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Editor's note: “This was a state meet of epic proportions for our program.”
That's how Luverne track and field head coach Pete Janiszeski summed up his teams’ historic performance at the Minnesota State Track and Field Championships Thursday and Friday.
The Cardinals won a program-record four state championships at the meet.
Luverne won the girls' 4x800 relay state championship for the fourth consecutive year.
Ashton Sandbulte won state championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and Tenley Nelson is the state champion in the 800-meter run.
In all, 13 LHS athletes earned all-state honors by placing in the top nine places in an event, and three new school records were set.
This was the first year of three class competition at the state track meet. Luverne competed in Class A, which included 192 teams.
See page 8A for full coverage of state competition involving local athletes, including Hills-Beaver Creek girls who placed seventh with their 4-by-100-meter relay team and 100-meter runner Brynn Bakken, plus a recap of Luverne’s appearance at state tennis competition.
Luverne High School athletes took home an impressive amount of hardware from the Class A Minnesota State Track Meet in St. Michael-Albertville on June 9 and 10.
Thirteen Cardinal athletes earned All-State honors by finishing in the top nine places in an event in the state meet. They added four state titles (a program best) and three new school records.
Both the boys and the girls had impressive finishes in the team standings, with the boys fourth and the girls fifth overall, according to coach Pete Janiszeski.
“The fourth- and fifth-place team finishes are extremely difficult to do because you have to cover events and score good points in those events, and this crew did that,” Janiszeski said.
“There are a lot of years the points these kids put up would have put them on the podium and even won a title. They put up as much or more points than the past two Luverne State Championships won by the 2006 boys and the 2010 girls.”
The 4-by-800 relay team of Elizabeth Wagner, Tiana Lais, Jenna DeBates and Tenley Nelson finished first (9:35.81).
Nelson took the baton in fifth place and churned out a 2:12 split in her 800-meter anchor leg to secure the Cardinals’ fourth straight state title in the event.
Nelson also was state champion in the open 800 run, breaking her own school record in a time of 2:14.68.
Ashton Sandbulte was champion of the 100-meter dash (10.91), in which he finished third last year. He won the 200-meter dash (21.94), which broke his own school record time.
The 4-by-100-meter relay team (Lucky Dara, Zachary Terrio, Eli Radtke and Ashton Sandbulte) finished second in 43.72. The time broke the Luverne school record previously set in 2006 by Jake Hendricks, Tom Ward, Jordan Siebenahler and Mike Kunstle (43.93).
The girls’ 4-by-400-meter relay team of Tiana Lais, Elizabeth Wagner, Sarah Stegenga and Tenley Nelson finished third (4:04.80).
Eli Radtke finished sixth in the pole vault at 13-6. The 3200-meter run had Coach Janiszeski’s sons finishing seventh and eighth respectively, Camden at 9:46.44 and Owen at 9:47.01, both personal record times.
Jenna DeBates, who has been dealing with a leg injury, started out in the back of the pack in the 3,200-meter run. She powered through to finish eighth in a time of 11:27.82.
Jadyn Hart was fifth in the discus at 122-00. Jocelyn Hart was eighth in the shot put 37-11.50. The Hart sisters, both juniors, will look to return next year and build off a great season.
“This was a state meet of epic proportions for our program,” coach Janiszeski said.
“Just getting to the state meet is very difficult to do and a tremendous accomplishment. However, these kids embraced a mindset of ‘be happy, but not satisfied; stay humble and hungry to improve; chase excellence and execute your event.’ They embraced that, and the results took care of themselves. They found themselves repeatedly on the awards stand. We’re just so blessed and so proud of these kids and their effort and willingness to embrace the team concept.”
Coach Janiszeski’s social media posts for the team were often tagged at the end with “Chase your GOALS and live your DREAMS!” and for the 2022 Cardinal athletes this was the case.
The rest of the Cardinal finishes in the preliminary round are as follows:
LHS girls
300H 12. Elizabeth Wagner 48.76
4x100 14. Mia Wenzel, Anna Banck, Isabella Oye, Sarah Stegenga 51.87
4x200 13. Makena Nelson, Isabella Oye, Anna Banck, Sarah Stegenga 1:51.05
LHS boys
4x800 12. Ryan Fick, Sage Viessman, Camden Janiszeski, Owen Janiszeski 8:31.57