Perham’s McCleary Wins Two More State Titles, Morris Second In Pole Vault at Class A Finals

Perham’s Liz Birkeland (center) battles Park Rapids’ Morgan Koppelman (right) in the 2022 State 4×800 finals with UCB’s Lily Peterson close behind (Photo: Zeke Fuhrman)

ALBERTVILLE, MN (KDLM) – Perham senior Jakob McCleary closed out his high school career in a big way, winning state championships in his final two individual races.

McCleary, who won the Class A State Cross Country Individual Championship last November, defended his state championship in the 800m dash with a new personal record of 1:55.03. McCleary, who finished second in last year’s 1600m went down to the wire with Nova’s Finn McCormick, edging out McCormick by .01 seconds in a photo finish for the state title.

Eighth-grader Gracie Morris also made waves at the Class A State meet, finishing runner-up in the Pole Vault with a vault of 11-00.00.

Gracie Morris 8th grader – 11 foot vault to get 2nd place at Class A state championships!!! @YellowjacketAD @DLtribSports @Lakes995sports @PerhamHigh @MNMilesplit pic.twitter.com/g4kYMvNXKJ

— Perham XC (@perhamcc) June 11, 2022

Jaden Hackel finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 36-07.00. Connor Kostynick also finished third in the discus with a throw of 158-01.

Perham’s Natalie Rooney sizes up her pole vault attempt at the 2022 State Class A Track and Field Meet on June 10, 2022 (Photo: Zeke Fuhrman)

LOCAL CLASS A FINALS:

Girls 100m Hurdles

• Lauryn Rustad, Perham – 8^th place, 16.30

Boys 110m Hurdles:

• Brady Domier, Wadena-Deer Creek – 7^th place, 15.75
• McKale Pierson, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 8^th place, 15.76

Boys 800m:

• Jacob McCleary, Perham – STATE CHAMPION, 1:55.03
• Connor Korvela, United North Central, 9th place, 2:01.08

Boys 1600m:

• Jacob McCleary, Perham – STATE CHAMPION, 4:21.12
• Charlie Larson, Pelican Rapids – 10th place, 4:32.04
• Ephraim Bervig, Park Rapids – 17th place, 4:49.07

Girls 400m:

• Katrina Hitchen, Fertile-Beltrami – 6th place, 1:00.38
• Bree Nelson, United Clay Becker – 8th place, 1:00.87

Boys 400m:

• Joshua Finseth, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 4th place, 51.22

Girls 300m Hurdles:

• Kim Hitchen, Fertile-Beltrami – 8th place, 47.25

Boys 300m Hurdles:

• McKale Pierson, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 4th place, 41.27

Girls 4x400m Relay:

• Park Rapids – 6th place, 4:08.07

Boys 4x400m Relay:

• Perham – 5th place, 3:29.00

Boys Long Jump:

• Connor Korvela, United North Central – 3rd place, 21-00.75
• Joshua Finseth, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 9th place, 20-07.75
• Isaiah Wright, Fertile-Beltrami – 15th place, 19-08.75

Girls Triple Jump:

• Grace VanErp, Ottertail Central – STATE CHAMPION, 37-05.25
• Jaden Hackel, Perham – 3rd place, 36-07.00 (PR)

Girls Pole Vault:

• Gracie Morris, Perham – 2nd place, 11-00.00 (PR)
• Natalie Rooney, Perham – 7th place, 9-06.00

Boys High Jump:

• Brayden Ecker, Pelican Rapids – 5th place, 6-02.00
• Sam Senske, United Clay Becker – 17th place, 5-10.00
• Lyrik Haug, Wadena-Deer Creek – T20 place, 5-08.00
• Hunter Miller, Staples-Motley – T20 place, 5-08.00

Girls Shot Put:

• Emma Hellerud, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – 14th place, 34-02.75

Boys Discus:

• Connor Kostynick, Perham – 3rd place, 158-01
• Tristan Hill, Park Rapids – 7th place, 150-02
• Nick Haugrud, Pelican Rapids – 8th place, 149-10