Moose Lake-Willow River's Cisar 2nd in 400 meters
MINNESOTA STATE TRACK MEET: Josh Cisar set a personal record of 49.40 seconds, lowering his own school mark in the process by nearly a half-second, in helping the Rebels to a fifth-place team finish.By: Rick Weegman, Duluth News Tribune
- Esko's Kate Shelerud
- Moose Lake-Willow River's Josh Cisar and Jake Disterhaupt
- Proctor’s Matt Welch
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ST. PAUL — Josh Cisar isn’t used to losing.
But if someone had told the Moose Lake-Willow River senior before his first season in track and field that he would be runner-up in the 400 meters at the Minnesota Class A high school state meet, he gladly would have accepted.
“I would have been very surprised,” he said after placing second in the event Saturday at Hamline University. “I never ran it before so I was really impressed with how I ran this year.”
Cisar set a personal record of 49.40 seconds, lowering his own school mark in the process by nearly a half-second, in helping the Rebels to a fifth-place team finish. Cisar also ran on 800 and 1,600 relay teams that broke their own school records, helping MLWR total 32 points. Waseca claimed the boys title with 56 points.
Cisar, who played fullback on a football team which took an undefeated record into the Prep Bowl, never threatened Pillager senior Wesley DeLong, who won in a time of 48.69.
“I didn’t expect to catch him,” Cisar said. “I just wanted to run my best race and get my personal best, and, hopefully, place well at state.”
The 800 relay came in third behind Rochester Lourdes and Waseca in 1:31.87, while the 1,600 relay closed the two-day competition with a fifth-place finish in 3:27.05 as temperatures climbed to about 90.
“The heat was overwhelming,” Cisar said. “After every race, we had to move quickly into the shade and drink a lot of water and stay hydrated.”
Rebels teammates Ben Moonen and Jake Disterhaupt placed fifth and sixth in the 800 and 200, respectively. No Northland runners won state titles Saturday, leaving the triple jump championship won Friday by Duluth Marshall’s Eric Miklausich as the lone first-place medal.
Proctor’s Matt Welch came in second to Foley’s Charlie Lawrence by a half-second in Friday’s 3,200, and afterward playfully told Lawrence he would see him the next day in the 1,600.
Welch did beat Lawrence for the first time in his career, but finished behind five other runners in the mile. The junior’s time of 4:26.67 was nearly 4 seconds behind his seed time. But Welch, who prefers the weather he encounters when Nordic skiing rather than the hot, muggy conditions Saturday, was pleased with his races.
“For the weather, I’m happy with how I did. Who would be disappointed with sixth at state?” he said. “I was a little (physically drained). I really pushed myself (Friday). I’m a Nordic skier, so this heat is no fun for me.”
Class AA
East's Coleman hamstrung by hamstring once again
If medals were awarded by overall fastest times, Quinton Coleman would be wearing a first-place medal around his neck.
Instead, the same hamstring malady that has plagued the Duluth East senior in previous state meets reared its head again.
Coleman, the fastest-qualifier in the 100 meters with a personal-best 10.74 in Friday’s preliminaries, came in ninth and last in the Class AA finals in 11.14. Blaine’s Ayuk Tambe defended his title with a winning run of 10.79.
Coleman’s problems first began after Friday’s 100 prelims and before he ran in the 200 heats.
“I was warming up after the 100 and felt a tingle in my hamstring,” he said. “I was saying, ‘Please don’t,’ and then it happened in the 200. As soon as I hit the corner, it came back and got me and I couldn’t finish the race (strongly). We nursed it all day (Friday) and I took every kind of medicine.”
As he lined up in the starting blocks Saturday, Coleman said he felt fine.
“I got to the starting blocks and said to myself, ‘I can win this. I’ve been here four times and this is nothing,’” said Coleman, who signed with the University of North Dakota last month.
He got off to a good start, but the blocks belonging to Champlin Park’s Joe Sando in lane three slipped, causing the false start gun to sound. It also caused a further tweak in Coleman’s right hamstring.
“If (the first start) had been the race, I would have had a much better race because my start was good,” he said. “But then I felt my hamstring and I had to do it again.”
Coleman didn’t fare so well on the restart, falling behind at the start and never catching up.
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