money Section 5A track and field: After crashing final hurdle, Kutzera wins emotional re-race
COLLEGEVILLE — From heartbreak to being state-bound, Cathedral junior hurdler Emanuel Kutzera had an emotional hour on Wednesday.
Leading the final stages of the 300m hurdles during the Section 5A finals at St. John's, Kutzera clipped a hurdle. He still led with a comfortable margin, only needing to get over the final hurdle. He crashed over it and hit the track, ending his race.
"I tried to really stay in my own race, (but) got my steps off a bit," Kutzera said. "It was a real bummer. It was just a tragedy."
Kutzera left the track yelling in frustration, eventually collapsing on the infield before being consoled by teammates. He still would have a chance to make state as part of the Crusaders 4x400m relay team, but his chance as an individual was over.
Until the first heat of the girls 800m run was delayed due to an announcement: "Can the competition committee report to the press box."
After looking at the replay, they decided Kutzera still would've had a chance to crawl across the line if another hurdler hadn't crashed and blocked his lane in the final seconds.
So the decision was made to have him run the race again. Alone.
"To hear that I could run it again, that was just a whole game-changer," Kutzera said. "That never happens. I thought I was done ... it was just a whole series of emotions."
Kutzera ran a career-best 41.79 seconds in his solo race, checking the time as he crossed the line before screaming in jubilation.
Not only did Kutzera run his best time with no other hurdlers to push him. He came in first place with all eyes focused on him for the biggest race of his track career.
"It was crazy," Kutzera said. "Running alone was a struggle; probably the hardest race I've run all season. To see the time at the end, it really just solidified everything. It was a really nice ending."
An afternoon of heartache ended with Kutzera flashing a bright smile on the medal stand. He'll now advance to the Class A state meet next week at St. Michael-Albertville after becoming a Section 5A champ.
Cathedral will send athletes to state in a combined 11 events between the boys and girls teams. State prelims begin next Thursday, with Class A finals on Friday.
"It was just great," Kutzera said about qualifying after his wild race. "It lit up my world."
Schueller wins three events
Cathedral junior Hope Schueller had heartbreak after heartbreak at the Section 5A meet in 2021. She missed out on state qualification by fractions of a second in the 100m and 200m races, and a dropped baton ended the 4x200m relay.
She righted all of those wrongs on Wednesday, winning the 100m dash, 200m dash and running the anchor leg of the section champion 4x200m relay.
Schueller set an 18-year-old school record and 36-year-old former section record with a time of 12.38 seconds in the 100m dash finals, dropping nearly half a second from her prelim-leading time. She also re-broke her own school record in 26.15 seconds in the 200m dash.
"I didn't even know that I was capable of that," Schueller said. "The times I've been running this year have been good, but not amazing ... I was just really glad to hear that I could pull it all out and all my training came to pay off."
She went straight from her record-setting time to the 4x200m relay, taking the baton in second place before putting on the jets in the final 50m to win another section title.
"She was in front of me, and I realized that second place still makes it to state," Schueller said. "Then I was like no! We have to get first; pull it together and go. You're not gonna take second, that's lame."
No girls athlete from Cathedral had previously qualified for the Class A state meet since 2015. While the addition of a third class has helped Cathedral compete with schools closer in enrollment, Wednesday's performances were still incredibly impressive.
"It's awesome," Schueller said about the team's success. "We always cheer each other on at practice and meets. The team aspect has brought us together to pull us all to state this year."
Other state qualifiers
St. John's Prep sophomore Olivia Pauly won the 1600m (5:26.24) and the 3200m (11:33.79) races in dominant performances. She's dropped over 1:30 off her two-mille time since sections last year, and she'll look to build upon a 35th place finish at the state cross country meet in the fall.
Cathedral's boys 4x800m relay (8:20.72) and boys 4x400m relay (3:32.53) both finished in first, while Cathedral's girls 4x800m relay advanced to state with a runner-up finish in 9:52.37.
Other individual Class A qualifiers were Jacob Eickhoff in second for the 400m (52.31) and Turner Schad's win in the 3200m run (10:02.48). Cathedral's Greta Peterson advanced by hitting the qualifying height of 5 feet-1 in despite finishing fifth in the high jump.
Cathedral girls were third overall at 66 points, while the boys were fourth with 65 points. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted won the boys title and Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball won the girls section championship. Cathedral coach Rick Fleege was named Section 5A Boys Coach of the Year.
Zach Dwyer is a sports reporter and photographer for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-406-5660 or zdwyer@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @sctimeszach.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Section 5A track and field: Kutzera wins emotional re-race
