Girls track and field: Irish learn from first meet of the season

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As excited as Rosemount girls track and field coach Sara Hatleli was entering this season, she knew there was work ahead.

One of the reasons the Irish have a lot of work ahead of them is because the overall numbers of athletes has increased again this season.

So, with so many athletes available to choose from, Hatleli used the first meet of the season as an opportunity to experiment with the lineup, a tactic she will likely use varying times this season, especially early.

Rosemount placed fifth in a meet at Prior Lake last week, scoring 55 points. The Lakers won the meet with 131.50 points, followed by Stillwater, Roseville and Rochester Mayo.

“It was tough competition,” Hatleli said. “We had some good performances and tried some kids in new events to see what they were capable of.”

There were several notable performances from the Irish, many coming from the returning athletes.

Shade Pratt placed first in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and Laura Dennis added a first place finish in the high jump.

Katie Murgic set a new school record of 11 feet while winning the pole vault.

Thana Hussein supported Pratt’s finish in the 400 by adding her own fourth-place finish, giving the Irish 11 points in the event.

Tori Grund crossed the line in fifth in the 1,600 run.

Ashley Comstock was sixth in the 3,200, while Bridget Burkard finished one behind in seventh place.

Natalie Busher finished third in the high jump to give Rosemount two of the top three scorers.

Alyssa Temte jumped to a fourth-place finish in the triple jump, while also finishing seventh in the 100 hurdles.

Jennifer Fleming was seventh in the shot put.

In the discus, Anansa Greenfield placed third, while Hannah Buecksler finished fifth.

Those performances will give Hatleli something to think about as she crafts future lineups. The coach is also hoping to see others step forward before the bigger meets of the season.

“You can learn from every meet and we found that there are definitely things we can work on and improve on before our next meet and throughout the season,” Hatleli said.

Tags: girls track and field, school district 196, high schools, sports, rosemount, irish, prep