Ups and downs for Rochester's sprinters in state-qualifying meet

Pat Ruff, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·6 min read

Jun. 13—LAKEVILLE — It's been the "year of the sprinter" among Rochester Class AA boys track and field teams.

That continued on Saturday in the Section 1AA state-qualifying meet, though with some heartbreak.

The latter had much to do with the misfortune of Century star Isaiah Huber. Huber, arguably the top all-around sprinter in the section, false started in the 200 — a race he had a solid chance of winning — and was eliminated from the competition.

That came hours after some gratification for him. That was realized in the 100, where he qualified for state with a second-place finish and school-record breaking time of 10.85 seconds.

Huber wasn't the only Century athlete who had at least one frustrating result. Panthers senior Jaecan Fratzke had four of them — finishing third in the 100, 200, 4x100 relay and long jump. The top two in each event advance to state, and he also fell just short of the state meet qualifying standard in all four events. That means despite Fratzke being among Section 1AA's best all-around performers, he won't have a spot in the state meet, which is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville.

There were also plenty of smiles worn by Rochester sprinters. John Marshall sophomore Michael Nicometo was glowing after winning the 200 in 22.27 seconds. Mayo sprinter Noah Smith also had a great day, landing second in the 200 and running a leg in Mayo's 4x100 relay that barely edged Century for second place and is state bound. That group consists of Smith, Cayden Holcomb, Carter Holcomb and DeMonte Simmons.

Nicometo is taking the lead on a JM team that is resurrecting what used to be a dominant sprinting program.

"We are putting JM back on the map," Nicometo said. "Until now, we haven 't had really fast sprinters since Shahan (Ameen) and Caz (Martin) and Abdul-(Hakeem Mustapha)."

All three of them ran between 2016 and 2018.

"But with me and (fellow standout sophomore sprinter) Keondre (Bryant), we are going to be crazy the next two years," Nicometo said.

Nicometo had been looking forward to a rematch with Huber in the 200. Huber had beaten him in their only other meeting this season. Nicometo's respect runs high for Huber, as well as Rochester's other star sprinters.

"I look up to all of those guys," he said.

Like Nicometo, Mayo's Smith was in a buoyant mood with his results Saturday. Smith is thrilled to be going to state in two events, the 200 and 4x100.

The junior says he and his teammates have earned their way there.

"We've put in the work all year," he said. "And we get on each other when we don't. Our coaches have also been great. They're always working us and working for us."

Century's winning combination

Century entered as the favorite in the 4x800 relay. The team of Seth Hill, Ryan Horton, Tyler White and Silas Green have not always been the combination that's been utilized in the race, but Green says it's the best one.

That showed on Saturday when they were clocked in 8:16.29, two seconds faster than second-place Northfield.

Green ran the anchor leg for the Panthers.

"After our first two runners had gone, and we had a nice lead, I knew it was in the bag," Green said. "This is a great group to be a part of. But I know we can always do more. It's exciting to think about what we'll do at state."

While Green got satisfaction in the 4x800, the same thing didn't apply for him in the open 800. There, he ran extremely well, timed in 1:57.63, a time that would normally get a runner to state. But it wasn't enough in this Section 1AA meet. That's because Farmington's Ramy Ayoub ran a 1:53.42 and Lakeville North's Bryce Stachewicz a 1:54.26. The top two go to state in each event and Green's time was just short of hitting the qualifying standard.

"This is really tough; there are so many great (800) runners in this section," he said. "But it's all fair. I love the competition. It wouldn't be any fun if you just knew you were going to win all the time."

SECTION 1AA MEET

—At Lakeville South

Boys team scores

Rosemount 150, Mayo 95, Century 84, Lakeville South 71, Owatonna 71, Farmington 56, Lakeville North 47.5, Northfield 39, John Marshall 24, Byron 16.5, Faribault 14, Winona 13, Red Wing 9, Hastings 9, Austin 2, Kasson-Mantorville 1.

Individual results

Running events

Winner; Rochester-area top nine

(Top two advance to state; —qualified by standard)

100 — 1. Gary Afram (Ros) 10.75; 2. Isaiah Huber (Cen) 10.85; 3. Jaecan Fratzke (Cen) 11.05; 4. Michael Nicometo (JM) 11.12; 5. Demonte Simmons (Mayo) 11.23; 6. Keondre Bryant (JM) 11.33. 200 — 1. Michael Nicometo (JM) 22.27; 2. Noah Smith (Mayo) 22.34; 3. Jaecan Fratzke (Cen) 22.39; 4. Noah Morgan (RW) 22.96; 8. Dominic Davis (Win) 23.43. 400 — Ramy Ayoub (Farm) 48.57; 3. Brayden Draheim (Win) 52.61; 7. Luke Attlesey (Cent) 54.03. 800 — 1. Ramy Ayoub (Farm) 1:53.42; 3. Silas Green (Cen) 1:57.63; 4. Lance Pfrimmer (Mayo) 1:58.29; 8. Carson Pieper (Byr) 2:06.73; 9. Aaron Freier (RW) 2:08.27. 1,600 — 1. Andrew Casey (LN) 4:28.98; 3. Lance Pfrimmer (Mayo) 4:31.39; 5. William Roden (Mayo) 4:39.35; 8. Ryan Gwaltney (Mayo) 4:43.41. 110 hurdles —1. Jack Titchenal (Ow) 14.92; 4. John Amusan (Cen) 15.38; 6. Cayden Holcomb (Mayo) 15.56. 300 hurdles — 1. Jack Kocher (LN) 39.02; 5. Carter Holcomb (Mayo) 41.78; 8. Damian Gerads (Cen) 42.98.

Relays

4x100 — 1. Rosemount 43.04 (Vincent Pyne, Vicar Pyne, Kade Gilbertson, Gary Afram); 2. Mayo (Cayden Holcomb, Noah Smith, Carter Holcomb, DeMonte Simmons) 43.20; 3. Century 43.25; 6. Byron 43.95. 4x200 — 1. Hastings (Patyon Burrow, Jonathan Bezdicek, Steven Krey, Brenden Freimuth) 1:32.32; 3. Byron 1:31.59; 6. Mayo 1:31.73; 9. Century 1:34.91. 4x400 — 1. Farmington (Abdisa Ayana, Erick Moreno, Jack Savastern, Ramy Ayoub) 3:23.73; 7. Century 3:37.30; 8. Mayo 3:38.08. 4x800 — 1. Century (Seth Hill, Ryan Horton, Tyler White, Silas Green) 8:16.29; 7. Austin 8:45.15; 8. Mayo 8:47.23; 9. Red Wing 8:51.66.

Field events

High jump — 1. Devin Jax (Northf) 6-4; 4. Yaih Marial (Mayo) 6-2; 5. Adam Myren (Mayo) 6-2; 7. (tie) Max Vande Kieft (Mayo) 6-0; 7. Nolan Seaberg (By) 6-0; 9. Emmett Ricke (KM) 6-0. Long jump — 1. Justin Gleason (Ow) 22-9 1/4; 3. Jaecan Fratzke (Cen) 21-10; 4. Isaiah Huber (Cen) 21-9 1/4; 7. Noah Morgan (RW) 21-1 1/2; 9. Joseph Walker (Au) 20-10 1/2. Discus — 1. Hayden Bills (Ros) 169-8; 5. Gideon Heng (Mayo) 131-5; 7. Dixon Ehlers (RW) 128-4; 9. William Morrissey (Cen) 121-6.