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Udovich, relay both knocked out after preliminary heats
Two seniors closed their careers on high school track’s largest and grandest stage.
And two young Ely athletes got the taste of big-time competition.
Those were two of the highlights for Ely’s state qualifiers at the Minnesota State High School League Class A Girls Track Meet, held last week at St. Michael- Albertville, Eighth-grader Violet Udovich and the Wolves’ four-by-400 relay team were both knocked out of contention after June 13 preliminary heats, held on a windy afternoon before an audience of thousands in the Twin Cities suburbs.
Udovich ran first, taking part in one of three individual heats in the 400 and finishing in 1:01.82.
That was good enough for 14th overall, but not a berth in the finals the following day.
Udovich advanced by placing second in the 400 at the Section 7A meet with a time of 1:01.21.
A couple hours after Udovich competed in the 400 she joined her cousin, ninth-grader Lydia Shultz, along with seniors Sarah Visser and Grace LaTourell in the four-by-400 relay.
They were 15th in 4:17.56, which placed the Wolves back in their heat and out of contention for a finals berth.
The Wolves, however, did defeat Section 7A champion Two Harbors at state, avenging a close loss to the same group at the May 30 section event.
All four Wolves were first-time qualifiers for state, which in itself was a victory before any of them competed last week, according to head coach Jill Ellerbroek, who completed her first season at the helm of the Ely girls program.
“I was just excited for them to have the opportunity to participate in the state meet,” said Ellerbroek. “I was hoping they would have an enjoyable experience.”
That goal seemed to have been met.
“It was fun to see all the other schools there and just to be part of such a big meet,” said Ellerbroek.
Both Udovich and the Ely relay came in as about expected, given pre-meet comparisons of previous races and times.
“We were pretty consistent in our times in the last few meets and at state,” said Ellerbroek.
The state meet served as a grand finale for both Visser and LaTourell, who were multi-year standouts in track and previous section qualifiers. Both also were key players on an Ely girls basketball team that made three straight trips to the section semifinals while Visser was a setter for Ely’s consolation state champion volleyball team.
“They surely will be missed,” said Ellerbroek. “I’m so glad they were able to go to state and get that experience in their senior year. And theirs will be hard shoes to fill next year as we try to see and who fits into that relay.”
For Udovich and Shultz, the state meet offered a taste of what may be yet to come.
“I think they’ll have the fire to go back again and work hard next season to improve their times,” said Ellerbroek
