Thursday, March 28, 2024
STAFF PHOTO BY JOHNNIE PHILLIPS Owatonna’s Ryan Gregory leaps over a hurdle in the 300-meter hurdles race at the Section 1AAA Meet last weekend. Gregory won the race and contributed to the team win for the Huskies at the meet to qualify all boys athletes from the section meet for the state meet.STAFF PHOTO BY JOHNNIE PHILLIPS Huskies senior Ryan Gregory shows off a smile atop the podium at the Section 1AAA Meet last weekend after winning the 300-meter hurdles race. Gregory broke the school record in the 300-meter hurdles race with a time of 38.38 seconds, and qualified for the MSHSL State Meet.

RECORD SETTER Gregory enters OHS record books

Owatonna senior track athlete Ryan Gregory etched his name into the Owatonna High School record books last weekend at the Section 1AAA meet when he broke the Huskies’ 300-meter hurdles record time of 38.41 seconds by 0.3 seconds to hold sole possession of the school record at 38.38 seconds.

Gregory’s record time at the meet qualified the senior for the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Track Meet and contributed to the Huskies’ team win with a final tally of 198.5 points.

“There were too many emotions going on when I passed the finish line because I knew my race felt good. I was actually shocked when I saw it was a 38.38, but I knew I ran well,” said Gregory.

In breaking the school record, Gregory surpassed a mark set by Tim Warner in 1981 and duplicated by Jacob Johnson in 2016.

Gregory has been no stranger to personal best times this season, as the senior has shown continuous improvement in the 300-meter hurdles race.

In his first competition of the season, Gregory posted a time of 41.45 seconds at the Faribault Invitational before eventually beating that same mark in nine of 10 meets since.

In fact, Gregory’s mark of 38.38 is a full second better than the senior’s previous season-best mark of 39.38.

However, Gregory is no “one-trick pony” when it comes to track events.

The senior also finished second place in the 110-meter hurdles race behind teammate Carter Johnson with a personal-record time of 15.13.

Gregory’s personal best also qualified him to compete at the state meet for the 110-meter hurdles along with the 300-meter hurdles.

Both Johnson and Gregory shared a moment of excitement for one another during the 110-meter hurdles race by turning to look at one another and letting out a cheer of excitement before crossing the finish line.

In a season where the Owatonna Huskies finished a program-best third place as a team at the MSHSL State Team Meet, Gregory and the Huskies boys squad will all have another crack at state podiums as all members of the boys team who competed at the Section 1AAA meet will be eligible to compete at the MSHSL State Individual Meet.

Gregory will slot into his usual 110 and 300-meter hurdles role with hopes of bringing home some hardware for the Owatonna Huskies trophy cases when the team competes next at St. Michael-Albertville High School from June 9-11.

 

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