Red Wing's Thomas Lamkin has taken the leap to track stardom

Jun. 3—LAKEVILLE — Thomas Lamkin was a good sprinter last season.

One year later he's not good anymore. Instead, the Red Wing junior is great.

What a jump for the kid who most of last season hobbled around with a tweaked hamstring.

Lamkin was at his best on Saturday in the Section 1AA meet at Lakeville South. The sharp-featured guy with the flowing black locks was in a complete flow on the track, winning the 100, 200 and also running a crucial leg on Red Wing's second-place 4x100 relay team.

That means he has gone from advancing to state in zero events last season to three of them now.

"Last season, I pulled my hamstring and I didn't get in many 200s," said the personable Lamkin. "And my 100 times weren't a reflection of what I can do. My first meet this year I matched my (personal best) in the 100 with an 11.37 time. But since then, I've dropped almost a half a second from that."

Saturday was a perfect reflection of what Lamkin is capable of. He won the 100 in 10.83 seconds, the 200 in a personal-best 21.54 and provided ample juice in the 4x100 where Red Wing was timed in 43.77, second only to Waseca.

That 200 had him particularly amped. He's been chasing the times of Mankato East's Aaron Stewart, who beat him in the Big Nine Conference meet. On Saturday, he says he caught him (East was not in the meet, competing in Section 2AA).

"When I got beat by Aaron (in the Big Nine meet), that was kind of a reality check for me," Lamkin said. "That showed me that there are always people faster than I am. But I can come back and get them."

Lamkin was handed another dose of reality in the Hamline Elite meet in late April. That was a collection of the top runners and field-event people in the state, and invitation only. After one of the state's top runners was a scratch, Lamkin was added at the last minute.

He was seeded 18th in the 100, then made a mockery of that by placing fourth overall. Not only did Lamkin's placing clue him in that he might be seriously on to something, but so did his time. He ran a sub-11-second 100, his first dip into 10-seconds territory.

Life has been different for Lamkin ever since. He used that clocking as an invitation for greatness and hasn't let up his pursuit of it since.

"That was my awakening," Lamkin said. "That let me know that I can actually do something with this. Since then, I've focused on the little things and tried to do a little bit more than everyone else."

Saturday at the Section 1AA meet, that's exactly what he did — a little bit more than everyone else.

Aaron Freier went for something completely exhausting on Saturday. He competed in arguably the day's two most rigorous races, the 1,600 and 800.

The senior did more than just get through them, he qualified for state in both with a pair of runner-up finishes. He was timed in 4:31.21 in the 1,600, 2:00.46 in the 800. Tri-City United's Dante Juberian finished first in both.

"I was taking a bit of a risk in doing the 800 and the 1,600, but I like the results," said Freier, who is state-bound for the second-straight year in the 800. He was sixth at state in the race last year.

"It's going to be tough to equal that (sixth-place 800 finish) this year, doing both races at state," Freier said. "But it feels great to be doing something I've never done before."

Stewartvile's Tor Lunaas was the heavy favorite in the discus. He's ranked first in Class AA with a personal-best throw of 174-feet-4.

Lunaas didn't quite live up to that, but he was still decidedly better than everybody else, settling for a 162-4 toss. Plainview-Elgin-Millville junior Ashton Kisch was second, just off his season best with a 153-11 distance.

Lunaas, who is also state bound in the shot put (along with teammate and best friend Peyton Byrne), showed that he's not only herculean strong but quick too, as he sprinted to his car as soon as the discus competition was done, attempting to be on time for an afternoon wedding in Rochester.

Stewartville's Carter Anderson won the state title a year ago in the high jump, clearing a personal-best 6-6.

On Saturday, he was up to that height again, sailing 6-6 for first place. Runner up was Byron's Ryan Stites (6-4).

This time of year and pressure situations seem to agree with Anderson. A year ago he went from a personal-best of 6-4 to 6-6 in the state meet to end as a champion.

"When the competition is really good, that allows me to get up there," Anderson said last year. "Competition puts me in a good frame of mind. I'm more focused then which allows me to jump my maximum height."

State-bound athletes

Other Rochester-area boys to advance to state Saturday were Winona's Brayden Draheim (first in the 400, 49.90) and Xavier Schultz (second in the 400, 50.59), Plainview-Elgin-Millville's Nick Walch (second in the 300 hurdles, 40.91), and the Winona 4x400 relay team (first, 3:27.19),

Individual results:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/514525/results/all