Track and field's elite to gather at Hamline meet

The best track and field athletes in Minnesota — well, most of them — will gather Friday at Klas Stadium in St. Paul for the 10th annual Hamline Elite Meet.

Any track and field athlete can register for the meet, but as the name of the meet implies, the field is limited and entries are accepted based on the best marks posted this year. Entries still are being accepted, so the list of athletes expected to compete is not yet available, but the meet has a history of attracting a state-tournament caliber field.

One of the things that makes the meet attractive to competitors and fans is its selectivity. Fans can attend and know they will see some of the best Minnesota has to offer. Many of those same athletes use the meet as a springboard to state tournament success.

For example, Cretin-Derham Hall's Brieasha Hunter parlayed a victory in the 100-meter dash to a championship in the same event at the Class 2A meet six weeks later, as did Minnetonka's girls' 4x800-meter relay team.

Competition begins at 5:30 p.m. and wraps up with a crowd favorite, the 4x400 relays, at approximately 9.

Other events worth noting this week:

Friday-Saturday: Tri-State Invitational at Edinburgh USA. Twenty-six of the best boys' golf teams from the Upper Midwest converge on Edinburgh USA in Brooklyn Park for the most highly anticipated boys' meet of the season. Led by No. 1-ranked Edina, nine of the top 10 teams in the most recent MGA state high school rankings (www.mngolf.org) will be on hand for this two-day event.

Thursday: Rosemount at Prior Lake, 4:15 p.m.

Wednesday: Forest Lake at Cretin-Derham Hall, 4:30 p.m.