East Ridge boys track & field: Cline wins high jump, triple jump at Edina Invite

Sidelined because of injury, East Ridge High School’s Jayden Cline returned to the field last Friday for his first competition of the season.

He made his presence known. The Raptors senior won both the triple jump and the high jump, in 42 feet, 4 inches, and 6 feet, respectively.

“He’s one of our best jumpers, but he’s been hurt, so he’s so much more capable than that,” East Ridge coach Shannon Rainey said of Friday’s heights. “We’re very happy with him. I’m sure he’s happy to be back and able to jump again.”

The Raptors finished the meet in fifth place with 72 points, while Eden Prairie won with 165.5 points. Stillwater followed with 159.5 points.

The Raptors also produced second-place finishes in both the 4x100 and 800 relays: Emilio Huerta, Jarred Morris, Valentin Huerta and Dayo Ogundepo were runner-up in the 4x100 in 45.32 seconds, while Nate Roese, Emilio Huerta, Valentin Huerta and Ogundepo finished second in the 800 relay with 1:33.48.

Earlier in the week, a full flock of Raptors competed at the Bob Stewart Invitational on May 1, as teams were allowed to compete with more athletes per event than is often the case in other prep meets. As a team, East Ridge finished in fifth with 81 points behind winner Mounds View (285.5 points) and runner-up Stillwater (217.5). Emilio Huerta took second place in the 200, finishing in 24.18 – a performance that is reflective of the great year he’s having, Rainey said. August Ollrich also collected silver honors, finishing the 400 in 53.42.

The 4x100 team took second with 44.78 and the 4x200 was second with 1:32.9. Both of these relays have state meet potential, though they will need to get past Woodbury: The Royals beat the Raptors in both the 4x100 (43.68) and the 4x200 (1:32.46), and will be in the same section as the Raptors. To defeat them will require smoother handoffs, Rainey said.

As for the True Team Section, which is held tomorrow at Stillwater, the Royals and hosting Ponies will be the teams to beat, Rainey said. Since the meet is scored in order to measure team depth instead of individual standouts, teams with the deepest pool of skill, speed, and strength will take tomorrow’s title.

“We don’t have quite the depth yet. We’re still pretty young,” he said. “Our sprinters are pretty strong, but we don’t have the depth compared to Stillwater in the distance.”

The meet marks the final stretch of the Raptors’ regular season. Conference prelims and finals will May 22 and 24, respectively, at East Ridge. Section prelims and finals will be May 29 and 31, respectively, at the University of St. Thomas.

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