June 3, 2024
Congratulations to Eddie ’25 and Megan Snider ‘27 as the pair of Panthers punched their tickets to state during the two-day Section 4A track and field championships held on May 30 and June 1 at Bethel University! The siblings secured spots in the Class A state track and field championship meet in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races.
Megan was the first to grab a bid, racing in the 3,200 on the first day of action during the section meet. She kept her stride strong to finish the race in 11:34.30, earning her the silver medal and a trip to St. Michael-Albertville High School for the upcoming state showdown. Eddie’s turn to try to take a trip to the coveted tournament came after Megan’s triumph. Leaving no doubt that he would join his sister, Eddie blazed to a 9:51.51 to take first place in the meet, winning by .23 seconds over the second-place finisher from West Lutheran.
With bids secured, the pair wasn’t done there. Heading into Saturday hungry for more, Megan again had the day’s first opportunity, taking to the 1,600. She upgraded her showing from the first day of sections, claiming the top spot on the podium and finishing the race in 5:20.66.
Like the prior occasion, Eddie’s chance to match his sister was shortly thereafter. The boys 1,600 featured a tight race with the top four runners all neck and neck and Eddie right in the mix. Though Eddie claimed a bronze medal in the meet (4.24.90), with the top two automatically advancing to state, he advanced to state by meeting the state track and field standards (4.28.41). The showing was a personal best performance for Eddie!
The two will now prepare for the trip to the MSHSL Class A state track and field championships! Both will race in the 3,200 on Thursday, June 6, before returning to STMA for the 1,600 the following night. Good luck, Eddie and Megan!
More Strong Results For The Panthers
Nearly matching Eddie and Megan with a state berth of his own was Ben Murr ’24 and his performance in the 800. Ben burned to a personal best at 2:00.99 to place third in the meet (top two go to state). He also added a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 via a time of 4.28.97, a personal record.
Ben’s showing at sections wasn’t done there as he teamed up with Jay Green ‘24, Bryan Wong ‘24, and Alex Larson ’26 in the 4×400 relay to help the relay to fifth place. The quartet ran a 3:35.86 for the placement. The girls 4×400 relay, made up of Nora Pederson ’24, Annika Binstadt ’25, Delaney Cunnington ’25, and Rowan Mulrooney ’25, nearly matched the other side of the team’s performance by taking sixth place at 4:19.29. Nora took sixth in the high jump (4-10), Jay added eighth in the high jump (5-11), Delaney chipped in an eighth of her own in the long jump (16-4.5), Josh Murr ’27 raced to eighth in the 3,200 (10:45.95), Rowan placed ninth in the 300 hurdles (51.86) and the 4×800, consisting of Trevor Lien ’24, Oliver Frey ’24, Odin Foote ’25, and Soren Winikoff ’26, finished ninth (8:58.32).
The Panthers’ combined efforts helped the team finish 10th place in the section meet for both boys and girls. Go, Panthers!