Lewis siblings lead Edison girls to 1A track title

Whether it's basketball, volleyball, academics or track and field, Minneapolis Edison's Lewis sisters are always focused on one thing: beating each other.

And, as they showed at the Class 1A track and field state meet at Hamline University on Saturday, accomplishing that goal usually means beating nearly everyone else, too.

Jia Lewis, an eighth-grader, won the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.28 seconds. Older sister Jada, a freshman, finished third.

Then, roughly two hours later, it was Jai again, winning in the 200, with Jada third again.

Two state titles. Four podium finishes. Bragging rights to little sister.

"We've been talking about it since we found out we were going to state this year; we wanted to come out and take it," Jia said.

The chilly, overcast and windy conditions for the Class 1A events made for some slick footing.

The young Lewis sisters stole the show.

"We want to just keep pushing each other to do better," Jada said.

Added Jia: "It's a family effort, running together."

Jon Tollefson of St. Croix Lutheran went over the race "at least 100 times in my head" before stepping into the starting blocks.

Through all that visualization, though, Tollefson never saw it exactly as it did Saturday.

Tollefson passed Lundquist on the final hurdle, winning by one thousandth of a second, 38.317 to 38.318.

"It sort of felt up in the air for how it'd go," he said. "I was just hoping it'd click, and, luckily, it did."

With the pair of titles, Tollefson has swept the 1A state hurdle events in back-to-back years.

It was a busy day on the podium for Tyler Beehler. The Foley senior successfully defended his state titles in both the 100 and 200, and he helped anchor Foley's winning 4x100 relay team.

And none of the races were ever in doubt.

Jaelin Beachy of Staples-Motley dominated the girls' 100-meter hurdles, finishing in a personal-best 14.90 seconds. It was her third consecutive title in the event.

"It's just surprising, looking back, to think I could do that three years in a row," said a teary-eyed Beachy, who will run track at North Dakota State next year.