DETROIT LAKES, Minn. - By the time Glen Ellingson was on the second lap, it pretty much turned into a battle for second place. The Moorhead senior was in sparkling form Saturday, winning the 1,600 by five seconds at the second day of the Minnesota Class 2A, Section 8 meet in Detroit Lakes.
"When you're running well," Ellingson said. "You do reach a point where you start to feel comfortable."
Ellingson opened the race by running with the pack, but pulled away midway through the first lap.
At one point, he held a seven-second lead which appeared as if it was an eternity.
He won the race in four minutes, 22.85 seconds, meaning he will run at the state meet in the 1,600 and the 3,200. Ellingson, who won the state title last year in the 3,200 meters, qualified for the 3,200 on Wednesday during the first day of the section meet.
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Ellingson set the bench mark for what was a strong day for Moorhead, which won the section meet as a team.
Moorhead will send six qualifiers - five in boys events and one in girls - to next weekend's state meet at Hamline University in St. Paul.
The 3,200-meter relay team will be Moorhead's lone girls representative at state, following a second-place finish.
Moorhead's boys 400-meter relay team qualified for the state meet for the first time in coach Jon Moe's 13-year tenure at the school.
Team captain and relay team member Austin Moon said the relay team used quite a bit of this season to improve with each practice.
"What I wanted to do this year was make sure we did everything right," Moon said. "From baton exchanges to everything."
They fought off Sauk Rapids-Rice for first by four hundredths of a second.
Another relay team member, sophomore Brady Andersen, also had a strong day, qualifying for state by winning the 100 meters and finishing second in the 200. In all, he will compete at three events at the state meet.
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He'll be joined by high jumper Gabe Wright, who finished second to qualify for his third consecutive state meet.
"It wasn't the best jump I had today but it was enough to get me to state," Wright said. "It feels good to be going back for a third time."
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Ryan S. Clark at (701) 241-5548.
