We are part of The Trust Project.
ST. MICHAEL – When Hunter Zempel passed the baton to Ethan Carrier in the final handoff of the boys 100-meter relay, Carrier’s eyes were locked on one thing: the finish line.
He capped off a season-best mark for the 4x100 team at 43.39, which was good enough for seventh place at the Class 2A state track and field prelims. It locks up Detroit Lakes’ first spot in a state final in three years.
“Give it all you got,” Ethan Carrier said on what went through his head running down the home stretch. “I’m not looking anywhere else. I’m only looking straight forward at that finish line. Get that lean at the very end and see what happens when I look at the scoreboard.”
For both Ethan and Mason Carrier, coming to state meant a chance to compete against the best of the best. When it was time to step on the blocks, they felt a new level of adrenaline.
“I think running against faster kids makes a difference,” Ethan Carrier said. “Running against kids like this and trying to catch them makes you go faster. It’s good competition. We are out here to prove something. We’re one of the smallest towns here. We have nothing to lose out there.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s got to be the practicing we did this week,” Mason Carrier said on what led to a season-best time. “We did so much technique stuff. We all took a shot of an energy drink before the race to get our caffeine intake up.”
The boys 4x100-meter relay team has one senior. Zempel will get to run one more day in a Laker uniform on the state’s biggest stage.
“Hunter Zempel has been part of the program for like four years,” Mason Carrier said. “This is his favorite thing. He’s always wanted this and to get that one more race at state. It’s cool to be a part of that for him. Last year, we always talked about going to state for this. We’ve been working hard all season when no one was there. It was us and one coach coming in early. We got everything precise and everything ideal for the race. It’s been fun.”
Detroit Lakes competed in four other events on Friday morning.
Abby Larson ran in the 100 and 200-meter races. She took 12th place in the 100 with a time of 12.87. In the 200-meter race, Larson clocked in with the 15th best time at 26.70 seconds.
Larson also anchored the 4x200-meter relay. Ella Paulson, Annie Paulson and Mallory Fischer took 12th place in the prelims with a time of 1:48.70.
Annie Paulson was one position away from one of the nine finals spots in the 300-meter hurdles. She finished 10th with a time of 46.72.
The top nine finishers in each preliminary event qualify for the Class 2A finals on Saturday. Jerzie Horner and Brandton Marsh will begin their preliminary events on Saturday morning. Horner won the 8-2A title in the pole vault at 10-feet, 1-inch. Marsh qualified for state in the long jump with a second-place finish.
ADVERTISEMENT
