Reusse: Carter Reckelberg turns jumping and sprinting into a mission — and a state championship for Becker

There are two runways and pits to serve participants in the long jump and triple jump at the St. Michael-Albertville High School athletic complex. They are located behind a fence, at the scoreboard end of the Knights’ football and track facility.

These horizontal leapers being somewhat isolated as competitors serves a long-held belief when it comes to track and field. For sure, all of this competition is extremely objective with very little influence from the officials.

You get there first, you soar the highest or the longest, or you throw the farthest, you win.

Watching the replay-filled, modern day whine-a-thons, we have to admit that’s darn great, don’t we?

And in the running events, there can be nods of good luck toward one another at the starting line, and perhaps exhausted embraces after fantastic finishes, but here’s another belief:

In the field events, the athletes see each other so often, and spend so much waiting around for their next “flight” to start, they almost become chums.

There was a demonstration of this as the Class 2A boys long jump had reached its final stage just before noon Thursday. The nine finalists would get six jumps — bunches of three with a short break in between.

There are jumps when you start a half-foot behind the board and flounder like a turkey. And there are jumps when all is in sync and you’re out there a foot beyond the last one.

Jacob Tilly from St. Francis had attained cheers and back slaps earlier, but not his full smile, because the official measurements did not reach his goal: 23 feet.

“Jacob and I have been in so many meets together,” Carter Reckelberg from Becker said. “He’s a good guy. And I knew how badly Jacob wanted 23 feet.”

Tilly’s takeoff was precise, the jump was explosive, the landing was pure. But there in that evil, unpredictable sand, where the flag was planted, what would the lasered reading reveal?

It took almost a minute. And then came the verdict: 23 feet, one-quarter inch.

A cheer exploded. And Reckelberg raced over from high in the runway to give Tilly a quick embrace of congratulations.

And you get the impression Carter would have done that even if he didn’t already have a third straight Class 2A long jump title clinched with an earlier jump of 23 feet, 11¼ inches.

Reckelberg still had one more jump, and the crowd near the pits — family, friends, fans and the other competitors — slapped their hands over their heads in rhythmic clapping.

Here came Carter, everything right on cue, a powerful landing, a quick rise and then, just for a moment. a dismissive glance back at the sand.

Distance: 24 feet, 1¾ inches.

On Wednesday night, I talked with Dwight Lundeen, Reckelberg’s varsity football coach for the past three seasons with the mighty Becker Bulldogs. The legendary football leader had been in the stadium for the prelims earlier.

“If the weather’s right, Carter could be thinking 25 feet in the finals,” Lundeen said. “He made a mark in the pit for that. Twenty-five feet … that’s college stuff."

As it turned out, Reckelberg had another goal: Helping (or leading) Becker to its first state track title.

To get there, he would be running the 100-meter dash at 10:16 a.m., followed by anchoring the 4x200 relay at 10:37 a.m., and over behind the fence, the need to take three long jumps in the prelims to determine the nine finalists.

The long jump prelims started at 9 a.m., and Reckelberg went to the pit and asked if he could jump early. “Most meets have the 100 and the relay close together like this, and the officials will let someone in both of those go early,” he said. “They said, ‘No.’ More strict at the state meet.”

Gus Staryzak from Monticello won the 100 at 10.70, and Reckelberg needed a burst to finish second at 10.87. Twenty-six minutes later, the gun went off for the 4x200 relay, and he needed a longer, more impressive burst to get Becker to second behind Alexandria’s loaded quartet of speed.

“After that, I couldn’t feel my legs in the first couple of jumps in the prelims,” Reckelberg said. “I finally got one on the last try.”

His legs were fully back for the finals, he blew off the sand with the 24-footer and a third long jump title, and then one more race would decide the Class 2A title: 12:50 p.m. — the 200-meter dash.

“We needed Carter to finish first, and he did, at the tape,” Lundeen said. “The Alexandria sprinter was back a bit, and that clinched the title for Becker.”

To go with the unbeaten football title last fall to which Reckelberg contributed — a receiver, then some explosive running plays.

He’s now headed to North Dakota State, for track and field.

“Playing Bulldogs football was great, but track always has been my No. 1 sport,” he said. “I discovered the long jump the first day. I can’t give that up.”

Man vs. Sand. And Reckelberg won again Thursday.