NORTHFIELD &045; As was the case all season, Tyler Young was the standout for the Albert Lea High School boys’ track and field squad.

This time, though, the competition was as tough as it gets, and Young’s ALHS athletic career ended a mere foot away from the state meet.

Young, a senior, scored the only points for the Tigers in the Section 1AA meet that concluded Saturday at Carleton College in Northfield, throwing the discus a career-best 160 feet, 10 inches. It was good for fourth place.

&uot;Tyler was third going into the finals,&uot; said ALHS coach Lon Nelson. &uot;A thrower from Rosemount passed Tyler’s throw by an inch. He was 12 inches away from qualifying for the state meet.&uot;

And that, said Nelson, is unfortunate.

&uot;Not getting Tyler to state is hard to take because he would have had a chance of placing with the kind of throwing he’s demonstrated in the conference and sectional meets,&uot; said Nelson. &uot;It’ll be quite some time before we see another discus thrower with his ability and determination.&uot;

Although Taylor Zimmerman did not score in the 1600 meters, Nelson said his time of 4:41 was a bright spot.

&uot;This was a great season for Taylor,&uot; said Nelson. &uot;Next year he’ll be durable enough to run some 1600s and 3200s in the same meet.&uot;

The 4×200 relay team of Andrew Stapleton, Andrew Irvine, Corey Berggren and Chris Jackson was one second away from scoring. Jason Kuipers cleared 5-8 in the high jump.

&uot;Jason did an outstanding job for us this year on the track and in the jumping events,&uot; said Nelson. &uot;We’ve got a big hole to fill next year without Jason.&uot;

Young’s five points gave the Tigers 16th place out of 17 teams. Waseca was scoreless. Eastview won a tight race for first with 97 points. Lakeville and Rochester Century had 87, followed in the top 10 by Winona with 59, Rochester Mayo 56, Austin 55, Red Wing 44, Faribault 42, Rosemount 41 and Rochester John Marshall 36.