Violet Udovich may have stolen the show, but she had quite a supporting cast at last week’s state high school track meet.
Udovich piled up points (see related story) with a pair of record-setting, state championship performances as well as a runner-up finish, but teammates Lydia Shultz and Kaylin Visser also reached the podium to help the Ely girls place second in Class A.
The Wolves’ Isabella Macho also competed at state, and the Ely boys were represented as well by the four-by-800 relay combination of senior Otto Devine, sophomores Wyatt Devine and Blake Houde and junior Oliver Hohenstein.
It all transpired June 4-5 in the heat and amid stormy conditions at St. Michael-Albertville, home of the Minnesota State High School League’s premiere track event.
The Ely athletes soaked in the atmosphere and performed on the state’s grandest stage, and both Shultz and Visser were making return appearances.
Shultz, who won the Section 7A title in the high jump the week before, battled it out with the state’s best and came within two inches of the top spot.
After leaping to victory with a 5-3 at sections, Shultz upped her game and went 5-4 with her best jump at state.
She earned a state medal, wound up sixth overall and was two inches behind champion Mayah Otto of St. Croix Lutheran.
Visser also was making a return trip to state and was one of several high-caliber throwers in the State Class A discus field.
The discus throws in Class A rivaled those in the larger classes, and Visser came up with a throw of 120 feet, five inches.
That was nearly 10 feet more than her throw at sections, and it got her onto the podium and into point-scoring territory with a finish of ninth place overall.
The winning throw was 134-1 by West Marshall senior Emily Marquis.
Macho was making her first state appearace after placing second in 7A in the 300 hurdles, and the junior competed against her class’s best hurdlers, winding up 16th in 53.78 seconds.
Ely also sent a boys relay to state, with the Devine brothers joining Hohenstein and Houde to take 14th in 8:32.92.
The winning relay team was from Sauk Center in 7:56.26.
The trip to state capped off a dynamic track season in Ely, with the girls taking not only the 7A north subsection crown but taking second at the 7A meet in Duluth, along with the second-place finish at state.
