The 2021 season has been a blur of activity. We hosted four of our five indoor meets at home and have been in a state of constant preparation for home outdoor meets. This weekend will be our third consecutive outdoor meet at home and we will follow that up next week with another home meet in conjunction with the decathlon. Thankfully Saint John’s is a great place for a track meet!
Our Easter Friday meet was a perfect spring day for track and field. Great weather, good competition through all events, and we even welcomed spectators. I don’t know how many phone calls and emails I received last week from concerned parents from all teams about the new spectator policy limiting our stadium to 400 spectators. I’m not sure if we have ever had 400 spectators, but the 250 spectators added some needed energy that the indoor season lacked.
A few highlights from the first two meets:
Kevin Aurther (SO, Champlin Park) broke 11 seconds in the 100 for the first time with a 10.94.
Alexei Hensel (SO, Buffalo) ran a solid 1:56.30 in the 800.
Lloyd Young (SO, Bloomington Kennedy) and Andy Goldsmith (SO, Tulsa, OK) made their 10k debuts with 31:47.32 and 31:56.84 respectively.
Maguire Petersen (SO, Hutchinson) made a big return in the high jump with a jump of 2.05 (6-8.75)
Brett Hague (SO, Brainerd) is quickly learning the javelin with a best of 47.42 so far.
While being at home is nice for the athletes, I think everyone is antsy for a change of scenery. Hopefully we will be on the road at the end of the month. Schools have been adjusting their masking policies and it is difficult to confirm our meet schedule as some schools are deciding to require athletes race in masks. I will try to keep you all updated on our schedule.
In the meantime, we have two upcoming home meets and would love to see some of you there:
The SJU Last Minute Invite on Saturday, April 10th at 4:00pm (3:30 for throws)
The 4th Weekly SJU Invite and Multi on Saturday, April 17th at 11:00am (multi finishes on Sunday)
Our spectator policy limits the stadium to 400 people. You will need to check in at the Clemens Stadium entrance and masks are required for all spectators. As always, gojohnnies.com will have the latest meet schedule updates.
Hope to see you here!
Jeremy