June 28, 2018
The Section 4A Championships are the culmination of months of hard work for our team, and MPA athletes showed exceptional talent and drive at this competitive, 26-team meet.
On the girls side, our 4x800m team of junior Gabby Law, ninth graders Izzy Quam, and Katie Dahiya, and seventh grader Margo N. earned a medal with their fourth place finish. In the 100m hurdles, junior Ellie Quam placed third with a time of 17.23, the fastest time at MPA in 15 years.
In the 4x200m, the team of senior Maya Sayers, junior Ellie Quam, sophomore Catherine Moore, and ninth grader Izzy Quam ran 1:50.36 to place second in their preliminary heat and qualify for finals. That time was their fastest time this season, the third fastest time ever at MPA, and the fastest time since 1999. While they didn’t do as well in finals, they still scored with an eighth place finish. Their time from prelims qualifies them for the MSHSL honor roll.
The girls 4x100m of team of seniors Quinn Campbell and Maya Sayers, and sophomores Catherine Moore, Aaliyah Kellogg (prelims), and Annie Portoghese (finals), ran 53.59 to qualify for finals in the MPA’s sixth best performance of all time. In the 800m run, ninth grader Izzy Quam finished fourth with 2:26.50, the third fastest time in MPA history and fastest since 2002. Other girls athletes that qualified for finals include junior Gabby Law in the 400m, sophomore Catherine Moore in the 200m, and ninth grader Izzy Q. in the long jump (her jump of 15’1 is sixth best all-time at MPA).
The girls team finished in twelfth place with 24 points.
On the boys side, the 4x800m team of juniors Tanner Kozen and Matt Bourne, sophomore Henry Snider, and eighth grader Isak N. placed third, finishing in 8:52.46. In the 110m hurdles, sophomore Charles Grimes (19.31) and junior Dylan Dickinson (19.37), recorded PRs. They are now seventh and eighth all-time at MPA with the fastest times since 2011. In the 4x200m, juniors Flynn Opatz, Tae’Vion Wilkins, and Ian Olson, and sophomore Nathan Harvanko, ran 1:35.32, the second fastest time ever at MPA, and fastest since 2002, to qualify for finals and place fifth. Their time qualifies for the MSHSL honor roll.
In the 1600m, senior Declan Dahlberg was the Section 4A champion, running 4:35.86 to win comfortably and qualify for state! Junior Matt Bourne earned a medal with a third-place finish in a personal best time of 4:45.05. In the 4x100m, juniors Tae’Vion Wilkins and Ian Olson, and sophomores Nathan Harvanko and Kailil Schertzing ran a season best of 46.87 to qualify for finals and place eighth. Their time is the fifth fastest in MPA history and qualifies them for the MSHSL honor roll.
In the 300m hurdles, Junior Dylan Dickinson ran 47.87 to qualify for the finals. His time places him seventh all-time at Mounds Park Academy and is the fastest at MPA since 2008. In the 200m, juniors Tae’Vion Wilkins and Flynn Opatz qualified for the finals, running 24.11 and 24.07 respectively. Flynn placed eighth.
In the 3200m, senior Declan Dahlberg was the Section 4A champion, winning dominantly in 9:50.48 to qualify for state! Sophomore Henry Snider finished third in 10:04.77, recording a significant personal best, moving up to fourth place all-time at MPA, and qualifying for the state honor roll.
In the 4x400m, senior Ben Yoch, juniors Henry Peterson and Matthew Bourne, and sophomore Nathan Harvanko, qualified for finals, placing sixth with a season best time of 3:45.94.
In the field events, junior Yahya Madar tied the Section 4A record with a high jump of 6’6, qualifying for state! Senior Blake Henke also qualified for state in the Wheelchair Shotput, with a distance of 12’4 ¾.
With 74 points, MPA boys finished in fifth place of 26 teams in the section, their highest finish ever.
Head Coach Bev Docherty and Assistant Coach Nate Bander were honored with the Section 4A Boys Head Coach of the Year and Section 4A Assistant Coach of the Year awards.
