Otis dominates four events

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Judging by the results of New Ulm's Mary Otis in the long jump, one would guess she's competed in the event many times and is accustomed to winning it.

One would be surprised.

Otis, a sophomore, competed in the long jump for the first time at the varsity level and won the event with a jump of 16-feet-6 Thursday in the nonconference track meet Thursday.

The jump was a foot-and-a-half better than her next competitor, Kristen Johnson of New Ulm, who jumped 15 feet.

Otis finished second to none and led the way for the Eagles as she was a quadruple winner.

"She really came out and finished strong," girls coach Jason Mortenson said. "She's just one of those natural athletes who just have it. We just gotta fine tune some things."

Waseca won on the girls' side with a score of 84. New Ulm took second in 77 and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva took third in 70. St. Peter finished fourth with 23 points.

Otis won the 100-meter dash in 13.74 after she needed a strong finish, edging out second place by .01.

Otis was also victorious in the 300-meter hurdles in 49.12 and the 110 meter hurdles in 16 seconds flat.

"I don't really like the 300 that much, but I really had to step up and play that role because we don't have that many hurdlers," Otis said. "With me being competitive, I just try to go out there and do my best and hope we win.

"I really came into the meet with high hopes, but the wind factor was strong today," she said. "It was tough to really go, and I went all out, but it's hard to get your personal best. You really have to stay low in the hurdles and make sure you're running strong in the wind."

Anna Evers took second in the discus with a throw of 95-feet-2 1/2-inches. Greta Sieve took second in the 3,200-meter run in 13.08.93. Sharon Wurtzberger took second in the 400 dash in 1:04.03 and second in the high jump in 4-8.

New Ulm's 3,200-meter relay team of Sieve, Allison Betsch, Laura Kauffman and Anna Nosek took second in 11:13.93. The 400 relay team of Christine Otis, Katie Scmiel, Megan Oberle and Kristen Johnson took second in 54.87.

1,600 meter relay team of Julie Edwards, Nosek, Betsch and Wurtzberger took second in 4:27.46.

On the boy's side, St. Peter won with 95 points. New Ulm took second with 72 points and NRHEG took third with 50 points. Waseca finished with 39 points.

"We had a good outing," New Ulm boy's coach Jim Pickus said. "We ran against St. Peter last week, and they had a much greater margin, so we wanted to close the gap and we did. We're looking at making a few changes that will help us down the road."

Jared Budenski was a triple-winner for the Eagles. Budenski won the 1,600-meter-run in 4:33.5 and also won the 800 meter in 2:02.4. He was also a part of the 1,600 meter relay team that won.

"It's hard to say with the elements," Budenski said. "I busted a 4:29 last year and that was fairly windy, and I was sick. It's all about the mental drive. I'm totally focused on that."

Budenski said he's been training hard but would like to get a little more consistent from lap to lap.

"I go with consistency," Budenski said. "Like in the mile too, I want to go 65s. There's a 4:20 right there. But my first lap was way too fast, I ran a 63. And that burnt me out for the second lap. Its gotta be a perfect 65 and then everything will click along.

"In the 800 I just busted it out," he said. "The pace felt good for the first lap, but the second lap was a little slower."

Dan Besser took second to St. Peter's Andy Mogenson in the 110 meter hurdles in 16.12. Mogenson won with an 11.8.

"Dan Besser ran a good time and Mogenson's gone to state before," Pickus said. "They're right in there, but I think Dan's gonna catch him at conference time. Just the way Dan's running, and Mogenson hovers around the same area as I've seen him in years. And Dan's gotten much better."

Josh Zupfer was a triple winner for the Eagles. He won the 400-meter dash in 52.4, the 200 meter in 23.56, and the long jump with a leap of 21-7.

He also took second in the 100-meter dash in 11.9, losing by one-tenth of a second.

"Harrington beat Zupfer by one-tenth of a second, so Zupfer had a nice time," Pickus said.

New Ulm's 1,600 meter relay team of Budenski, Besser, Justin Kitzberger and Mike Henle won in 3:40.

Besser also took second in the 300 hurdles in 42.43. John Rewitzer took second in the shot put with a throw of 43-1 1/5 and second in the discus with a throw of 124 1/2.

Both teams return to action Monday when the Eagles host Blue Earth Area, Redwood Valley and Minnesota Valley Lutheran.