Sophomore Drake Carlson had the ….

Sophomore Drake Carlson had the best results of any Red Raider at state.

Carlson placed in every event he participated in. His 23 points on the day was fifth place overall, and his best event, the one mile, led to a silver medal, as he crossed the finish line only behind defending state champion Noah Eckelberg of Columbus Catholic.

Carlson’s time of 5:30.40 was a PR, but his day was jam packed with four events. It would be a long day, but he put trust in coach Otto, who admitted this was also new territory for him.

“It’s a learning experience for myself, and I couldn’t be happier for Drake. He’s worked all this spring with the track team, and he’s had to listen to me tell him he has to do this, this and this today,” Otto said. “But you know, he’s up there getting some medals for his effort, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Carlson added more hardware to his silver medal with three fourth place finishes in the 100-meters (22.32), the 400-meters (1:20.42) and the shot put (17-03.25).

For some athletes, like Hope, Sam, Jared and Matt, the completion of the WIAA D-2 meet on Friday was the final day in a Red Raiders uniform. For others, Friday was the start of something more.

“I got a lot of young kids coming back,” Otto said. “They got the feeling and found out that it’s a little nerve-wracking. But all those kids are back next year. The kids are all coachable; down the road they are going to be great in life and great in track in the coming years.”