Saragh Fraser finishes 7th at State track meet

Less than one percent of the high school athletes in Minnesota make it to the State Championships and less than half of those athletes move on to the State Finals. Saragh Fraser of Rainy River did just that this weekend at the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet.
In front of a crowd of over 11,000 spectators and three television stations providing state-wide coverage at Hamline University’s athletic complex, Fraser raced, in the 400m dash, to an all-time personal best and another new school record of 59 seconds breaking the record she had just set last week for the Rainy River/Lake of the Woods Bears! In an elite group of grade 11 and grade 12 athletes, Fraser stood out as the only grade nine athlete to have made her way to the starting blocks of this event.
Friday’s weather proved to be perfect for the preliminary heats of the two day track and field meet. Fraser pushed herself past nine other established runners to take the 5th spot in the fastest heat of the day behind the likes of last years State Champion and the current 400m record holder Ashley Tinglestad of East Grand Forks.
Saturday’s weather did not prove to be ideal for the runners as rain and high winds challenged each of them in the State Finals on a track whose backstretch was flooded with up to five inches of water. Tinglestad again won the event with a 58 second run and Fraser raced in at one minute edging eight other runners out of medal contention. Fraser came in seventh in the finals out of a field of 16. Top nine champions are medalists. That makes her as the seventh fastest runner in Minnesota.
With most of the competition in the 400m sprints graduating this year, Fraser hopes to achieve even more next season. Her focus now is to prepare for the upcoming Cross Country season with her ever present catch phrase “I just want to make it to State!”