Track and field: Tigers sweep at River Falls Indoor

• Track

Girls and boys track teams turned in good performances last week.

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The Farmington boys and girls track team appear ready to head outdoors.

The Tigers used contributions from up and down their respective lineups to grab a pair of meet victories at Saturday’s Academy of Holy Angels Indoor Invite at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

The girls team dominated its team race, winning 11 of 18 events while outscoring runner-up New Prague, 93-57. The boys race wasn’t a run-away, but the Tigers still ended up with a 74-69 victory over second-place Shakopee.

“The girls competed very hard last night and went out there with a mission. They fought off competitors if it was close and dominated from the start in many others,” girls coach Tom Hart said. “It was a total team effort and many of the ladies have alot to be proud of in their performances last night.”

Boys coach Brian Helmstetter was also pleased with his athletes, as well as the fans who made the trip into Wisconsin to cheer them on.

“The meet went well for the boys and girls and, like always, another great day to be a Farmington fan,” he said. “Every race we heard a number of fans cheering for Tiger athletes.”

The fans in orange and black had plenty to cheer for in the girls relay races. The Tigers won all three relays, starting with the 4x800 where Nicole Clifton, Maria Kiminski, Bailey Opsal and Devyn Alberts topped the field by 11 seconds in 10 minutes, 13.14 seconds. Maria Kiminski, Opsal, Clifton and Amy Kiminski capped off the meet with a winning time of 4:18.48 in the 4x400 and Amy Kiminski, Lauren McHenry, Courtney Johnson and Rachel Sand teamed up to claim the 4x200 in 1:54.49.

Maria Kiminski also won the open 800 in 2:30.37 and Amy Kiminski earned first in the 200 with a time of 27.05.

Alyssa Parco and Erin Hickey each claimed victory in a pair of events. Parco crossed the finish line first in the 55 hurdles and the 400, while Hickey won the open 55 and the triple jump.

Katie Habeck added a personal record in the shot put, where her toss of 35 feet, 10 inches topped the rest of the field by more than two feet.

Logan Hussung made it a Tiger sweep of the shot put with a winning toss of 55-11 that bested the rest of the field by nine feet and met the state qualifying standard. Hussung’s toss was one of six event victories for the Farmington boys.

Jordan Keller won the 55 hurdles in 8.21, Sam Hanson cleared 6-0 in the high jump and Tyler Grubb claimed the 200 in 23.58 while also contributing to victories in the 4x200 and 4x400. The 4x200 team, which also included Ryan Farley, Levi Freetly and Andrew Thomas, edged New Prague by nine-hundredths of a second, while the 4x400 team of Grubb, Thomas, Freetly and Matt Shutey combined to win by over eight seconds in a sharp time of 3:36.

The Tigers also turned in some record-breaking performances.

Nick Arenberg and Chad Retterath finished second and third, respectively, while both breaking the school’s 1200-meter indoor record.

The freshman foursome of Josh Baker, Tyler Lerbakken, Clayton Webb and Sam Wyatt broke the freshman 4x800 record and Ross Heintz and Dillon Pariseau both threw for personal bests in the shot put.

Tags: boys track and field, girls track and field, school district 192, high schools, sports, farmington, tiger, prep