The Chaska Hawks boys track and field team competed in the Section 2AAA Championships on May 28 and 30, sending five individuals and two relays to the Minnesota state AAA Track and Field Meet June 10 and 12 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

For many track and field athletes, the ultimate goal is to get to the state meet. Months of hard work, practice and meets are just a “warm up” for the Section 2AAA meet, where a trip to the state meet can be determined by a matter of seconds or inches.

For the Chaska Hawks boys track and field team, this year’s section meet at Minnetonka High School was quite a success story. Five individual athletes qualified for the state meet. The Hawks also sent two relay teams, giving them a total of eight athletes—one of their highest totals ever.

The Hawks were led by two section champions: junior Josh Schmidt in the pole vault, and freshman Justin Greathouse in the 400 meter run. Both athletes automatically qualified for the state meet with their wins.

Not only is Schmidt going to the state meet as the top-ranked pole vaulter in all of Minnesota, he is within striking distance of the all-time state record in the event, according to head coach Nate Foss.

“Josh has had another incredible season for us,” Foss said. “He broke his own school record by nine inches and even got to the point in one meet where they had to pause the meet and reconstruct the pole vault apparatus to raise the cross bar high enough for Josh to attempt a new jump, as he had cleared the maximum height of the original setup.”

Along with Schmidt, fellow junior Dane Krull also qualified for state as the Section 2AAA runner-up. Krull is now ranked second all-time on the Chaska record board, behind Schmidt.

The Hawks also took home another section championship as Greathouse, only a freshman, captured the win in the 400 meter run. Senior captain Caden Silus finished close behind in third place, also qualifying for the state meet. Both runners etched their name on the all-time CHS 400 meter list, with Greathouse now ranked third, and Silus ranked sixth.

Greathouse and Silus were both members of the 4×400 meter relay which finished second in the section, qualifying for the state meet. They were joined on the team by senior captain Aidan McKeever and junior Charlie Mueller. This foursome ran the third fastest time in Chaska Hawks history.

Greathouse, McKeever and Mueller were joined by senior Aidan Pals on the 4×200 meter relay team, which also finished as section runners-up, giving the team a berth in the state meet. The quartet also ran the third fastest time in school history.

The eighth Chaska athlete to qualify for state was junior Nick Robinson in the discus, with a throw of 149 feet, 7 inches. Robinson, one of the team’s most improved athletes this year, now ranks third all-time in Chaska discus-throwing history.

Coach Foss said he was extremely impressed by his team’s performance at sections. 

“Our philosophy is that the conference meet is for the team to go out, compete and try to win. When you get to sections, it’s all about the individual and making it to state. I was thrilled to see so many guys step up this year,” he said.

Foss also cited many athletes who finished their season with a personal record (PR). “Everything you do all year, whether it’s in practice or the meets leading up to sections, is a warmup for that big event. We had so many kids finish the season with a PR, which they should be really proud about.”

Foss also highlighted his 4×100 relay team of Mueller, Pals, Schmidt, and junior Freddie Harris, who ran the second-fastest time in school history while just barely missing the state meet, finishing third. Foss also highlighted sophomore Ivan Peterson who set two PR’s in the 1600 meter (fourth place) and 3200m (sixth place), just missing state in both. Peterson now ranks fifth all-time in both events.

“We complete in an incredibly tough section with big schools; there are so many automatic qualifiers that getting to state out of this section is much tougher than others. I’m really proud of those who advanced to state. Those that didn’t qualify but moved up on the Chaska all-time list – guys like seniors Josh Wedel and Prentiss Derrick (now seventh and ninth on the all-time Chaska list for discus) should also be really proud.”

The Hawks will finish their season at the state meet, which will be held on Tuesday, June 10 and Thursday, June 12, at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

 
CHASKA PLACES SEVERAL ATHLETES ON THE METRO WEST ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Senior Josh Wedel was a two-time conference champion in the shot put and triple jump, leading a contingent of Hawks’ athletes on the Metro West All-Conference team.

Wedel was joined by junior Josh Schmidt and freshman Justin Greathouse as a conference champion. Schmidt won the pole vault event and Greathouse won the 400 meter run.

Junior Leon Pajibo was the fourth Hawk to earn All-Conference, finishing second in the 110 meter hurdles.

Earning honorable mention All-Conference were the following Hawks athletes:

• Caden Silus, Ivan Peterson, Finn Adams, Tait Gatz – 4×800 meter relay (second place)
• Freddie Harris, Aidan Pals, Aidan McKeever, Charlie Mueller – 4×200 meter relay (second place)
• Justin Greathouse – 200 meter run (third place)
• Dane Krull – pole vault (third place)
• Nick Robinson – discus (third place)