BLAINE, Minn. - Ted Rud is one leg shy of completing the career triple jump, but the way he performed Friday, don't rule out a single-season sweep of the leaps.
The reserved New York Mills junior isn't.
He didn't guarantee two more victories today after finishing first in the long jump at the Minnesota Class 1A state track and field meet at the National Sports Center.
But he is the defending champion in the triple jump and said his goal is to hit 45 feet in the event - a distance that would essentially lock up another blue medal. And he said that winning the high jump - he's seeded third in the event - is at least "a possibility."
That's about as audacious as Rud gets.
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"My legs feel really good," he explained.
They certainly looked good during the long jump. Rud's first attempt was so obviously impressive that he raced to the tape measure immediately after landing, something he rarely does. The mark of 21-10 was a personal best by seven inches and clinched the top spot by five inches.
So what's the secret?
He's fully recovered from a bout with mono, held his feet in the air longer than usual and ate his usual pre-state meet meal, which, surprisingly, is not a plate of magic jumping beans.
"I go to the Olive Garden," said Rud, a state qualifier in the three jumping events the past two years. "I eat fettuccine alfredo the night before. I'm definitely going there tonight."
Jessica Garrett is going home happy.
In her second season on the track team and the first competing in the high jump, the Pelican Rapids senior finished fourth in the event at 5-5. The 5-foot-10 basketball standout didn't miss an attempt until being eliminated at 5-6. Prior to last week's section meet, she hadn't cleared higher than 5-2.
Right behind her in fifth place, also at 5-5, was senior teammate Melissa Seifert, who improved on an eighth-place showing last spring. It took a Class 1A meet-record jump of 5-9 by Caledonia/ Spring Grove/Mabel-Canton senior Brianna Polus to best the likes of the two Vikings and Lake Park-Audubon's Toni Tollefson, who came in eighth at 5-2.
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"I just had the confidence," Garrett said. "It kept me going."
The six-year career of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton senior Jordan Bjorhus, meanwhile, came to an end. Although seeded 14th based on times from the section meets, he finished fifth in the boys 3,200 at 9:55.71 to highlight a busy day for the Rebels. Senior Erik Hauglid wound up eighth in the pole vault, while the 400-relay team and senior Tyler Bjorhus (800 meters) advanced to today's finals.
"I've never been this nervous in my life," Jordan Bjorhus said of the only individual state track race of his career, "but I just had to give it all I had."
NOTES: Moorhead Park Christian senior Sarah Reinke qualified among the top three for today's finals in both the 100 and 200 meters with times of 12.65 and 25.92, respectively. She finished second in both races last year by a combined .05. ... Fergus Falls Hillcrest senior Abby Scheel placed fifth in the girls long jump for the second year in a row, although Friday's effort of 16-101/4 was the better distance by more than eight inches. ... Wadena-Deer Creek junior Eric Asfeld advanced in two of three events, posting the top qualifying time in the 300 hurdles at 39.59, nearly a second better than the rest of the field. He also recorded the third-best mark in the 110 hurdles despite hitting 9 of 10 hurdles and cutting up his right ankle. ... Perham senior David Krueger finished first in the boys 800 qualifying at 1:58.31. Yellowjackets' Brittany Gigstead (800) and Caleb Anderson (400) also advanced to today's finals. ... Otter Tail Central's Luke Buchholz finished eighth in the boys long jump.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Terry Vandrovec at (701) 241-5548
