The 2026 season will long be remembered as one of the finest in Hastings Raiders track and field history. After the boys claimed the 2025 Class AAA state championship, expectations were high entering the spring, but the Raiders managed to exceed them. By the time the final event concluded at the MSHSL Class AAA State Championships in June, both the boys and girls teams had finished third in the state, five state championships had been won, multiple Class AAA records had fallen, and Hastings had firmly established itself as one of Minnesota's premier track and field programs.
Head coach Jason Koch entered the season with an experienced group led by returning state competitors Sebastian Strauss, Lane Hoffman, Gunner Hanstad, Parker Stoltz, Tristan Herbst and Aiden Reuter on the boys side, while Ellie Magnus, Olyvia Erickson and Mya Bauer returned to lead the girls. The combination of veteran leadership and talented newcomers gave the Raiders strength across nearly every event area.
The season unofficially began with indoor time trials, allowing athletes to compete in a meet setting before the outdoor schedule opened. Koch viewed the event as an opportunity to evaluate athletes under competitive conditions while helping younger competitors learn meet routines and expectations. Even in the preseason atmosphere, the depth of the Raiders program was evident as veterans and newcomers pushed one another in every event.
Once the outdoor season began, Hastings wasted little time proving it would once again be among the state's elite programs.
The Raiders opened Metro East Conference competition by sweeping both varsity team championships at Simley. The boys scored 145 points while the girls totaled 120, showcasing remarkable depth throughout the lineup. Lane Hoffman won the boys 200 meters, Zachary Shatek captured the 100, Sebastian Strauss dominated the 400, Aiden Reuter won the 800, Will Carry claimed the 3200 and Aven Johnson topped the field in the 300-meter hurdles. The boys also captured victories in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays while scoring heavily in nearly every event.
The girls matched that success behind Ellie Magnus, who won both the 100 and 400 meters, while Grace Braucks captured the 300-meter hurdles. Relay victories came in both the 4x100 and 4x400, and Mya Bauer, Linnea Ronning, Natalie Knutson and numerous teammates added valuable points as Hastings immediately established itself as the conference favorite.
The success continued over the following weeks as the Raiders consistently defeated conference opponents while measuring themselves against some of Minnesota's strongest invitationals.
At a triangular against South St. Paul and Two Rivers, Hastings again swept both team titles. Sebastian Strauss won both the 100 and 200 meters with personal best performances before Cody Weber captured the 400. Aiden Reuter, Benjamin Schwanke and Aven Johnson added victories, while the boys dominated the relay events, winning the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 while sweeping the top two places in both the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
The girls produced an equally impressive afternoon. Magnus swept the 100 and 200, Olyvia Erickson won the 400, Linnea Ronning captured the 800, Clara Hochmuth won the 3200, Jenevieve Behnke took the 100 hurdles, and Mya Bauer claimed the high jump. Olivia Schuster added a pole vault victory as the girls accumulated points in every phase of the meet.
Another highlight of the regular season came during a large invitational featuring Owatonna, Duluth East, Two Rivers, East Ridge, Simley and several other strong programs. The Hastings boys claimed the team championship while the girls finished second. The Raider boys swept relay victories in the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, sprint medley and 1600-meter sprint medley, demonstrating the remarkable sprint depth that would eventually carry them through the postseason. Individual performances from Parker Stoltz, Will Carry, Henry Naber, Daniel Foss, Aven Johnson and others complemented the dominant relay performances.
The girls matched that success by winning the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and sprint medley relays while receiving strong individual finishes from Grace Braucks, Jenevieve Behnke, Natalie Knutson, Olivia Schuster and Mya Bauer. Hastings' ability to score in both track and field events consistently kept both teams near the top of every team standings sheet throughout the spring.
If there was one meet that announced Hastings as a legitimate statewide championship contender, it was the Hamline Elite Meet.
Competing against athletes from 138 invited schools, the Raiders turned in one of the finest single-meet performances in program history.
Lane Hoffman won the boys 200 meters in a meet-record 21.22 seconds, the fastest time in Minnesota at the time. Sebastian Strauss finished second in the 400 in 47.58, while Gunner Hanstad placed fourth in a personal-best 48.73, giving Hastings three of the state's fastest quarter-milers.
The boys 4x200 relay of Hanstad, Zachary Shatek, Strauss and Hoffman broke the meet record while running the state's fastest time at 1:25.17. The 4x400 relay of Hoffman, Hanstad, Cody Weber and Strauss also claimed first place while breaking the meet record.
The girls were equally impressive. Ellie Magnus won the 200 meters in a personal-best 24.28, the fastest time in Minnesota. The girls 4x200 relay of Kaylin Jelks, Olyvia Erickson, Jersey Appert and Magnus broke another meet record while moving to No. 1 in the state rankings. Hastings also won the mixed 4x400 relay, completing an unforgettable evening against the state's best competition.
By the middle of May, the Raiders had become the team every opponent measured itself against.
The championship portion of the season began with the Section 2AAA True Team meet and the Matt Kero Memorial Invitational, two meets that reinforced Hastings' standing among Minnesota's premier programs.
At the True Team meet, the Raiders competed against schools they would later see during the section tournament. The girls placed fourth while the boys finished sixth in a loaded field featuring Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Eagan and Woodbury. Although team placements were secondary, the meet provided valuable postseason experience and highlighted the Raiders' remarkable depth across sprint, distance, hurdle, relay and field events.
Three days later, Hastings traveled north to Duluth for the Matt Kero Memorial Invitational, where both teams delivered outstanding performances. The Raider boys finished second among 14 teams with 116 points, trailing only Duluth East, while the girls missed the championship by just two points, finishing second with 163 points to Duluth East's 165. Elliott Hagen and Richard Boyer led the boys in the 100 meters, while relay teams, field athletes and distance runners consistently added points throughout the afternoon. The close team finishes demonstrated that Hastings could compete with quality programs from across the state, not just within the Metro East Conference.
The Metro East Conference Championships became the defining regular season meet.
When the final event concluded, Hastings had swept both conference team championships.
The Raider girls accumulated 184.5 points to edge Two Rivers, while the boys scored 158 points to comfortably claim their conference title. The victories reflected months of work and remarkable balance across every discipline.
Lane Hoffman captured conference championships in both the 100 and 200 meters. Sebastian Strauss won the 400 while Gunner Hanstad consistently placed near the top of the sprint events. The Raiders swept the top three places in the boys 100 meters as Hoffman, Strauss and Zachary Shatek crossed the finish line one after another. Hastings also won conference titles in the boys 4x200 and 4x400 relays while receiving valuable points from Aven Johnson, Finn Cullen, Aiden Reuter, Will Carry, Tristan Herbst, David Tireman, Henry Naber, Xavier Timm, Daniel Foss, Cole Ebeling and many others.
The girls were just as dominant.
Ellie Magnus completed an extraordinary triple crown, winning conference championships in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. Grace Braucks added a conference title in the 300-meter hurdles after edging South St. Paul's Annie Spreigl by one-hundredth of a second. Olyvia Erickson placed second in the 400, Jenevieve Behnke earned runner-up honors in the 100 hurdles, and Linnea Ronning, Sara Siebenaler, Clara Hochmuth, Lucy Burmeister and Katherine Nowak all contributed valuable distance points. Relay teams added another steady stream of scoring, while Mya Bauer, Natalie Knutson, Piper Brockman, Olivia Schuster and others strengthened the field events.
By the end of the conference championships, Hastings had proven it wasn't built around a handful of stars. The Raiders won because they scored everywhere. Sprint races, distance events, hurdles, relays and field events all contributed to the conference sweep.
The momentum carried directly into the Section 3AAA Championships at Macalester College.
Facing one of the deepest sections in Minnesota, the Raider boys placed third while the girls finished fourth. More importantly, Hastings qualified 11 athletes and three relay teams for the Class AAA State Meet.
Ellie Magnus continued one of the greatest sprint seasons in school history by winning both the 100 and 200 meters, setting a section record of 11.80 seconds in the 100. Olyvia Erickson captured the 400-meter championship, while Mya Bauer won the high jump to earn another trip to state.
On the boys side, Lane Hoffman won the 200, Sebastian Strauss dominated the 400, and Zachary Shatek earned state berths in both the 100 and 200. Gunner Hanstad and Matthew Jelks also qualified in the 400 after joining Strauss among the section's fastest quarter-milers.
The relay teams continued rewriting the record books.
The girls 4x200 relay of Kaylin Jelks, Erickson, Jersey Appert and Magnus won the section title in meet-record fashion. The boys 4x200 relay of Hanstad, Shatek, Strauss and Hoffman also broke the meet record while winning the championship. The boys 4x400 quartet of Hoffman, Hanstad, Brayden Thomsen and Strauss completed the sweep with another meet record and another section title.
By the conclusion of the section meet, Hastings had positioned itself for an unforgettable weekend at state.
The Class AAA State Championships exceeded even the highest expectations.
Both Raider teams finished third in the state, making Hastings the only school in Minnesota to place both its boys and girls teams among the top three.
The boys accumulated 56 points while the girls scored 43, capping one of the greatest seasons in school history.
Individual performances quickly turned into state championships.
Lane Hoffman defended his Class AAA title in the 200 meters, winning in 21.09 seconds. Sebastian Strauss delivered perhaps the signature performance of the meet, capturing the 400-meter championship in 46.61 while setting a new Minnesota all-time state record after already posting a record during preliminaries. Gunner Hanstad added a third-place finish in the same race, giving Hastings two podium finishers in one of the state's premier events.
The girls answered with championship performances of their own.
The 4x200 relay team of Kaylin Jelks, Olyvia Erickson, Jersey Appert and Ellie Magnus won the Class AAA championship in 1:39.51 after qualifying first. Magnus added a runner-up finish in the 100 and fourth place in the 200, narrowly missing another podium finish by one-hundredth of a second. Erickson finished third in the 400, while Mya Bauer earned another state medal by placing third in the high jump.
The boys relay teams then delivered a historic finish.
The 4x200 relay of Hanstad, Shatek, Strauss and Hoffman shattered the Class AAA record with a winning time of 1:24.29. Later, Matthew Jelks, Hanstad, Hoffman and Strauss won the 4x400 relay in another Class AAA record of 3:13.09.
When the final points were tallied, Hastings had produced five state championships, multiple Class AAA records, an all-time Minnesota state record, and podium finishes throughout nearly every sprint event.
While the state titles and records captured the headlines, the 2026 season was about much more than championships. The Raiders developed remarkable depth across every event group. Veterans consistently delivered in the biggest moments, younger athletes earned valuable varsity experience, and relay teams became the standard by which other programs measured themselves.
Strauss, Hoffman, Hanstad, Magnus, Erickson and Bauer became household names across Minnesota track and field, but they were supported every week by teammates like Shatek, Jelks, Appert, Thomsen, Matthew Jelks, Ronning, Braucks, Reuter, Carry, Hochmuth, Siebenaler, Naber, Timm, Foss and dozens of others whose contributions helped build conference championships and state trophies.
By season's end, Hastings had won both Metro East Conference team championships, produced multiple section champions, qualified a large contingent for state, earned five Class AAA state titles, broke numerous meet and state records, and became the only program in Minnesota with both boys and girls teams finishing among the top three at the Class AAA State Meet.
For a program coming off a boys state championship in 2025, the Raiders somehow found a way to raise the bar even higher in 2026, adding another remarkable chapter to one of the state's premier track and field traditions.