Saints face the best at the State Track Meet

Lee Carlson

Lillian Ciske and Levi Miest represented the Saints track and field program at the 2024 MSHSL Class A state track and field meet on June 7. Ciske competed in the triple jump for the second year in a row and Levi Miest competed in the 1600m, earning a medal for 8th place.

For Ciske, the medal stand eluded her but she still found success in closing the gap between herself and the Section 2A champion, with Ciske’s longest mark being 33’2¼” for 18th place As a finalist, Ciske knew she had a tall order ahead, but her efforts reflected a commitment to giving her best Just to qualify for state, she had to surpass her second-place finish. during the 2023 sectional competition.

Ellie Sosa of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton won the championship in 38’11½” and Kendall Huhnerkoch of Redwood Valley was 2nd with 37’6″.

“There was definitely better competition in our section this year,” Ciske said. All the girls improved so much that I had to jump further to qualify for the state tournament this time.

Ciske pointed to improving consistency by hitting longer jumps as the key to securing a trip to state.

Saints head coach Scott Allen echoed that sentiment.

“She was consistent because she worked harder than a lot of others and just got things done,” Allen said.

Although it was his second trip, the path to St. Michael for the state meet included other differences, such as increasing his strength by running over 400, a change that didn’t bother him. I wasn’t convinced right away.

“The 400 meters was pretty taxing on my legs, so running the 400 in a meet before jumping definitely hampered my jumps,” Ciske said. “But it was for the best, it was definitely a race that made me stronger as an athlete and that ultimately carries over to the jumps.”

Competition will always be a part of Ciske’s future as she heads to North Central University in Minneapolis to study psychology and run track in the winter and spring for the NCU Rams.

“I’m going to miss the girls I ran relays with so much,” Ciske said. “I didn’t race much this year, but when I did, it was so much fun to race with a team like that.”

Allen sees opportunities for Ciske at the next level.

“Mainly the triple jump,” Allen said, “but Lily had some good times in the 400 and might be able to run a relay as well.”

With a time of 4:28.85, Levi Miest placed 8th in the 2024 Class A 1,600-meter final. It was a single race, well under five minutes of action, but he took years to prepare.

“All the work I have done over these many years of competing in sports has been the main motivation for me to achieve the goal I set for myself this year,” Miest said.

Miest’s feat settled the score with two high goals.

“All the work I have done over these many years of competing in sports has been the main motivation for me to achieve the goal I set for myself this year,” Miest said.

Winning the cross country sectional title and setting a school record, as well as earning a trip to state wrestling, opened the door to her goal of reaching the highest level in all three seasons.

“I felt good about my goal, but throughout the wrestling and track seasons, I wondered if I was going to be able to achieve it,” Miest said.

The track wasn’t a guarantee, but Miest, who missed a trip to the national track in 2023, achieved his goal by running five seconds faster this year to seal the trifecta.

The next goal was to win a state medal. It turns out that finding strong competition was only a short trip as fellow Big South Conference runners, Redwood Valley’s Will Ahrens and Luverne’s Owen Janiszeski, would place 1st and 2nd at the state meet .

Although the goal was easy to define, the path was not always stable.

“After a good start, I felt good about my goal, but throughout the wrestling and track seasons, I wondered if I was going to be able to achieve it.

Four laps in the 1,600-meter race came down the home stretch and Miest was several places away from the medal. He didn’t have the medal but he had the courage to go get one.

“Levi just gutted it,” Allen said. “He was a few places away from a medal at the end, but he pulled out all the stops in the last 100 meters to catch up with a few guys. He had an excellent race overall, didn’t let himself get bogged down and made us all proud with this finish. And to be able to declare in three sports your senior year is a rare accomplishment.

Every final effort from Miest was crucial as he crossed the finish line in the middle of a pack, just 0.09 out of 7th place and 0.13 ahead of 9th.

“Before the last race of my career, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do my best and win a medal,” Miest said. “As the race neared the end I knew I was on the verge of a medal and I passed a few other runners in the last fifty meters which put me in 8th place.”

Along with feelings of relief and pride, Miest feels gratitude.

“I am grateful to all the coaches, teammates, parents and supporters of the sports I played during my high school career,” Miest said.

Congratulations to Lillian Ciske and Levi Miest for completing outstanding careers on the biggest stage in high school sports.