Photo courtesy of Per Peterson/Tracy Area Headlight Herald TMB’s Tony Nelson poses with his first-place medal after winning the shot put during the Class A meet on Thursday at St. Michael-Albertville. Nelson also won the event in 2021.

ST. MICHAEL — Tony Nelson stepped into the shot put circle at St. Michael-Albertville High School on Thursday as a defending state champion. He exited still as one.

The Tracy-Milroy-Balaton senior successfully kept the Class A crown in his possession with a first-place throw of 57-03 at the Class A track and field meet. Nelson had one other throw that measured 55-10.75. Nelson isn’t done yet at the state meet, as he will compete in the discus today at approximately 5:15 p.m.

Nelson wasn’t the only Panther to compete on Thursday. Senior Julius Williams placed 14th in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 16.56 seconds. On the relay side, the boys 4×200 meter relay team of senior Ayden Horner, senior Jake Turner, sophomore Gage Struchen and senior Christian Wendland placed 13th with a time of 1:35.77. The boys 4×400 meter relay team of Wendland, Struchen, sophomore Carter Sweetman and senior Nick Ankrum took 16th with a time of 3:39.48.

Lakeview got out to a quick start – literally and figuratively – in the 100 meters, as junior Greg Schafer recorded a time of 10.96 seconds. The time not only placed Schafer in the top three in the prelims and advance him to today’s finals but it broke a school record, previously set in 1979 by Ron Noon. Junior Ethan Schwankl would also advance to today’s finals in the 800 meters by placing seventh in the prelims with a time of 1:58.46.

Murray County Central had a strong day, with junior Ashley Overgaauw placing second in the prelims of the 800 meters (2:21.07) and advancing to today’s finals while her sister, Amanda, also a junior, placed second in the finals of the 3200 meters (10:51.56). Sophomore Brylei Schreier also qualified for today’s finals in the 400 meters, placing fourth in the prelims with a time of 1:00.20.

Canby/Minneota also had a solid day, with senior Aidyn Bruns earning a fifth-place finish in the high jump with a height of 5-02. The girls 4×400 meter relay team of senior RyAnn Hansen, freshman Claire Stoks, sophomore Braelyn Merritt and senior Grace Drietz also advanced to today’s finals with a second-place prelim time of 4:06.11. Merritt also took 13th in the 400 meters with a time of 1:02.32 while the girls 4×200 meter relay team of Hansen, Bruns, eighth-grader Karlie Wollum and freshman Natalie Stoks placed 14th with a time of 1:51.51.

Yellow Medicine East had senior Patrick Hoernemann finish his career with a distance of 40-10.25 in the triple jump to place 14th while junior Ruby Bones tied for 14th in the high jump with a height of 4-08. Wabasso’s lone competitor, sophomore Katelyn Zeug, placed 14th in the long jump with a distance of 15-03.75.

The Class A finals will be held today at 4 p.m.