Park track & field: Alowonle wins four state championships, Wolfpack take second as team

Park senior R.J. Alowonle went out with a bang.

Alowonle, who will attend the University of North Carolina on a track scholarship next fall, won four state championships at the 2012 Minnesota State Track and Field Meet, held Friday and Saturday at Hamline University in St. Paul. The four state titles this year give Alowonle seven state championships overall.

At this year’s state meet, Alowonle defended his state championship titles in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, won the triple jump state championship and helped Park’s 400-meter relay team become state champions.

Alowonle won the triple jump state title on Friday with a mark of 47 feet, 11 inches to beat Apple Valley junior Jordan Charles, who had a jump of 46-01. Then, after breaking the state meet record in the 110-meter hurdles in the prelims Friday with a time of 13.88 seconds, Alowonle won the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.04 in Saturday’s finals. He then ran the third leg of the 400-meter relay, along with fellow senior D’Monte Farley and juniors Irving Gutierrez and Dylan Smallidge, helping the Wolfpack win the championship with a time of 42.19 – ahead of North St. Paul’s 42.50.

But, he wasn’t done yet.

In his final high school race, Alowonle won the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 36.59, which broke the Dan Bannister’s state meet record of 36.97 from 1985.

Last year, the Wolfpack finished tied for third as a team in the state meet with 42 points along with Eden Prairie. With 47 points, Stillwater won the state championship, followed by runner-up Wayzata with 43 points.

In addition to Alowonle’s exploits, Farley finished his high school career by earning All-State in four events. Along with running the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay, the University of North Dakota recruit earned third place in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 9 inches, took fourth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.88 and finished in eighth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.47.

In the girls state meet, Park sophomore Temi Ogunrinde earned All-State honors as well, taking third place in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 57.27. Cretin-Derham Hall sophomore Megan Linder won the state championship with a time of 56.53 in the event.

See the full story and additional photos in the June 13 issue of the Bulletin

Tags: track and field, sports, park, wolfpack, prep, updates