State Track and Field: Goergen Walks Away with Two Titles to Lead GMLOKS

He is the first Journal-covered track and field athlete to win two individual state titles in the same season since RPH’s Noah Carlson grabbed three in 2015.  Southland junior, GMLO-KS runner, Tate Goergen had himself a big couple days at the state track and field meet.  He started in the prelims, where Goergen tied the all-time Class A 800-meter record time of 1:50.72 also set by Stewartville’s Jason Owen back in 1996.  His run obviously put him in the finals.  A day later on Friday, Goergen first took on the 1,600-meters.  This year was the first he ran said race more consistently. In a field that saw four Section 1A competitors finish top five, Goergen (4:14.57) out-raced Cotter/Hope Lutheran’s Kellen Groth (4:15.61) and Sauk Centre’s Logan Wiehoff (4:16.77) to the finish line to claim the title. He set the GMLOKS record. RPH’s Isaac Rasmussen (4:18.23) and Rambler Ryan Littlefield (4:18.90) finished fourth and fifth.  Said race could have been more 1A heavy but C/HL’s Erik Semling, who took third at state last year (4:20.30), fell at sections and did not make state. After at least one rain delay, Goergen then took the track to defend his 800-meter title (1:55.64). And to say he defended it was an understatement.  Short of an epic collapse, which did not happen, Goergen had the race damn near in the bag with as many as 200 meters left.  He won the prelim race, where he set the record, by six-plus seconds. In the finals, he cruised across in 1:52.22, or four-plus seconds ahead of second place Adam VanBinsberger of Montevideo (1:56.33). Goergen has thus taken second, first, and first in the event the last three years.  And this year’s finish came after he had heat-related issues after his preliminary run.  Said issues hampered the GMLOKS’ boys 4×400. Goergen was replaced by Logan Drees. The team of Hunter Hyde, Nathaniel Drees, Carter Glynn, and L-Drees finished 15th in qualifying (3:31.58) to miss the finals.   With Goergen at sections, the team ran 3:24.39. Said time would’ve qualified the squad top four. Sauk Centre (3:21.90) won the state title in the event.  GMLOKS also got a second individual to the state podium and a relay.  Junior Kloe Meyer made the finals of the girls Shot Put and took ninth overall with a best throw of 37’7 ¾”. She bettered her 1A best throw (36’9”).  Section 1A champion Brooklyn Mitchell of La Crescent/Hokah won the state title (44’5 ½”). The girls 4×100 (Brynlee Koenigs, Gracie Foster, Breeley Galle, Kiera Stier) also took ninth (50.07). They qualified seventh in the prelims with a season best time (49.96) after running 50.22 in winning the 1A title.  Concordia Academy (48.85) won the state title in the event. Southland senior Breeley Galle took on her fourth state hurdles competition.  She did not make the finals of the 100-meter event, finishing 12th (16.20).  She ran 15.40 at sections.   Her best finish in her four state hurdle competitions was seventh in the 100-meter variety as a sophomore in 2024.  Galle goes out a nine-time state qualifier with two state titles amidst GMLOKS girls 4×200 teams in 2022 and 2023.  Finally, the boys 4×200 (Bently Wiersma, Glynn, N-Drees, Hyde) also did not make the finals.  They ran 1:31.74 to finish 11th overall.  Said team ran 1:31.18 at sections. Cotter/HL (1:27.08) won the state title in the event, setting a Class A record.