East Ridge girls track & field: Raptors take fifth place at conference relays

East Ridge High School sophomore Sandra Gramer had never competed in the hurdles prior to last Tuesday’s Suburban East Conference Relays at Roseville High School.

But when the team needed someone to run in the 300 intermediate hurdles, Gramer not only stepped in, she won her heat.

“She’s a distance runner, and all my distance runners were done, so when [Gramer] started running, they all ran across the other side of the track to cheer her on,” said East Ridge coach Lloyd Ness. “They were so amazed and so happy. Here she was, thrown into the hurdles and is going to win this event.”

Individual times were not tallied, as the meet was a relay format. But Gramer was part of the Raptors’ sixth-place finishing 4x300 hurdles team (3 minutes, 39.96 seconds). The 800 sprint medley relay, comprised of Raven Tittle, Brenley Goertzen, Kathleen Marcus and Emily Burlog, finished second in 1:57.92. East Ridge also earned second place in the 4x400 (4:12.16) and 4x200 (1:51.66), while winning the 8x200 (3:53.22).

“The conference relays are a different type of meet that we don’t do very often,” Ness said. “It’s kind of nice because everything is added up, and that determines your finishes and your place.”

Overall, the team placed fifth with 96 points – one point behind neighbor and fourth-place finisher Woodbury (97). Stillwater won with 166 points, followed by Mounds View with 136.

Because of her inaugural contribution to the 4x300 hurdles and high jump, Gramer, as well as eighth-grader Karina Joiner, was awarded a candy bar – a small, fun token of honor given to a Raptor each week, Ness said.

“Both of these girls did run good times,” Ness said. “They were almost exactly the same.”

The Raptors are back on the road this week, with a meet at Wayzata today. A meet at Simley, which was previously scheduled for tomorrow, has been canceled.

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