Above: Molly Thomas, a CCHS sophomore, finished 5th place in the 400 meters at the section meet in a career best 62.78 time. This is believed to be the third fastest quarter mile ever run by a Viking girl. Left: Matea Acero, a CCHS junior, ran a lifetime best 12:31.5 for 3200 meters (2 miles) at the Section 7A track finals to take 8th place.
The weather bureau predicted sunny and 70 for the Section 7A track finals Thursday, May 28. They were wrong. It was foggy, windy and 45. We predicted great runs for our two Section final runners, sophomore Molly Thomas and junior Matea Acero. We were right.
Strong off the lake winds caught us by surprise. Everyone was huddling for warmth and putting on everything they brought with. They soon found out the new UMD bathrooms with the hand dryers were the warmest place at the stadium.
Action was hot on the track though, as qualifiers from the subsection semifinals the prior week competed for medals and trips to the state track meet finals at Hamline University next week. Track is one of the hardest sports to qualify for state. There are almost 30 teams in the section, from the tiniest schools up to the size of Proctor, Esko and International Falls. Only the top 2 in each event qualify, and there are no team qualifiers.
For most competitors, just getting to the finals is a big accomplishment. After getting there, the next objective is getting on the podium–top 8, then medalling– top 6. Both Matea and Molly, seeded 7th and 8th respectively of the 14 qualifiers based on Subsection times, wanted to run season best times and try for the medals. A top two spot and ticket to State was not realistic– this year.
Molly was up first. As the slowest seed in the fast heat of the 400, she drew lane 8, the far outside lane. Since the 400 is run in lanes for the entire lap, that meant Molly started ahead and couldn’t see anyone else until they caught her on the last turn. Her plan was to start fast, find a comfortable pace, and push hard when she got to the last corner. She nailed her start, and settled into her long, graceful stride while the other girls on the inside lanes gradually caught her. She held her pace on the long, agonizing homestretch, passing 3 competitors to finish 5th in 62.78 seconds.
Not only was that a career best for Molly, but it is unofficially the 3rd best time for the girls’ 400 in Cook County history, after Michelle Lang’s 61.3 in 1987 and Ailee Larson’s 61.7 in 2010. Molly wasn’t cold anymore.
Next up was Matea in the 3200–the two mile. Matea has had a long, hard comeback from back and hip problems the last two years. She was one of the most promising distance running girls in 2012 as an 8th grader. It’s quite a credit to her to keep training and working out when you are hurt so long. But she did, and is just returning to the top form she had 2 years ago. Her sub-section time of 12:42 finally bested her 13:13 from Section finals in 2012.
Her plan was a little tricky. The big wind meant you wanted to be in a group, but which group? The top 4 were all under 12 minutes and out of reach. Eight of the remaining girls had all run times similar to Matea. She would just start out comfortably, find out where she was in the pack, and then look for opportunities after that.
As expected, the top 4 took off, with one of the remaining hopefuls in tow. Matea was tucked into the next group of 3. The pace was a little fast, she ran 83 seconds for the first lap compared to the 90 seconds that would be ideal. That was followed by 92, 93 and 96, for a mile time of 6:05, a little too fast, and it started to show. Matea is extremely tough, but everyone has a limit. She gradually slowed to a pair of 98-second laps, before picking it back up to 96 and 94 seconds respectively. Although she was very happy with her career best time of 12:31.5, she was not happy to be passed in the final stretch to finish 8th. Podium, but no medal.
And it is never fun to go out too fast and have to suffer in the last half of the race. We figured that a better paced race would have netted her another 15+ seconds – putting her close to the top. In addition, we think maybe she has set a school record. Although the school records are a little incomplete, her 12:31.5 looks like a clear CCHS best. I’m sure I’ll hear about it if I’m wrong.
The meet wrapped up a very good season for the 30-member CCHS track team. Although we were a very young team, more junior high than high school, the future looks bright; especially since we are not losing any seniors.
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