Eight Yellowjackets headed to state track tourney

The Perham boys track and field team won the Section 6A championship, and the girls team placed third Thursday, June 10, in Fergus Falls. Eight individuals also qualified for the state tournament after placing in the top two at the section finals.

Jakob McCleary led the team by qualifying for three events. He will compete in the 800 meter run and the 1600 meter run, and he will also compete in the 4x400 meter relay with teammates Gareth Covington, Elijah Morris, and Gabe Thompson. McCleary won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:58.90 and the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:30.90, winning both races by nearly three seconds. The relay team also finished first with a tie of 3:34.73.

In field events, Levi Richter won the pole vault and qualified for state with a height of 13 feet 6 inches. Earlier this season, Richter broke the school record for pole vault with a height of 13 feet 10 inches. The girls team swept the top three places in the pole vault, with both Maya Richter and Danial Van Watermulen qualifying for state with vaults of 9 feet 6 inches. Gracie Morris took third and just missed the cut. Willow Thiel qualified for the high jump and also tied Perham's school record with a jump of 5 feet 6 inches.

Head coach Mike Peterson thought the team did well in the section finals. "We had a very good day and competed hard," he said. "We had many athletes that were very close to making it and gave it their all."

The state tournament is Friday, June 18, at St. Michael-Albertville High School. The Class A boys start at 10 a.m. and the Class A girls start at 3:30 p.m.

Section 6A Championship

Girls Top 10 Team Results

Minnewaska Area 93, Pequot Lakes 75.5, Perham 60.5, Otter Tail Central 46, Osakis 45, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 43, Wadena-Deer Creek 43, Staples-Motley 42, Pillager 20, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 20

Perham Girls Individual Results (* denotes state tournament qualifier)

200m dash-4 Mary Wunderlich, 27.84; 400m dash-10 Lola Pulver, 1:05.90; 13 Trinity Covington, 1:06.67; 800m run-4 Leelou Novotny, 2:31.99; 1600m run-12 Mya Morris, 6:17.57; 15 Mia Lung, 6:33.06; 3200m run-6 Quincy Anderson, 12:54.03; 100m hurdles-4 Jaden Hackel, 16.78; 8 Lauryn Rustad, 17.55; 12 Lily Aakre, 18.18; 300m hurdles-7 Lily Aakre, 50.90; 12 Lauryn Rustad, 53.67; 4x100m relay-5 Ariana Doll, Natalie Rooney, Willow Thiel, Mary Wunderlich, 53.51; 4x200m relay-6 Jaden Hackel, Willow Thiel, Lola Pulver, Mary Wunderlich, 1:52.87; 4x400m relay-4 Trinity Covington, Lily Aakre, Leelou Novotny, Lola Pulver, 4:24.73; 4x800m relay-4 Liz Birkeland, Leelou Novotny, Quincy Anderson, Mya Morris, 10:46.87; Discus-11 Allyson Streiff, 77-08; High Jump-2 Willow Thiel, 5-02; Pole Vault-1 Maya Richter, 9-06; 2 Danial Van Watermulen, 9-06; 3 Gracie Morris, 9-00; Triple Jump-4 Jaden Hackel, 33-07.50; 6 Kennedy Pilgrim, 33-01

Boys Top 10 Team Results

Perham 74.5, Sauk Centre 63, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 58, Pequot Lakes 57, Otter Tail Central 44, Pillager 40, Minnewaska Area 40, Staples-Motley 38, Breckenridge 29, Osakis 19

Perham Boys Individual Results

200m dash-9 Aiden Kennedy, 24.63; 800m run-1 Jakob McCleary, 1:58.90; 3 Gareth Covington, 2:01.13; 1600m run-1 Jakob McCleary, 4:30.90; 3200m run-3 Carson Hespe, 10:21.05; 6 Bjorn Anderson, 10:38.76; 110m hurdles-10 Tiavion Posey, 17.59; 15 Domanik Hagen, 20.20; 300m hurdles-11 Tiavion Posey, 46.65; 15 Domanik Hagen, 50.60; 4x200m relay-4 Aiden Kennedy, Gabe Thompson, Elijah Morris, Colton Hackel, 1:36.26; 4x100m relay-1 Gabe Thompson, Elijah Morris, Gareth Covington, Jakob McCleary, 3:34.73; 4x800m relay-6 Caden Doll, Bjorn Anderson, Carson Hespe, Gareth Covington, 9:11.28; Shot Put-3 Caleb Lung, 45-10.75; Pole Vault-1 Levi Richter, 13-06; 5 Aiden Kennedy, 11-00; 6 Noah Novotny, 11-00; Long Jump-3 Levi Richter, 19-10; Triple Jump-5 Colton Hackel, 39-11; 9 Levi Richter, 39-05; 11 Gabe Thompson, 38-02

1/2: Jaden Hackel competes in the 100 meter hurdles at the Section 6A track and field championship Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Fergus Falls. (Meghan Perry / Focus)

2/2: Perham's Lily Aakre and Lauryn Rustad compete in the 100 meter hurdles at the Section 6A track and field championship in Fergus Falls Thursday, June 10, 2021. (Meghan Perry / Focus)