Benson/KMS track pile up wins, records and runner-up team finishes at Prairie Conference meet
| Place | Participant | F 4x100 | F 4x400 | F 4x800 | F 100h | F 300h | F 1600 | F Pole Vault | F Shot Put | M 4x100 | M 800 | M 3200 | M Discus | M Shot Put | M Triple Jump | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Claussen/Krusemark/Helgenset/Tolifson 52.29 (1st) | Helgenset/Henry/Gravley/Noble 4:11.81 (1st) | Gravley/Tollefsrud/Bolduc/Henry 10:34.67 (1st) | Noble 14.98 (1st) | Noble 43.91 (1st) | Henry 5:35.99 (2nd) | Keala Carroll 8' 6" (3rd) | Avea Finstrom 28' 10" (8th) | Morrison/Hippe/Silas/Shaw 45.89 (1st) | Zurn 2:05.69 (2nd) | Hoff 11:41.63 (3rd) | Oerter 132' 3" (2nd) | Oerter 44' 1.5" (1st) | Bratsch 36' 8" (4th) | 7 |
Benson/KMS turned the Prairie Conference Outdoor Championship into a showcase of speed, depth, and staying power Wednesday at Clemens Stadium, with the team finishing second in both the boys and girls team standings while piling up seven event wins and four relay victories. The day was highlighted by meet MVP honors for Ava Noble, four meet records by Benson/KMS athletes and relays, and a long list of medal and ribbon performances from across the roster.
Noble led the way on the girls side with a dominant hurdle double, winning the Women's 100m Hurdles in 14.98 and the Women's 300m Hurdles in 43.91. Both efforts were listed among the meet records noted by the program, and she later helped close out another first-place finish on the Women's 4x400 Relay. That relay, made up of Kaida Helgenset, Layla Henry, Porsha Gravley and Noble, won in 4:11.81 and was also one of the Benson/KMS record-setting performances. Noble's big day earned one of the conference's two girls meet MVP plaques, a fitting reward for one of the meet's most complete performances.
The girls relays gave Benson/KMS a major spark all day. Julia Claussen, Sophie Krusemark, Kaida Helgenset and Carly Tolifson won the Women's 4x100 Relay in 52.29. Porsha Gravley, Kayla Tollefsrud, Halle Bolduc and Libby Henry captured the Women's 4x800 Relay in 10:34.67. The Women's 4x200 Relay team of Claussen, Layla Henry and Valeria Alvarez Cruz helped Benson/KMS to a third-place finish in 1:56.23, while Helgenset added an individual runner-up in the Women's 400m at 1:01.40. Tolifson also took second in the Women's 100m in 12.53, and the author-supplied meet notes identified her long jump performance as another meet record for Benson/KMS, underscoring how many events the team influenced on the girls side.
Distance and field events added more points for the girls team. Libby Henry placed second in the Women's 1600m with a time of 5:35.99 after also running on the winning 4x800 relay. Halle Bolduc finished eighth in the Women's 800m in 2:53.37. In the vault, Keala Carroll cleared 8' 6" for third place in the Women's Pole Vault, and Layla Henry followed in fourth at 7' 6". In the throws, Mamie Luft took sixth in the Women's Discus with a throw of 100' 2", while Avea Finstrom was eighth in the Women's Shot Put at 28' 10" and 11th in the Women's Discus at 78' 3". Brianna Collins added 10th in the Women's Shot Put at 26' 8.5" and ninth in the Women's Discus at 81' 10".
The Benson/KMS boys matched that energy with strong work in sprints, middle distance and the throws. Owen Oerter delivered one of the top all-around field-event days of the meet, winning the Men's Shot Put with a mark of 44' 1.5" and finishing second in the Men's Discus at 132' 3". The Men's 4x100 Relay team of Miles Morrison, Darin Hippe, Cameren Silas and Odin Shaw raced to first in 45.89, giving the team another conference title. Morrison also placed third in the Men's 200m in 23.89 and fifth in the Men's 100m in 11.77. Shaw later ran on the Benson/KMS Men's 4x200 Relay that finished second in 1:40.77, alongside Michael Collins and Mario Alvarez. The program notes also clarified that Jordan Rodriguez, not Oswaldo Moreno, ran on the boys 4x400 relay, which placed fourth in 3:53.98 with Alvarez contributing a leg.
Benson/KMS kept scoring in the distance races and jumps. Alex Zurn was runner-up in the Men's 800m with a 2:05.69, and Isaiah Rosemeier followed in third at 2:07.01 while also taking third in the Men's Pole Vault at 10' 6". Wyatt Hoff added a third-place finish in the Men's 3200m in 11:41.63. Ryder Bratsch placed fourth in the Men's Triple Jump at 36' 8", fifth in the Men's 400m in 58.25 and 10th in the Men's Long Jump at 17' 0". Silas cleared 5' 8" for fourth in the Men's High Jump. Shane Froehlich finished sixth in the Men's Pole Vault at 9' 6" and 13th in the Men's 1600m in 5:54.64, and Graidy Zimmerman cleared 8' 6" in the Men's Pole Vault. Coltan Hoberg was 10th in the Men's Triple Jump at 29' 10" and was listed in the Men's 300m Hurdles.
In a meet that featured many teams and a steady stream of big performances, Benson/KMS more than held its ground. The team left Collegeville with conference runner-up finishes for both teams, a girls MVP plaque for Noble, four meet records noted by the program, and a packed results sheet that showed production in nearly every phase of the meet.
