Rebels win round one
Published 12:00 am Sunday, April 28, 2002
WELLS &045; For a regular-season track and field meet, the 7th Annual USC Invitational sure had a lot to offer.
It promised to be head-to-head confrontation between the two best Class A teams in the area, and wasn’t a disappointment. Maple River and United South Central, No. 3 and No. 6 in the state Class A ratings, were deadlocked halfway through. The Rebels’ performance in the long jump and the 3200-meter run late in the meet was the difference for USC.
The Rebels won with 166 points. Maple River had 139, followed by Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial with 100, Blue Earth Area 64, Madelia/Truman 36, Nicollet 28, Martin County West 24 and Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 1.
Several of the top individuals in the meet are among the elite in Minnesota. Kevin Friederichs on LCWM is expected to finish high in the medals in the state meet in June in both hurdle events. Josh Sorenson of Madelia/Truman is one of the top pole vaulters in Minnesota.
The 4×200 relay team from Maple River returns after finishing second in last year’s state meet. And USC’s Casey Christenson placed in three events in last year’s state meet. All were in good form.
Christenson led the Rebels with three firsts. He won the 400 in 51.7 seconds and the 200 in 22.6, both personal bests, and won the triple jump with a leap of 39-5 3/4.
Justin Youngblom was the other individual winner for the Rebels, taking the 3200 in 10:43.
The 4×100 relay team of Shea Kaiser, Callan Pitcher, Brandon Alphs, and Bob Schmitz cut nearly a second off their previous best time to win that event in 45.9.
Other USC places: Trevor Rollenhagen, third, 110 hurdles and third, high jump; Steven Wood, sixth, 300 hurdles; Alphs, third, 100, second, long jump and third, pole vault; Matt Linder, third, shot put; Eric Langsev, third, 1600 and second, 800; 4×200 relay, second (Shea Kaiser, Pitcher, Jon Beyer, Jon Voigt); 4×800 relay, fifth (Chris Vondracek, Taylor Martin, Spencer Niebuhr, Randy Kauffmann); Schmitz, fifth, 400 and fifth, 200; Kaiser, fourth, long jump; Pitcher, second, 300 hurdles; Dusty Niebuhr, fifth, high jump; Adam Kruger, fourth, discus; Beyer, fourth, 800; Brandon Grunzke, fifth, pole vault; Jake Stenzel, fourth, 3200; 4×400 relay, second (Beyer, Niebuhr, Wood, Voigt).
On Thursday, May 9, the two teams will face off again in the Section 2A True Team Meet in Wells. Maple River, returning to Class A after two years in AA, will be one of the favorites to win the 2A Championship.
“Because of the True Team method of scoring, coaches usually run a little different lineup than they would in the meet today,” said Viesselman. “And each team’s second performer takes on added significance. Today’s outcome indicates it will be a very competitive meet.”