by Tom Coombe
After a near miss in 2025, Ely’s Violet Udovich was laser-focused on a state championship.
She got it, and quite a bit more, Friday afternoon in St. Michael-Albertville.
The sophomore lived up to her top billing and won the State Class A title in the 400 meters, adding another gold medal by taking first in the 200 as well.
To top it off, Udovich set a new state record in the 200, established a state Class A record in the 400, and finished second in the 100 all in a span of about three hours on a muggy, stormy day.
Udovich’s state titles, the first Ely track state championships since Luke Olson won the 800 run in 2019, powered the Ely girls to a second-place team finish in Class A - the best track performance in school history.
The victories also capped off an effort that was at least a year in the making, after Udovich placed second in the 400 at state last June.
“I think my goal was winning the 400 for sure, and winning the ’1’ or ‘2’ would be a cherry on top type of thing,” Udovich said Saturday, a few hours after her dual victories. “It feels good. It was everything that I’ve worked for. It feels awesome.”
Awesome could be the appropriate term for Udovich’s two-day performance at state.
Her winning time in the 400 was a blazing 54.94 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of her nearest foe and topping the previous Class A record of 55.67.
In the 200, not only did Udovich win in 23.89 seconds, the time was the fastest in Minnesota history, beating the previous mark of 23.91 set in 2016.
She served notice Thursday that state titles could be on the way by placing first in the 400 and 200 in the preliminary heats.
That set the stage for Friday’s final, which was halted twice because of rain and thunderstorms.
When Udovich finally got to the starting line - she was on a mission.
“I was in the blocks and heard the gun and shot out and felt strong,” said Udovich. “My goal was just to win the race. I wasn’t going for a PR but it just kind of happened along the way.”
Udovich crossed the finish line nearly three seconds ahead of her nearest foe - an impressive feat in the 400 - and she said she knew “immediately” that the time was something special.
After about 30 minutes to recover, it was time to get set for the 200 and the result was another historic performance.
“I kind of thought that the pressure was off now, and I kind of wanted to win in the ‘2’ and go for two,” Udovich recalled. “When I started the race, I felt like I needed to attack it and I felt like I accomplished that very well. Coming off the first curve, my competitor wasn’t coming up behind me quite yet, but we got to the straightaway, and we were neck and neck, and that was fun. I haven’t seen that type of competition in a while, like maybe the second time. It was very fun to finish that and it felt really good.”
Udovich crossed in 23.89, while Brynn Bakken of Hills-Beaver Creek finished in 23.96. Both blew past the previous Class A record and Udovich set the new standard by just edging past Bakken.
Earlier Friday, it was Bakken who prevailed over Udovich in an exceedingly close Class A final in the 100.
Bakken’s time was 11.69 and Udovich finished in 11.74, and both broke the previous Class A record with Bakken establishing a new all-time state record in the 100.
The two could be squaring off again in 2027, as Bakken is a junior.
Udovich attributed her performance to a routine that included not only track practice and work with Ely coaches Jill Ellerbroek, Wendy Lindsay and Jayne Dusich, but off-season preparation and plenty of time in the weight room with trainer Chuck Lobe.
“I”m very thankful for them,” Udovich said of the Ely coaches. “They kept us going and getting more work done. And I’m very grateful for the training in the weight room on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Because of him, I made gains.”
After two state titles, what comes next for Udovich?
Clearly, part of it is NCAA Division I attention, with the Ely sprinter already running at a level of major college track athletes.
But Udovich has two years of high school left and she has already set some lofty goals.
“I’m trying to win the 1, 2, and 4 next year, and in my senior year, I may try something different, maybe go for jumping,” she said.
• Two other Wolves made the podium at the state meet with Ely junior Lydia Shultz, Udovich’s first cousin, placing sixth in the high jump at 5-4.
Shultz had won the Section 7A title the week before and came within two inches of the winning leap of 5-6 by Mayah Otto of St. Croix Lutheran.
Ely’s Kaylin Visser also held up well in a loaded Class A field in the discus, taking ninth and making the podium with a throw of 120-5.
The winning throw was 134-1 by Emily Marquis of West Marshall.
Also making state was Ely’s Isabella Macho, who competed in the 300 hurdles and was 16th in 53.78 seconds.
• The Ely boys were represented at state by the four-by-800 relay combination of Otto Devine, Wyatt Devine, Blake Houde and Oliver Hohenstein, who placed 14th in 8:32.92.
