Roseville Girls Track Looks To Repeat State Success

Longtime girls track and field coach Mark Sotebeer is a man of many accomplishments. Sending all four of his relay teams to state a year ago might not rank atop the list.

But to do it two years in a row?

It’s not out of reach for a Raiders squad that used its relay teams to bolster a fourth-place overall finish at the 2010 Class AA state meet.

This year, Roseville returns 13 of its 16 runners from the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 meter relays. The 4x200 team currently holds the fastest time in Minnesota—a 1:44.71 performance at the Hamline Elite Meet in April—while the 4x400 team ranks in the top 10 in state.

Heading into their Suburban East Conference championship meet this week  (with the finals on Thursday), the Raiders are as united as ever—perhaps even more so than in 2010.

“I feel a little closer to my teammates this year,” said senior Ellie Wilson, who runs in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. “We always give each other encouragement before the race. We can’t have any doubts about how the team or how the race is going to go.”

Wilson, a member of the third-place 4x200 and eighth-place 4x400 relays a year ago, isn’t the only confident Raider runner. Sophomore Sammy Nielsen of the defending Class AA champion 4x800 relay team says her squad is in good shape despite mid-season turnover.

Danielle Dickson, who runs on the 4x100 meter relay team, said her squad will compete for an appearance at state despite losing three runners—one to graduation, one to transfer and one to injury.

Even Becca Dyson, a distance runner who normally doesn’t run relays, understands that where there is teamwork, there is security.

“You always run faster with a baton in your hand,” Dyson said, “because you know you have people counting on you. It’s a different atmosphere.”

Dyson’s words echo those of her coach. Sotebeer, in his 30th season as coach, recognizes how special Roseville girls are, and it's not just because of their team approach that starts with a strong relationship off the track.

Sotebeer said because many of his girls are multi-sport athletes, they thrive under the pressure of the big moment. It's a type of pressure that will only grow as the season progresses and his team draws more attention from fans and rivals alike.

“It’s one thing to [race] in a practice,” Sotebeer said. “It’s another thing to do it in a meet, and it’s a third thing to do it in a meet when you have 5,000 people watching you.”

The latter will be the scene for those who make it to state—and Sotebeer expects his team to produce more than a few.

Sotebeer said he believes his team can qualify in as many as 12 out of 18 events, which will likely place it in the top five. Hopkins, which won last year's Class AA team title and this year's Class AAA True Team crown behind the strength of its relays, is the overwhelming favorite to win it again.

Sotebeer calls the Royals, “one of those once-in-a-lifetime teams. ... If nothing goes wrong with them, they’ll be the champ and everyone else will be going for second [place] down.”

Even more of a concern is section rival Stillwater, which returns stronger and more motivated after losing each of its four relay races to Roseville in 2010.

“We have to beat Stillwater to go to state,” Sotebeer said, “and that’s going to take everything we have."