The Becker boys and girls track & field teams competed in its final Granite Ridge Conference indoor track meet last Saturday in the Becker Fieldhouse. 

 

This is Becker’s last year in the conference before moving back to the Mississippi 8 next year.  

 

 

After three weeks of practice and two indoor time trials, Becker showed it was up to the task of making a run for a third consecutive indoor title.  The boys did not disappoint as they successfully defended that title by scoring 115 points in the team competition.  Mora came in second with 90 points and Foley rounded out the top three with 81.3 points.  

 

“It was a pleasant surprise for our team as I was a bit unsure of how we would stack up against the competition this year,” said Head Coach Paul Schmidt.  “While it is still early in the season it was reassuring to see our athletes go out there and compete at a high level.”

 

Schmidt says he is still missing a couple of athletes  due to prior commitments, so Saturday’s meet gave him a chance to see some of his younger athletes step up.

 

The scoring was led by senior captain Kevin Andres, who won the 400M, 200M and was also part of the winning 4x400M relay team.  That 4x400 team also included teammates Sam Ricker, David Myers and Caden Dewall.  

 

Captain Sam Ricker finished with three “firsts”  by also winning the 1600M and by being a part of the winning 4x800 team with teammates Basil Ricker, Noah Fakhreddine and Jake Nelson.  

 

David Myers won the 55M high hurdles in an amazing time of 7.99, and was second in the 400M and also placed third in the long jump.  

 

Basil Ricker grabbed a first place in the 800M with Noah Fakhreddine finishing in a close second.  Liam Jenkins ran really well to grab a sixth place finish in the 800M as well.  

 

Captain Jack Belde had a good day in the jumps category as he claimed places in the long jump (fourth), triple jump (fourth) and high jump (sixth).  He was also a part of the 4x200M relay team that finished sixth along with teammates Brayden Weber, Trent Nistler and Kyle Millard.  

 

Michael Schmitz ran a nice hurdle race finishing fifth.

 

 

The Becker girls track team Becker girls took second place behind Foley.  

 

Team scores were: Foley 162, Becker 90, Little Falls 72, Zimmerman 48, Albany 47, St Cloud Cathedral 41, Milaca 39 and Mora 39.  

 

“By the look of the close team scores overall, things will be interesting when we get outside and add the discus and 3200M to the mix,” said Head Coach Trish Reimer-Kealy.

 

The girls started off the meet winning the 4x800M relay with the team of Whit Schug, Victoria Kolbinger, Dani Nuest and Lexi Dehmer. They took first place with a time of 10:33.39 and the girls ran some very nice splits for an exciting race which saw Foley take second in a time of 10:39.54.

 

Sarah Woelfel placed fifth in the 55M hurdles and three-stepped the entire way for a time of 10.10.

 

For Becker’s sprinters, Cassidy Pleoger placed third in the 200M with a time of 28.53 and fourth in the 55M dash in 7.92.   The 400M had Becker taking two spots with Lexi Dehmer in fourth (66.94) and Liz Mackadanz sixth (67.67) .

 

The distance girls had a good day with three places in the 800M. Dani Nuest took second in the 800M (2:32.33), Lexi Rose fifth (2:44.3) and Abby Sanderson eighth (2:46.24).

 

The 1600M girls saw  Victoria Kolbinger (5;50.62) capture third and Natasha Berthiaume fourth (6:01.29).  

 

“These are all good times for indoors and several of these girls are very new to this and really learning a lot from the veterans,” said Reimer-Kealy.

 

Becker’s other two relays took second place.  The 4x200M team of Cassidy Pleoger, Sarah Woelfel, Abby Maruska and Paige Maunu ran a time of 1:57.31. 

 

“We were happy with their hand offs which can be difficult indoors,” said Trish.  

 

In the 4x400M relay, Becker had Lexi Dehmer, Abby Maruska, Liz Mackadanz and Dani Nuest combining to win their heat in a time of 4:34.09 — putting them in second place after Foley came in with a time of 4:29.88 in the second heat for first place.

 

The field events had Page Maunu place third (14'2") and Cienna Pleoger seventh (13'11  3/4") in the long jump.  Cienna also placed in the triple jump at fifth (30'3 1/2") and Abby Maruska eighth (29' 2").  Anna Briggs placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 28'8".

 

“Overall, we are pleased with our efforts at this meet and are excited for our season to get outdoors,” said Reimer-Kealy.

 

 

Becker’s next meet  is scheduled for April 9 in Mora.