Saturday, March 14, 2015

Wayzata Runners Alumni Report - Week Ending 3/15

Welcome to the Wayzata High School Alumni Indoor Track Report for the week ending March 15, 2015. Let's take a quick tour around the country to see how Wayzata graduates are faring for their colleges.

Note: This story will be updated as the weekend progresses. Please check back for updates. In addition, if you have a Wayzata alum athlete that is missing from this story, please email me
with updates so I can include them.  

Sunday edition

 Competing this weekend

 McKenna Evans (Class of '14) - University of Nevada

Competed outdoors at Aggie Open in Davis, CA. McKenna competed in the Women's 2000 meter steeplechase, placing 4th overall. She ran unattached as the coach is determining which freshmen he red-shirts for the outdoor season.

Complete results.

 Wolfpack team recap. Quote:

"The Pack also had a few competitors compete unattached and post some notable finishes. Freshman Alaina Anderson ran to a fifth place showing in the 5000m run, crossing the finish line at 17:57.34. Classmate McKenna Evans also ran unattached in the 2000m steeplechase and finished fourth with a time of 7:13.20."


Annika Halverson (Class of '14) - Bethel (MN)
Competed at 2015 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships.

 Bethel Team Preview here. Quote:

 "Among those invited from Bethel was distance runner Annika Halverson and field participant Alyssa Solberg. Halverson reached the national meet in the one-mile race, thanks to a time of 5:00.99 at Grinnell's Darren Young Classic on February 14. The freshman's national meet appearance is her first career, but second NCAA Championship event. Halverson reached the Division III meet for cross country earlier this fall."










When reached for a quote, Annika said: "The race was definitely interesting, a lot of elbows thrown my way, and quite a few shoves but in the end I learned a lot about tactics and I know I'll be more ready for outdoor nats if I make it!"

 Annika also received additional honors this past week:

Alayna Sonnesyn (Class of '14) - Vermont

Competing at NCAA Championships. March 11-14. Pre-NCAA story here.
Quote:

"The UVM women have their own breakout star in Sonnesyn, the league's Nordic rookie of the year. Sonnesyn and former Rutland High School standout Cirelli had success at the same venue in the league finale (fourth and sixth, respectively, in freestyle), which their coach feels sets them up for another strong showing."

Day One Catamount Recap here. Results here. Quote: 


"Alayna Sonnesyn, the 2015 EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year, was 22nd (15:35.5) in her NCAA debut to round out the Catamounts competing."

Day Three Catamount Recap here. Results here. Quote: 

"Stephanie Kirk finished 21st (50:42.9) and Alayna Sonnesyn was 28th (52:14.8) to complete her first NCAA Championship experience."


Alayna & Mom, Jill
Brian Jarvey (Class of '12) - University of St. Thomas
While off from competing this weekend, Jarvey received honors nonetheless. He was named Outstanding MIAC Track Athlete. Quote:

 "Jarvey was named the top track athlete at the 2014 meet for his role in St. Thomas' 31st-straight MIAC indoor title, as the Tommies have now won the meet in each of its 31 years of existence. Jarvey won a second-straight MIAC title in both the 200- and 400-meter dash, as he won the 200 with a time of 22.52 seconds, and the 400 in 49.37 seconds. He also anchored St. Thomas' first-place 4x400-meter relay team, which finished with a time of 2:23.77, to help him go a perfect 3-for-3 in his MIAC indoor races."





Adam Moline (Class of '12) - UW-Eau Claire

Competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Roanoke College. 

 Blugold team recap on DMW National victory. Quote:

 "The distance medley relay of Adam Moline (Jr.-Maple Grove, MN/Wayzata), Will LaJeunesse (Jr.-Belle Plaine, MN), Ryan Graham (So.-Maple Grove, MN) and Josh Thorson (Fr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) flew past the competition posting a time of 9:54.82 which was more than 3.5 seconds faster than their next closest finisher.  Their time shattered the school record of 9:59.45 set on March 5, 2011 at UW-Stevens Point."

 Complete results. Men's DMR results.

Moline leads off the National winning DMR. Click thumbnail for larger view.
Michael Smith (Class of '14) - Cornell (NY)

Update on Michael: He suffered a minor hamstring injury and is expected back to competing in the near future.

 Up next: At Texas Relays (Austin), March 26 - 28.







Josh Thorson (Class of '12) - UW-Eau Claire

Competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Roanoke College. Anchored the national winning DMR and placed 3rd in the Men's 3000.

 Blugold team recap on DMW National victory. Quote:

 "The distance medley relay of Adam Moline (Jr.-Maple Grove, MN/Wayzata), Will LaJeunesse (Jr.-Belle Plaine, MN), Ryan Graham (So.-Maple Grove, MN) and Josh Thorson (Fr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) flew past the competition posting a time of 9:54.82 which was more than 3.5 seconds faster than their next closest finisher.  Their time shattered the school record of 9:59.45 set on March 5, 2011 at UW-Stevens Point."

 Complete results. Men's DMR results. Blugold team recap. Quote:

"Josh Thorson (So.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) placed third in the 3,000-meter run with a school record time of 8:11.80.  Thorson broke his previous school record of 8:17.90 set on February 13, 2015 at the St. Thomas Invitational."

Thorson anchors the National winning DMR. Click thumbnail for larger view.
National recap here. Quote:

"In the men’s race, national record holders Amherst established a very solid lead with 800 meters to go on the anchor leg. Behind them, something that would have qualified as "strange" if not for the women’s 5k was playing out. Whitewater dropped the baton very early in the race and fell about 150 meters behind. Their anchor leg, Dawson Miller, was running in lane 2 so as to avoid interfering with the actual race. But late in the leaders’ leg, Miller ended up with the chase pack about ten meters–in his case, 210 meters–behind Amherst. He appeared to say something to Eau Claire’s Josh Thorson, tucked into the rail, and Miller and Thorson actually caught Amherst anchor Greg Turissini. Once the gap was closed, Thorson powered away from the field and beat Amherst by five seconds, 9:54-9:59. La Crosse slipped in for second and the Lord Jeffs grabbed third. (That’s much better than their tenth place finish at nationals the last time they set the DMR national record in the regular season) Whitewater was later disqualified for Miller’s pacing."


Here’s what the Eau Claire boys had to say about the whole race:
Here's my bootleg video of the 3000 meter race:

Thorson 3000 D3 Nationals from Brian Maas on Vimeo.

 Off this weekend:

 Lauren Farquhar (Class of '13) - Bethany Lutheran College (MN)
Lauren will run outdoor track for the Vikings this spring. She is a hurdle specialist. In 2014, she placed 5th in the 400 hurdles at the UMAC outdoor championships. Word is she will run the steeple this coming season. Her first outdoor meet will be April 11 at Gustavus. 












Mary Franke (Class of '14) - Colorado State
Injury issues have interrupted Franke's freshman year, and she has been red-shirted. She continues to workout with the Rams team and is currently gearing up for the outdoor season where she will run unattached. Next race tentatively set for March 28th in Fort Collins (CO). 5K or 10K distance.










Marit Sonnesyn (Class of '13) - Gustavus
Her first outdoor meet will be April 11 at Gustavus.












Adam Brandt (Class of '13) - University of St. Thomas

Up next: Hamline Invite on April 11











Aaron Breyer (Class of '14) - South Dakota

Up next: At Tulsa (OK) Duals, March 20-21













 Joe Meister (Class of '13) - UW-Eau Claire

Up next: At Emory Classic, March 20-21.









 



Derek Peterson (Class of '13) - Lipscomb (TN)
Up Next: Alabama Relays, March 19-20












James Smith (Class of '14) - Cornell (NY)

Up next: At Texas Relays (Austin), March 26 - 28.











Obinnaya Wamuo (Class of '14) - University of Chicago
Up next: Ted Haydon Invitational (Outdoor) in Chicago on April 4.










Upper Midwest Notable News

Erin Teschuk (NDSU)
Erin placed 5th in the Mile, 7th in 3,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

 Bison recap.

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