On May 1, HHS senior Joe Klecker did something that has never been done by a Minnesota high schooler.

Klecker, a captain of the track and field team, ran the 3200 meters in a time of 8:50.12 minutes in the Howard Wood Dakota Relays. His time not only shattered the Minnesota state-record time of 8:56, it was good enough to be the fastest time in the country in the 3200 this year.

“I was pretty pumped up. That was my goal, so I was just relieved to [run the race],” said Klecker. “There was a lot up build-up to that one race so I was pretty relieved to be able to unwind for a little bit.”

As for the outcome, Klecker believes that his time in the Dakota Relays will help him qualify for other meets after the season.

“I was pretty happy just because I wanted to get into some post-season meets and this should be a good enough time to qualify for them. That’s basically what I’m most happy for,” said Klecker.

Will Lauer, senior, from Sioux Falls Lincoln High School in South Dakota, finished in second place with a time of 9:01.85. That time was Lauer’s personal best and shattered his school’s record in the 3200 meters by nearly five seconds.

“The first couple laps we switched off leading it [the race] because it was a little bit windy, so he would go in front of me and kind of block the wind and then I’d go in front of him so we kind of worked together and raced together at the beginning,” said Klecker.

Klecker has already committed to run cross country for the University of Colorado-Boulder, the number one-ranked collegiate cross country team in the nation. His success in cross country has helped him with his success in track and field.

“It [cross country] just builds a lot of strength. With track, the races are shorter and cross country is good because there is a lot of longer runs so when track comes around you are pretty strong by then,” said Klecker.

Up next for Klecker is the Minnesota state meet. Last year, Klecker finished third in the mile run at state.

“We have our true team section and then normal section. So try and get our team to true team state and advance from our section into the state meet,” said Klecker.