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For a third straight season, the Luverne Cardinal girls’ 4-by-800 relay team raced their way to a state championship in the event.
On Friday, June 18, at St. Michael-Albertville High School, the quartet of Regan Feit, Tiana Lais, Jenna DeBates and Tenley Nelson took home first place with a time of 9:34.65.
“It’s special,” Luverne track coach Pete Janiszeski said. “Anytime you can win a state title, it’s a special feeling. To do it three years in a row is something else.”
Feit, Lais, DeBates and Nelson saved their best for last. The 9:34.65 time was the best mark that the team posted all season.
“We raced really well,” Janiszeski said.
“For us to get the best time of the year out there was important. There were other teams in the mix of things.
He said the runners stepped up and had great races.
“Tiana had a great race with her personal best (PR) split,” the coach said. “Jenna had a great PR split. Tenley had a great time and Regan was close to a PR split.”
The 2021 season marked the first year that Lais and DeBates were members of the state championship relay team. Nelson and Feit have been members of each relay team that took home the state championship.
“Those two have been a part of each one of them,” Janiszeski said. “It’s extra special for them. It’s a testament to them. They take a lot of pride in it. We’ve established that tradition in that event.”
The only thing that could slow down Luverne’s 4-by-800 relay team was the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the outbreak last season, there was no spring sports season in the state of Minnesota in 2020.
That pause in action didn’t allow the Cardinals to go for the three-peat in the event. Janiszeski believes that if there had been a season last year, that the Cardinals would be celebrating their fourth straight title.
“I think we could have done it four years in a row if we had a season,” Janiszeski said. “They take a lot of pride in that event. They want to be a part of that tradition. I thought this was probably the most balance we’ve had in the event.”
The 4-by-800 relay team will lose Feit to graduation, but will return Nelson, Lais and DeBates. Along with those three, the Cardinals will get Brooklynn Ver Steeg back from a torn ACL injury that forced her to miss the 2021 track season.
With a strong group returning in 2022, the Cardinals will have a good chance of winning their fourth straight state championship in the 4-by-800 relay.