Track: Trost takes sixth at state in 3,200 for Bombers

ST. PAUL — Heat is less than ideal for long-distance runners.

It saps energy and taxes the body like little else can, even for the best athletes.

With Friday’s high temperature of 88 degrees hitting the Class A state track and field meet during the 3,200-meter run, it took all Cannon Falls’ Emi Trost could muster to finish the race at Hamline University.

She collapsed before the finish line and getting back up fell again, needing to crawl across in sixth place in 11 minutes, 26.86 seconds as a trainer hurried to make sure she was alright.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen that with her,” Cannon Falls head girls track coach Brett Zimmerman said. “We haven’t had meets this hot.”

Trost, a sophomore and runner-up at the Class A state cross-country meet, spent the first mile of the race vying for the lead with eventual champion Clare Flanagan, of the Blake School, but with 800 meters left, Trost’s form began to fall apart, Zimmerman said.

“She always so smooth,” he said. “I was kind of surprised there. You could tell she was trying to catch (Flanagan).”

The outcome was an obvious disappointment as Trost had an opportunity to place in the top two spots after coming into the race with the best seed time at 10:55.53 but her health became the issue. She remained disoriented for some time after the race ended but began to regain strength near the end of the meet. “It was scary,” Zumbrota-Mazeppa senior Nathan Warneke, who also runs the 3,200, said. “You never want to see that happen.”

Trost is scheduled to compete in the 1,600 today but the decision on whether she is capable will be made later.

“Tomorrow is not even a concern of mine right now,” Zimmerman said.

The 1,600 race will take place at 5:09 p.m.

Cannon Falls’ Hernke moves on

Cannon Falls senior Paul Hernke advanced to the Class 1A state track and field finals with a solid race in the 400-meter dash Friday at Hamline University.

Hernke finished fourth in his heat in 51.22 seconds and stayed near the lead until the final few meters.

Wesley DeLong, of Pillager, sits in first place after prelims with a time of 49.66 seconds.

Hernke will be seeded fifth in the finals today. The race is scheduled to take place at 5:46 p.m.

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