Talent, Health, Pride—Hopkins Track and Field's Formula for Success This Year

After bringing home the class AA title last season, the girls hope to mimic the success of Hopkins basketball and bring home consecutive state titles.

The boys, meanwhile, finished 13th and fought through tough conference play—which features Eden Prairie and Wayzata, who finished first and third, respectively, in last year's championship.

Both teams feature strong relay teams which made up a major portion of their points in the championships last year. The girls saw especially strong relay showings—scoring 44 of their 81 points in relay events, while Alexandria, which finished second overall in the meet, scored only 45 total points.

Key Returning Athletes

The girls, who sent 17 individuals to state last season, will return 13 of those athletes—including senior captains Bridget Sweeney and Hannah Borowski, who teamed with returning athletes Mariah Witt and Stephanie Rouse to set the Minnesota record for the 4X400 relay last season.

Girls Head Coach Nick Lovas said, “Anyone who makes state has made major contributions and is a leader. You lose some of that veteran competition, but the people staying on are ready to fill the role of good athletes and good leaders.”

The boys will look to see big performances from seniors Adam Thacker, Damilola Mafe and Victor Oseko, along with junior Austin Salargo. Thacker and Mafe will bring strong showings in the field side of track and field, while Oseko and Salargo will lead the track events for Hopkins.

Key Losses

The girls only lost four of their state runners from last season and have the talent to replace their points, but the loss Kirsten Anderson is also the loss of a great leader and member of the team.

The boys lost a major point scorer in Gideon Kendrick, one of the top runners in several events. Thacker thinks that the team will be able to compensate for the loss.

“We got together and told everyone that it is a new year and our time to show what we can do. We can step up and perform at the level of the athletes before us,” he said.

Season Outlook

The girls team looks to have another strong season and the team hopes to do even more this year than last.

“We would like to win a true team state championship. It is the only championship that has eluded our program,” Lovas said.

If the Royals can stay healthy, they have the talent to replicate, and even surpass, their performance last year.

The boys will face tremendous competition in their very difficult conference. They think they have the proper motivation to make big strides toward being a major force in the Lake Conference. 

“Coach (Mike Harris) always tells us to represent the ‘H’ on our jersey, and that is enough to motivate us. A lot of us have been doing track for years and, especially for the seniors, we want to leave our mark on the program in our last year,” Thacker said.