1:55.54) over Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale’s Brady Rach (1:55.87). In the finals, it was all Goergen. In roughly the same time as his prelim run (1:55.64), he glided into the finish line, besting nearest foe Micah Gregory (1:57.83) of Trinity/Unity by more than two seconds. Joining Sam Snitker (High Jump) last year, the girls 4×200 (Anika Reiland, Chantle Reiland, Lydia Redman Breeley Galle) and Chantle Reiland (100) in 2023, and the girls 4×200 (Reiland, Reiland, Anna Oehlke, Galle) in 2022, he gave team GMLOKS another state champ. Rounding out a 15-time state track and field qualifying career was Chantle Reiland. The Kingsland senior competed four times on the state scene. She qualified fourth (12.68) and then took third (12.56) in the 100-meter finals (where she was state champ in 2023) behind Hills-Beaver Creek’s Brynn Bakken (12.29) and Bagley/Fosston’s Ava Phrakonkham (12.36). The later beat the former for the 100-meter title last year with Reiland taking fifth. Chantle has four times finished top five in the 100-meters the last four years (third, first, fifth, and third in succession). She also competed amidst the girls 4×200 with Breeley Galle, Brynna Nelson, and Lydia Redman. The girls qualified fourth (1:44.61) and then took third (1:45.02) in the finals behind St. Cloud Cathedral (1:43.21), which set the meet record, and PACT/Legacy Academy (1:44.52). It was the ninth straight year a GMLOKS girls 4×200 qualified for state and said squads have finished top three every year since 2017 (with the COVID season of 2020 excluded). It was the second straight third place finish after a string of five straight titles. C-Reiland has been on the last five 4×200’s, Galle the last four, and Redman the last three. Only Reiland graduates from the squad, as Redman and Galle are juniors, Nelson a sophomore. C-Reiland also qualified fifth (25.50) in the 200-meters and took eighth in the finals (25.66). Bakken again topped Phrakonkham for that title. In the Long Jump, Reiland went 16’9” and took 16th place. She leapt 16’4 ¼” to take 18th place in the event last year. The Kingsland graduate leaves with her name atop the GMLOKS record books in the 100, 200, and Long Jump, plus amidst 4×200, 4×400, and sprint medley teams. Making the state podium in other events for GMLOKS were freshman Amelia McCabe, senior Lauren Queensland, and senior Zach Reiland. Queensland did so the first day of the event by High Jumping 5’2”, which tied her own program mark she holds with sister Riley, and put her in a four-way tie for seventh place. Park Christian’s Annika Aakre won the event, leaping 5’7”. GMLOKS’ Neveah Shaw also competed in the event, tying for 21st place by going 5’0”. McCabe broke the GMLOKS Pole Vault record by going 10’0”. Said mark allowed her to take seventh place overall (and she was the top freshman). LeSueur-Henderson’s Riley Sater won the event by vaulting 11’6”. Zach Reiland qualified seventh (40.46) and took eighth in the 300-hurdle finals (41.16) with Osakis’ Andrew Jones (37.39) winning said event. Z-Reiland was also part of the boys 4×400 team with Kaleb Yunker, Carter Glynn, and Goergen. The squad just missed qualifying for the finals (3:28.47) as they finished tenth overall. Nine teams make the finals. Zach Reiland is the younger brother of former GMLOKS girls track and field sensation Anika Reiland, a 12-time state qualifier who just won a D-III national title (setting a record) as part of the girls 4×100 squad at Wisconsin-La Crosse.
There was Noah Carlson. And now there is Aubry Boldt. The latter will not ever quite be the former, but when it comes to track and field competing, Houston’s junior sensation spawns memories of the multi-time state champ Carlson given they compete across similar events. And Boldt brought home Rushford-Peterson/Houston’s first state track and field title since Carlson was triple state champion in 2016. Competing in three events at the 2025 state meet, Boldt placed in each. But her best was the Triple Jump. She entered the event seeded first (37’6 ¼”) as one of only two girls to top 37’ in their respective section meets. Boldt was then the only girl to top 37’ at state. Leaping 37’1 ½”, she topped nearest foe, defending state champ, Ellie Sosa (36’10”) to become state champ. Boldt holds the RPH record with a leap of 37’8 ½”. The junior also made the podium in the 100-hurdles and Long Jump. She qualified second in the hurdles (15.51) to St. Paul Academy and Summitt School’s Elizabeth Tuttle (15.13). Boldt (15.41) then took third to Tuttle (14.67) and Holdingford’s Rilee Breth (15.29) in the finals, an event taking place in the rain. Tuttle won both hurdle state titles. In the Long Jump, Boldt came in seeded second (18’1 ½”) after her section performance and she holds the RPH record (18’10”). She was not able to top 18’ at state. Boldt (17’11 ½”) took fourth behind Math and Science Academy’s McKaylen Lewis (18’5 ½”), Bagley/Fosston’s Ava Phrakonkham (18’3 ½”), and Two Harbors’ Trinity Giddings (18’0”). Lewis repeated as state champ. A year ago, Boldt took sixth (100-H > 15.41), eighth (Triple Jump > 36’0 ½”), and 21st (Long Jump > 16’3 ¼”) in each event. This year’s marks in each jump were over a foot better than last year. Just a junior, she is already an eight-time state qualifier. RPH’s other competitors did not make the podium. Isaac Rasmussen (4:37.49) ran above his section time (4:29.46) to take 14th place in the 1,600-meters. Redwood Valley’s Williams Ahrens (4:19.58) won the event. The boys 4×800 (Aaron Ploetz, Matthew Sprague, Trey Hegland, Rasmussen) also ran (8:36.04) well above its 1A meet pace (8:13.91), competing their race in the rain. They took 15th place (of 19). Redwood Valley (8:00.36) won the state title in that event. Only Sprague is a senior on the RPH team. The other three are juniors. Finally, in the Shot Put, junior Chace Drazkowski thrice threw out-of-bounds in about the same spot. One of 25 state shot putters, he thus did not have a score on the board. Section 1A’s Owen Krueger of Blooming Prairie won the event with a throw of 55’10 ¼”. Five guys cleared 55’ when only one came in seeded with a throw of 55’ or better.
Lanesboro/Fillmore Central/Mabel-Canton headed to the state meet with a plethora of qualifying relays, four to be exact. And though two made the state podium, the Fal-Bur-Coug’s top finishers were a pair of individual athletes. Autumn Rakosnik had LFCMC’s top performance. The freshman ran slower than her seed (11:19.88) coming in, but still finished sixth overall (11:28.56) in the 3,200-meters. St. John’s Prep’s Margaret Duffy (10:54.63) won the event. Rakosnik was also a state qualifier in cross country in the fall, taking ninth overall. Duffy (fourth place) was one of the girls ahead of her. Rakosnik took 12th at last year’s state meet in the 3,200-meters. Senior Greg Kennedy competed thrice total, including a pair of individual events. He made the finals of the Long Jump and the 6’5” athlete used a leap of 20’11 ¾” to take seventh place overall and make the podium. Kennedy hit 21’0” at sections. Border West’s Holden Rinke won the event with a jump of 22’3 ¼”. Kennedy just missed making the 200-meter finals. He ran 22.50 and was the first guy out, taking tenth place (of 22). W-E-M’s Gavin Atherton (22.06) won the event. On the flip side, along with Weston Collins (senior), Adrian Rindels (freshman), and Davis Penhollow (junior), he helped the 4×100 just qualify for the finals (44.03), breaking their own program record. They were the eighth of nine teams to make the biggest race. There, the guys took ninth place (44.26). Redwood Valley (42.85) claimed the 4×100 state title. Elsewhere, the girls 4×800 also took seventh place to make the state podium. The team of Kinley Soiney (junior), Maddie Zwart (freshman), Lillyan Kiehne (junior), and Rakosnik (freshman) ran 9:52.09, just off their 1A meet time (9:50.85). They ran their race in the rain. MACCRAY/RWC (3:38.20) won that state title. The gals 4×100 (Hannah Vaalemoen, Charlotte Ferrie, Kiehne, Soiney) and 4×400 (Olivia Rindels, Ella Halverson, Soiney, Kiehne) also competed but neither made the finals. The 4×100 (50.66) ran faster than at sections (50.88), and broke their own program record, but took 15th place. The 4×400 nearly (4:10.64) matched their section time (4:09.83) and took 15th place. Concordia Academy (48.97) won the 4×100 title while Park Rapids Area (3:57.71) won the 4×400 championship. Of the three state girls qualifying LFCMC teams, none had a senior compete. Finally, junior Brody Niemeyer took on the Shot Put. His best effort (48’10”) was short of his best section toss (52’4 ½”). He took 19th place (of 25). BP’s Owen Krueger won the event (55’10 ¼”).
Chatfield’s best success at the state tourney was a girls relay. For the third straight year, a (retooled) 4×100 (Adeline Schild, Savannah Peterson, Natalie Davison, Jaelyn LaPlante) competed. Peterson and LaPlante were holdovers from Gopher 4×100 and 4×200 teams that each finished no less than third on the state stage the past two years. This year’s group qualified seventh (49.92), then took sixth (50.56) in the finals to make the state podium. Concordia Academy (48.97) captured the 4×100 state title. LaPlante, a five-time state relay qualifier, is the squad’s only senior. Peterson, a sophomore, also amassed her fifth state relay qualification. Youngsters Schild (7th grade) and Davidson (8th grade) took on their first meet. LaPlante was the team’s busiest athlete. A three-event qualifier, she did not make the finals of the 200-meters (26.39) and took 20th place overall in that event while also tying for 26th place in the High Jump (5’0”), matching her section height. Park Christian’s Annika Aakre won the High Jump, leaping 5’7”. At last year’s state meet, LaPlante took 13th place in the 200-meters and 20th place in the High Jump. She graduates a nine-time state track and field entrant. Peterson also competed in the 200-meters, not making the finals. She came closer though, taking 12th overall running (25.88) slightly faster than at sections (25.92). Hills-Beaver Creek’s Brynn Bakken (24.86) won the 200-meters. Distance runner Charlotte Oeltjen made the podium. The senior ran 11:38.28 to take ninth place overall. Her section time was 11:24.28. St. John’s Prep’s Margaret Duffy (10:54.63) won the 3,200. Finally, Jake Stevens took on the Shot Put. His best throw was 49’3” and he took 18th overall. His best section throw was 49’10 ¾.” BP’s Owen Krueger won the event (55’10 ¼”). Stevens is Chatfield’s first male thrower to make state since Jayme LaPlante won titles in both in 2014.
Caledonia/Spring Grove’s only state entrant was senior Fischer Wait. It was his sixth state qualification but the ending mimicked his senior year. He was able to qualify sixth (49.20) in the prelims, breaking his own school record (49.61), to make the 400-meter final, an event where he took third last year. But in the finals, a nagging hamstring injury that jettisoned his efforts in the 200-meters and 4×200 at sections, reared its head again. He gingerly crossed the finish line to take ninth (52.94), but make the medal stand. Wait’s three-year run has been impressive despite a couple hiccups. He was on last year’s state champ 4×200 team and took sixth in the 200-meter in addition to his 400-meter showing. He was also a two-event state qualifier as a sophomore in 2023.
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