Senior Tyler Gunnarson capped his decorated track and field career with four more golds Wednesday, bringing his total to 20 state medals and 13 golds. The St. Charles standout won the 100, 200, 800 and discus wheelchair events.

Hills-Beaver Creek’s Brynn Bakken followed up her win in the 100 with another gold in the 200, flipping last year’s results and edging defending champ Ava Phrakonkham, who took silver in both sprints and the long jump.

Staples-Motley’s Audrey Brownell repeated as 1,600 champ, adding to a runner-up 3,200 finish and her fall cross-country title. 

When Samuel Schruin became head coach at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton three years ago, he never imagined his small school could be where it is now.

JWP emerged from a tightly packed leaderboard to win the Class 1A girls track and field team championship with 41 points. Minnewaska Area finished runner-up with 33, followed closely by St. Cloud Cathedral in third place with 32.

To Schruin’s knowledge, JWP has never won a team state championship. He called the moment “surreal” and credited the community effort of the schools’ athletes, coaches and parents.

JWP’s key placements across multiple events — and a gold from MaKenzie Westphal in the 800 — made the difference.

Westphal tore her left quad at the end of March but “worked really hard” to come back in time. The freshman was shocked by her own performance Wednesday.

“I was so proud of myself but also surprised,” she said. “This is probably the one time I can actually say I’m proud of myself.”

Redwood Valley claimed the Class 1A boys team championship with 70 points, narrowly holding off Osakis, which finished with 67 for second. Cotter/Hope Lutheran took home bronze with 44 points.

It was a dramatic finish between two deep squads in Osakis and Redwood Valley, but Redwood Valley’s balance across the distance events and relays proved just enough to win the crown.

Redwood Valley head coach Tessa Heiling said the win “still hasn’t sunk in yet,” but that her boys “definitely earned” the title.

“They put in a lot of work this season,” she said, “and it’s great to see that reflected this way.”

Osakis won the 4x200 and 4x400 relays and got a standout day from junior Andrew Jones — a hooper who said track is more of a “side quest” for him. Jones competed on both winning relay teams and matched a class record in the 300-meter hurdles.

Junior Andrew Jones is putting together one of the most impressive days of the 2025 state meet.

Just hours after helping Osakis to a record-setting victory in the Class 1A boys 4x200-meter relay, the junior returned to the track and stormed to a win in the 300 hurdles, tying a decades-old class record in the process.

Jones clocked 37.39 seconds, a personal best that not only matches the Class 1A record set in 1999 by Mitch Potter but also ranks as the fastest time in Minnesota this season and No. 81 nationally this spring.

The mark carries added weight, given the meet is being held at St. Michael-Albertville, where Potter — a former University of Minnesota standout — attended high school.

Jones has powered Osakis into team title contention — contributing on  24 of the school’s 55 points so far — and still has one more shot at gold to close out his state meet with the 4x400 meter relay.

The Osakis boys are in second with three events remaining. Redwood Valley boys lead with 60 points.

Just days after scoring multiple touchdowns — she’s guessing around six, though she's not quite sure — in the girls flag football state tournament Monday, La Crescent-Hokah’s Brooklyn Mitchell delivered another standout performance, this time in track and field.

The junior won the Class 1A girls shot put title Wednesday evening with a personal-best mark of 42 feet, 7.5 inches. That distance ranks as the fourth-best throw by a high school girl in Minnesota this spring.

Her team finished as the state runner-up in flag football, but Mitchell called the shot put result “so good.”

“Especially for only my second year in track,” Mitchell said. “I did not know I could come this far … [but] when I believe, I can achieve.”

Osakis delivered a thrilling win in the Class 1A boys 4x200-meter relay Wednesday, edging Redwood Valley in a photo finish and rewriting the record books in the process.

The team clocked 1 minute, 28.42 seconds — a new 1A state meet record and the seventeenth-best time in Minnesota this season. Redwood Valley wasn’t far behind, crossing in 1:28.45 to also break the previous class mark and post the nineteenth-best time statewide this spring.

Andrew Jones, a key leg for Osakis, helped power his team to the top spot. The junior has a long day ahead: he entered the meet as the top qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles and will also compete in the 4x400 relay later.

The St. Cloud Cathedral girls had a record-setting run in the Class 1A girls 4x200-meter relay Wednesday evening, taking gold with a time of 1 minute, 43.21 seconds — a new Class 1A state meet record.

The quartet of Amelia Newiger, Aubrey Lesnau, Julia Vega and Erika Salaski held off a strong challenge from PACT/Legacy (Grace Thompson, Kylee Loren, Sarah Carlson, Favour Adetunji), which had also broken the previous class record in Tuesday’s prelims. 

PACT/Legacy recorded a time of 1:44.52 in the final. 

“I think we all knew we could do it,“ Lesnau said. “We’re all young, none of us are seniors, [but] all had confidence in ourselves and pushed each other.”

"I was just thinking about trying to PR,” Da’Mari Smith said as he walked off the track, gold medal dangling from his neck. 

Well, he did exactly that. 

The Twin Cities Academy/Great River sophomore claimed the Class 1A boys 100-meter dash title with a personal-best time of 11.01 seconds.

Smith credited his time to a solid start off the blocks and the tight competition around him.

“I didn’t expect to go out there and actually win that,” Smith said with a smile. “I lowkey jumped after I saw I won.”

Bagley/Fosston’s Ava Phrakonkham entered Wednesday afternoon as the sprinter to beat, holding the top qualifying times in both the 100 and 200 meters after sweeping both state titles last year. 

But in a tightly contested 100-meter final, she was edged out by sophomore Brynn Bakken of Hills-Beaver Creek. The young phenom surged late to win in 12.29 seconds, just ahead of Phrakonkham’s 12.36. The win is a relief for Bakken, who said she’s been battling hip injuries all year, and sets up an exciting rivalry as Phrakonkham looks to defend her 200-meter crown later.

No. 1 seed St. Charles senior Christopher Hilton captured the Class 1A boys 110-meter hurdles title, adding another highlight to his outstanding senior season.

 Hilton, a North Dakota State commit, battled back from injuries last year and now holds or shares six school records. He’s going to be a key leader on a powerhouse Saints squad throughout the rest of the afternoon session.