Track: Hudson Raiders sweep True Team titles

• Hudson Raider senior Katie Thielmann prepares to take the baton from junior Claire Zais

Raider senior Katie Thielmann prepares to take the baton from junior Claire Zais for the anchor leg of the 4x200 meter relay at the Hudson True Team Invite Friday at Newton Field. Thielmann, Zais, Erikka Haft and Jordan Huber teamed up to win the race with a time of 1 minute, 50.19 seconds.
• Hudson Raider senior Tucker Malecha, center, starts the 4x200 meter relay

Raider senior Tucker Malecha, center, gains some ground on his Osceola opponent after the staggered start on the first leg of the 4x200 meter relay at the Hudson True Team Track and Field Invitational Friday at Newton Field. Malecha, Nick Jorgenson, Brandon D’Andrea and Dan Kelly teamed up to finish second to the team from Park Cottage Grove in the race. Photos by Bob Burrows
• Hudson’s Martha Harrell during the high jump competition

Hudson’s Martha Harrell attempts to clear 4-feet, 8-inches during the high jump competition at the True Team Invitational Friday at Newton Field. Harrell was one of three Raiders who finished in the top six in the event and help Hudson pick up 60 team points.

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The Raider track and field teams’ depth was on full display last Friday, April 13 as they battled the elements and the opposition to sweep the girls and boys titles at the Hudson True Team Invitational at Newton Field.

Under the true team format every competitor scores points. In individual events, in meets with eight teams like Friday’s, each team can enter a maximum of three competitors. First place is awarded 24 points, second place 23, and so on down to last place. In relay events first place earns 32 points and eighth place is worth 4.

While the Raiders combined for 12 first place finishes Friday, it was their second and third finishers in each event that boosted them to team titles. Hudson’s girls made every point count to edge River Falls, 840.5 to 825.5, while the Raider boys won handily with a total of 854.5. River Falls was second with 743.5.

“The teams worked hard and did a great job considering the pretty intense wind, chill, mist and rain,” Raider girls’ coach Jami Holum noted. “True team format is great because everyone competing scores toward the team total. Everyone counts.”

Senior Katie Wetzstein paced the girls with a pair of first place finishes—winning the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 25.87 and the 1600 in 5:15.24. Mary Knutson boosted the Raiders’ team total in the 800 with a fourth place time while Kayla Dornfeld picked up 12 points by finishing 13th.

Ashley Akey led a strong Raider showing in the discus by placing first with a throw of 102-feet, 0.75 inches in the driving wind. Taylor Steffen took third with a distance of 92-1.5 while Mackenzie Gerads finished 13th. Steffen won the shot put with a throw of 37-6.25 and Akey was third with 35-0.75 while Gerads finished 15th.

The Raider girls won a pair of relay titles to boost their team score. In the 4x200, Jordan Huber, Erikka Haft, Claire Zais and Katie Thielmann combined for a first place time of 1:50.19, while in the 4x100, Julia Douglas, Haft, Zais and Thielmann won in 52.61 seconds.

Freshman Dakota Carlson won the girls’ long jump title with a leap of 15-feet, 3-inches.

The Raider girls picked up their highest score of the day in the pole vault, where Casey Fall took second with a height of 10-feet, and McKenna Daulton and Sarah Krier finished fourth and sixth, respectively, at 8-6.

The girls’ also hit the 60-point mark in the high jump, where Anna Wilen, Krier and Martha Harrell all cleared 4-6 to finish fourth through sixth, respectively.

On the boys’ side, Ryan Kromer was a double winner—taking first in the 800 meter run in 2:04.21 and the 1600 in 4:35.83. Jack Kadidlo and Logan Hammer gave Hudson three of the top ten spots in the 1600 with Kadidlo placing eighth and Hammer ninth.

Alex Beyer won the 400 meter dash title with a time of 52.27 seconds while Sam Entenza was seventh and Johan Mahowald took tenth.

Ryan Schram led a strong Raider effort in the high jump by taking first with a height of 5-8. Noah Holden and Ian Zastrow both cleared 5-3 to finish tied for fifth and seventh, respectively.

Hudson’s other first place finish came in the 4x400 meter relay, where Entenza, Nick Jorgenson, Schramm and Beyer combined for a winning time of 3:36.7.

The Raider boys scored well in both the shot put and discus, taking three of the top eighth spots in both events.

In the shot put, Bryan Caffin was second with a throw of 49-10.75, Alex Burgess took fifth and Jared Johnson finished seventh. Johnson took third in the discus with a distance of 133-2.5 while Caffin was fourth with 132-8.5 and Burgess placed eighth.

Hudson’s boys also had three of the top ten finishers in the 110 meter high hurdles, 300 meter intermediate hurdles, 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash.

In the 110 meter hurdles, Brett DuCharme, Wade Malecha and Sam Somerville finished sixth through eighth, respectively, while in the 300 hurdles, Jorgenson was third in 42.37 seconds, DuCharme took fourth and Zach Kraft finished ninth.

Dan Kelly was third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.4 seconds while Matt Iverson placed eighth and Nate Bennett was ninth. In the 200 meter dash, Tucker Malecha finished second in 22.71 seconds, Brandon D’Andrea took third in 22.71 and Bennett was ninth.

Somerville boosted the Raiders’ team score with a second place effort of 19-2.25 in the long jump while Ryan Daulton added a third place leap of 11-6 in the pole vault.

Tags: sports, track, raiders, prep