Four International Falls Broncos competed in the Class A track and field championships over the weekend at Hamline University in St. Paul, and Tim Myles pulled off the best result with an 11th place finish in the high jump.
Myles tied with West Central Area’s Beau Kashmark at 5 feet, 10 inches. Myles’ teammate Shawn Filipiak finished 15th out of 16 competitors at 5-8. The two Broncos entered the competition with the two lowest heights from sections. Austin Dennis of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley won the state title in the high jump at 6-6.
The boys high jump and girls pole vault took place Saturday and was moved inside with the wet and windy weather conditions. The boys pole vault took place Friday.
“These two high jumpers hit the 6-foot mark this year, which is an excellent height for any high school jumper,” said Broncos assistant coach Dan Zika. “The exciting fact is that both athletes will be back next year and lead our team as both are team captains. It was fun watching them high jump together as a team, challenging each other to jump for the higher heights.”
In the girls pole vault, Alicia Hendrickson cleared 8-6 and finished tied for 15th. It was the second straight year at state for the sophomore, who cleared 9-0 at sections.
“She didn’t do bad, but she didn’t do as well as she wanted to,” said head coach Jen Erickson, who noted Hendrickson was nervous and didn’t like the pole vault getting moved inside. Hendrickson also had problems with her helmet as she had to tape over some sequence she had glued on. Shannon Stever of La Crescent won the event at 11-1.
The Broncos’ final competitor, Jake Jensen, finished 15th at 11-0 in the pole vault. Jensen’s expectations were high, but he failed to clear 11-6 to move on.
“I think he wanted to do so well, it made him too nervous,” said Jensen’s head coach, Paul Hjelle. “I think he was a bit overwhelmed.”
Jensen will return next season as a junior, along with the other three state participants. Myles will be a senior and Filipiak and Hendrickson will be juniors.
“The coaches are very proud of Jake this year for his many accomplishments,” Zika said. “As a first-year pole vaulter, he is an overachiever as he consistently vaulted over the 12-foot mark. We look forward to Jake leading our pole vaulting crew the next two years.”
