Already this season, Kyle Verley has broken his Gopher Conference-best time in the 100-meter dash.

Friday, March 31, 2000

Already this season, Kyle Verley has broken his Gopher Conference-best time in the 100-meter dash.

The Blooming Prairie sophomore sprinter won the 100 in 11.7 seconds last season, and has since proven himself faster than that in spring practice.

"He can really lift ’em up and put ’em down," Blooming Prairie boys’ track-and-field coach Dan Jacobusse said. "We’ve just got to keep him healthy. He’s good."

Verley is one of a handful of athletes returning from last season’s Gopher Conference champions.

"We lost several key people," said Jacobusse, who is in his 13th year as the coach. "We’re kind of thin. But we’ve got some quality."

Seniors Jon Krejci, who throws shot and discus, and Andy Hjelmen, a short distance (800 meters) runner, are the cornerstones of the team.

Tony Nelson, a mid-distance runner, Karl Hatteberg, a 3,200- meter runner, Joe Hjelmen, a 400-meter and long jump specialist, and sprinter Maley Chheang round out the core of the team.

In each of the last two seasons, the Blossoms’ 4 x 800 relay finished second in Section 2A to a relay team from track-power Plainview, missing out on state berths first by 0.14 and last year by 0.21 seconds.

With just 12 athletes out for the team this season, that is not likely to happen again. The Blossoms simply won’t have the depth to rally behind their relays.

But with Verley and Co., the the Blossoms will likely be a team to watch out for in individual events.