Lee Carlson

Lillian Ciske and Levi Miest represented the Saints track and field program at the 2024 Class A MSHSL State Track Meet on June 7th. Ciske competed in the triple jump for the second consecutive year and Levi Miest raced in the 1600, earning a medal for 8th place.

For Ciske, the medal stand eluded her but she still found success as she narrowed the gap between her and the Section 2A champ, Ciske’s longest mark being 33’2¼” for 18th place. As the runnerup, Ciske knew she had a steep challenge to place at state but her effort reflects a commitment to compete her best. Just to qualify for state she needed to outjump her runnerup leap from 2023’s section meet.

Ellie Sosa of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton took the championship at 38’11½” and Redwood Valley’s Kendall Huhnerkoch was 2nd place at 37’6”.

“There was certainly better competition in our section this year,” said Ciske. All the girls improved so much so I had to jump farther to qualify for the state tournament this time around.”

Ciske pointed to improved consistency with reaching longer jumps as key to securing a trip to state.

Scott Allen, head coach for the Saints, echoed that sentiment.

“She was consistent because she worked harder than many others and just plain got things done,” said Allen.

Although it is her second trip, the path to St. Michael for the state meet included other differences such as increasing her strength by running more 400s, a change that she wasn’t sold on right away.

“The 400 meter dash was pretty taxing on my legs so running the 400m in a meet before jumping definitely hindered my jumps,” said Ciske. “It was for the better though, it was definitely a race that made me stronger as an athlete which carries over to jumps in the end.”

Competing will still be part of Ciske’s future as she moves on to North Central University in Minneapolis to study Psychology and run track in the winter and spring for the NCU Rams.

“I’m going to miss the girls I ran relays with so much,” said Ciske. “I didn’t run too many this year but when I did it was so fun to get to run with a team like that.”

Allen sees opportunities for Ciske at the next level.

“Mainly the triple jump,” said Allen, “but Lily ran some great times in the 400 and could be in a spot to run on a relay also.”

With a time of 4:28.85 Levi Miest placed 8th in the 2024 Class A 1600 meter run finals. It was a single race, well under five minutes of action, but it was years in the making.

“All the work that I have put in over the many years of competing in sports was the main drive for me to strive towards the goal I set this year,” said Miest.

Miest’s accomplishment settled the score on a pair of high goals.

“All the work that I have put in over the many years of competing in sports was the main drive for me to strive towards the goal I set for myself this year,” said Miest.

Winning the section cross country title and setting a school record, along with earning a trip to state wrestling opened the door to his goal of reaching the highest level in all three seasons.

“I was feeling good about my goal, but throughout the wrestling and track seasons I questioned if I would be able to complete it,” said Miest.

Track was no guarantee but Miest, who missed a trip to state track in 2023, met the goal by running five seconds faster this year to seal the trifecta.

The next goal was to medal at state. As it turns out, finding strong competition was a short trip as fellow Big South Conference runners Will Ahrens of Redwood Valley and Owen Janiszeski of Luverne would place 1st and 2nd at the state meet.

Although the goal was easy to define, the path was not always a steady one.

“After a strong start, I was feeling good about my goal, but throughout the wrestling and track seasons I questioned if I would be able to complete it

Four laps in the 1600 meter race came down to the final stretch and Miest was several places out of earning a medal. He didn’t have the medal but he had the kick to go get one.

“Levi just gutted it out,” said Allen. “He was a couple places out of a medal at the end but poured it on in the final 100 meters to catch a few guys. He ran a great race overall, didn’t get boxed in, and made us all proud with that finish. And to go to state in three sports your senior year, that is a rare accomplishment.”

Every bit of Miest’s final effort was crucial as he crossed the line amidst a bunch, just .09 out of 7th place and .13 ahead of 9th.

“Coming into the final race of my career I put a lot of pressure on myself to do my best and earn a medal,” said Miest. “As the race came towards the end, I knew I was close to earning a medal and passed a few other runners in the last fifty meters which put me in 8th place.”

Along with feelings of relief and pride, Miest holds thankfulness.

“I am grateful for all of the coaches, teammates, parents, and supporters of the sports I have been in over my high school career,” said Miest.

Congratulations to Lillian Ciske and Levi Miest on finishing outstanding careers on the biggest stage of high school sports.