The Becker Bulldog boys track and field team put a huge exclamation point on a storybook season by placing seventh overall at the MSHSL State Class AA Track and Field Meet last week.  

In the process, they also saw their first state championship in a number years as Carter Reckelberg won the blue-ribboned medal and set a new Class AA state record for the Long Jump by leaping 23 feet, three inches.  Owen Angell nearly made it a pair of state titles for the Bulldogs, as he finished second in state in the Pole Vault.

Head Coach Paul Schmidt sang the praises of all his athletes, as the Bulldogs put together truly phenomenal performances in a number of events.

“On Saturday, Carter became our first State Champion in the 2000’s by winning the Long Jump,” Schmidt said.  “His record setting jump came on his last attempt, as he had already captured first place with his previous jump in the prelims of 22’ 5.75”.”

Earlier in the state meet, Reckelberg competed in Triple Jump with three nice jumps in his flight which advanced him to finals to earn three more jumps. 

“Carter accomplished a leap of 42ft 9.25in to achieve an eighth place finish in the event,” Schmidt added.

Owen Angell also had a stellar performance at the state meet, putting together amazing performances in the Pole Vault, as well as the 110m High Hurdles and the 300 Hurdles.

“Owen entered the Pole Vault with the fourth best seed of class AA and had a great day as he vaulted over the crossbar at 14’6”,” Schmidt said.  “That mark bettered the state Class AA record which had been set last year and secured a second place finish just behind this year’s new AA record holder.”

When Angell wasn’t flying through the air, he was also doing damage in his other specialty, the hurdles.

He competed in the 110m High Hurdles prelims, where he placed fourth in his heat with a time of 15.41 seconds, which was enough to advance him to the finals on Saturday morning. Competing against the top hurdlers in the state, he finished with another medal by placing eighth, running a personal best time of 15.34. 

“In the 300m Hurdles, Owen raced through the hurdles with a time of 41.75 seconds which placed him 14th in the state but did not get him into the finals,” Schmidt added.

Senior Tyson Ricker then became the third Bulldog to capture a pair of medals, as he was again electric in the distance events.

Schmidt said Ricker ran in heat one of the 800 prelims, “setting a new school-record in the 800m with a time of 1:56.21.” 

“That record now gives Tyson the ‘Triple Crown’ as he now holds school records in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m races for Becker,” Schmidt said. “He ended his outstanding Becker career by taking seventh in the 1600 with a time of 4:22.20, and then followed it up with an eighth place finish in the 800.”

Schmidt added that the team will miss Tyson and his leadership, but he expects great things collegiately for Ricker when he competes next year for Augustana College in Cross Country and Track and Field.

While those performances summed up Becker’s amazing state tournament medal claims, the team wasn’t done breaking school records. As they have done several times this year, the sprinters inked a new Bulldog record.

“The 4x100m relay team of Reckelberg, Julias Hendrickson, Mitchell Soltau and Logan Eisele bettered their previous record by three hundredths of a second to move the mark to 43.47seconds,” Schmidt said.

As Schmidt was forced to say good-byes to several graduating Bulldogs, he also has several returning athletes who will be favored to make a return to the state meet.

“Both Angell and Reckelberg are sophomores so we look forward to more records and state appearances in the future,” Schmidt said.