ELGIN – Ben Thorsen, Matt Decker, and Angie Holst of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Southland had outstanding meets at the six-team Southeast Conference track meet Monday.

Tuesday, May 16, 2000

ELGIN – Ben Thorsen, Matt Decker, and Angie Holst of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Southland had outstanding meets at the six-team Southeast Conference track meet Monday.

Thorsen finished first in both hurdle events and was the lead-off runner in GMLOS’s first-place 4 x 200-meter relay team. Decker was first in the long jump, second in the 400 dash and was also a member of the 4 x 200 (Chris Kiehne and Bill Brandsmeier rounded out the relay).

Holst was first in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, third in the long jump and led off a second place finishing 4 x 200 relay (with Sarah Thome, Amber Ihrke, and Stephanie Kiehne).

Lanesboro/Fillmore Central came away with both titles. The GMLOS boys finished in second place for the second straight year while the girls finished in fourth.

Lyle/Pacelli’s Andy Boisjolie and Mary McKee gave everything they had in their races. Both were in photo finishes for third place in their respective races – Boisjolie in the 1,600 and McKee in the 300 hurdles. They both were nosed out, ending up in fourth place. Boisjolie also finished in fourth place in the 3,200 meter run.

"In the 1,600 Andy was 15 seconds faster than his best time all year," L/P coach Joe Moss said. "Mary said she ran a horrible race, but she had a great time, 56 seconds, which is just 2 seconds slower than her best time.

"She stumbled and hit a couple of hurdles and switched legs in the race. We’ll work on her form to get ready for sub-sections."

All-around athlete Thorsen – quarterback for the Grand Meadow football team and forward for the basketball team – is having one last fling with participating in competitive sports before turning to the books full time at Winona State next year. Right now, he plans on getting a secondary education degree and go into coaching.

The senior did not go out for track the last two springs, but came out this year and is having a whale of a time. In the 110 hurdles he was a-second-and-a-half faster (16.1) than he had been all spring. He then helped his 4 x 200 relay team to their best time of the year, 1:36.7. After the race, anchor leg runner Brandsmeier was heard to say, "That was awesome."

"We would like to make it at least to the Section tournament in the relay," Thorsen said.

Holst, also a senior, also has been a three-sport athlete for Grand Meadow. She competed in volleyball in the fall, was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball, and has been dashing off terrific times on the track in the spring. She was the defending SEC champ in the 100. She, however, faced some adversity in defending her title. Because of a mixup, she had to run in the third heat of the 100 meters – usually the slowest – against only two other runners.

"I was a little worried," Holst said. "The starter wondered why there had to be three heats, there were other spaces open in the first two. Then I ran my personal best of 13.16. Before that it was 13.5."

She was then surprised to hear that she got first place.

Her first event of the day was the long jump (14 feet, 7 inches), in which she was 2 inches shy of her personal best. She then barely held on for the win in the 200 meter dash. Holst was out in front most of the way before a runner from Rushford-Peterson/Houston almost caught her at the finish. Both girls were timed in 28.2.