By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys made their first appearance at the Minnesota State Class A True Team Track and Field Championships in Blaine a memorable experience Saturday.Competing against eight other teams at the National Sports Center in Blaine, the Luverne boys compiled 413.5 points to place third in a nine-squad field.Defending state true team champion Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton repeated as the winner of the meet with 428 points. Plainview nipped Luverne by one counter with 414.5 points for second place.Mayer Lutheran (332), Esko (320), Holdingford (317.5), Minnesota Valley Lutheran (263.5), St. Croix Lutheran (239.5) and Deer River (199.5) round out the Class A field.LHS coach Craig Nelson said he considered the entire state meet experience to be a successful one for the Cardinals. The mentor expected the boys to compete for a state title, and they fell 15 1/2 points short of making the dream come true."With a few breaks one way or another, we would have been the state champions," he said. "In a meet where more than 2,000 points are scored, finishing 13.5 points behind the champion is not a huge difference. It’s almost like losing on a last-second shot in basketball."The Cardinals competed well against the other teams, winning three events, placing second in three events and recording five-third place finishes.Luverne’s wins came from Mike Kunstle, Chris Ashby and the 1,600-meter relay team consisting of Tom Ward, Scott Goebel, Nick Otten and Jake Hendricks.Kunstle, who placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.95, won the 200 in 23.16. Ashby cleared the 300-meter hurdles in 42.41 for his win. The 1,600-meter relay registered a time of 3:32.21.Tony Willers and the 800-meter relay team of Ashby, Ryan Wynia, Ward and Jordan Siebenahler made bids to win titles before settling for second place. Willers tossed the shot put 42-3 3/4. The 800-meter relay produced a time of 1:36.77.Placing third individually for LHS are Matt Rosin (42-3 1/2 in the shot), Hendricks (51.4 in the 400), Otten (2:05.83 in the 800) and Thomas Pinkal (10:39.62 in the 3,200).The 3,200-meter relay team of Ward, Goebel Ruston Aaker and Steve Schneiderman finished third in 8:50.71.Nelson said all of the team members competed well, and he wasn’t surprised when the Cards emerged as Class A’s third best team."I felt going into the meet that we would be competitive, and I wasn’t surprised about finishing in the top three. We thought three of the teams stood above the rest, and it worked out that way. I knew it was going to be a close meet, one that came down to split seconds and inches. That’s exactly what happened."Here is a look at the rest of Luverne’s individual and relay results from the meet.Fourth place: Ben Uphoff, 300 hurdles, 42.63Fifth place:Pinkal, 1,600, 4:49.15; 400 relay (Uphoff, Wynia, Ryan Jacobsma and Siebenahler), 47.47.Sixth place: Wynia, pole vault, 11-0; Rosin, discus, 116-1; Kunstle, long jump, 19-2 1/4; Aaker, 400, 53.16; Hendricks, 200, 23.8.Seventh place: Uphoff, 110 hurdles, 18.81; Goebel, 800, 2:10.36.Eighth place: Otten, 1,600, 4:43.43.Ninth place: Ashby, 110 hurdles, 18.88.11th place: Michael Nelson, pole vault, 10-0; Hendricks, long jump, 18-1; Schneiderman, 3,200, 10:59.24.12th place: Kunstle, triple jump, 37-4 1/2; Siebenahler, 100, 12.64.14th place: Ward, high jump, 5-4; Willers, discus, 103-3.15th place: Tim Miller, triple jump, 36-0 1/5.16th place: Miller, high jump, 5-2.
