2012 Spring Preview: Woodbury girls track team looking for more in 2012

In 2011, the Woodbury girls track and field team proved that records were made to be broken.

This spring, the Royals are hoping to shatter some more.

Last year, the Lady Royals 1600-meter relay team of senior Lauren Domski, freshman Grace Rogers, junior Emily Twohig and eighth-grader Gina Versaguis took sixth place at the state meet in the event, while earning All-State honors and breaking the Woodbury High School record. Woodbury had a time of 3:55.55 in the finals to earn All-State and set the school record. Hopkins won the race with a Minnesota state meet record time of 3:51.26.

With three of the four runners returning from the record-setting relay, the event – and the sprints should be events to watch this spring.

Additionally, at last year’s state competition, the Woodbury girls 400-meter relay team finished in ninth place with a finals time of 50.26, Domski took 11th place in the 800-meter run and fellow 2011 graduate Jenna Kilgore competed in the vault at last year’s state meet.

Overall, the Woodbury girls finished 44th overall, with five points, out of the 64 girls teams that scored points at the state meet. Hopkins finished as the state champion in the girls meet with 84 points. Alexandria earned second place with 48 points.

The state competition was Kilgore and Domski’s final high school meet. Both are now competing for the women’s track and field team at the University of Minnesota.

However, this year – in addition to Rogers, Twohig and Versaguis – Maddy Haut and Lisa Huska are also back to help lead the Royals in 2012.

“The girls on the team know what lies ahead of them these upcoming months,” second year head coach Kaycee Moore said. “Last year’s team had many girls who were brand new to the sport and they are back again, with experience to help them early in the season. There is a large group of leaders on this team and they vary across a multitude of events. Plus, this weather has been insane. I am thinking it is a sign of good things to come.”

Woodbury hosts an invitational meet on Thursday at Royal Stadium. After that, key meets include the True Team Section competition on Thursday, May 10, the Suburban East Conference Championships on May 22 and May 24 at East Ridge and the Section 4AA Championships on May 29 and May 31 at Stillwater High School.

It’s believed Stillwater and White Bear Lake will likely be the teams to beat in the conference and in Section 4AA this spring.

“Having Stillwater and White Bear Lake for both conference and section pushes us throughout the season,” Moore said. “The Suburban East Conference has strong competitors in a wide array of events. Having the two other high schools within the district (East Ridge and Park) creates a inter-district rivalry that gets kids excited to compete.”

Tags: 2012 spring preview, sports, prep, updates