April 11, 2024 An energetic 4th-grade kid living in Hibbing, Mike Palmquist, born in 1957, says, “I just started running around the school, a four-block area, and I’d feel better.” It was the start of an illustrious running career for the oldest of seven children—all who would perform well in cross country and track—of JamesContinue reading “MIKE PALMQUIST: FORTUNATE TO BE PART OF MINNESOTA RUNNING SCENE”
Tag Archives: Roy Griak
MIKE GEBEKE: 1979 WHITE BEAR LAKE STATE TRACK CHAMPION BECAME PART OF GRIAK SNOTTY NOSE TOUGH TEAMS AT U OF MN AND COMPETED INTERNATIONALLY
November 17, 2023 The oldest of five athletic children, Mike Gebeke (pronounced Gĕb∙key) was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1961, and moved to White Bear Lake, Minnesota, as a preschool-aged child. Parents Chuck, a mechanical engineer at 3M, and Renee, an elementary teacher, also had four daughters: Jill, a basketball player at St. CloudContinue reading “MIKE GEBEKE: 1979 WHITE BEAR LAKE STATE TRACK CHAMPION BECAME PART OF GRIAK SNOTTY NOSE TOUGH TEAMS AT U OF MN AND COMPETED INTERNATIONALLY”
BOB WAGNER: RAN FOR COACH GRIAK AT ST. LOUIS PARK HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
September 27, 2023 “I was one lucky athlete to end up in St. Louis Park,” is how Bob “Wags” Wagner, born in 1946, describes his family’s move from Charles City, Iowa, to the Minneapolis western suburb when he was in 9th grade. In phy ed class, teacher Roy Griak saw the new kid not wearingContinue reading “BOB WAGNER: RAN FOR COACH GRIAK AT ST. LOUIS PARK HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA”
RYAN LAMPPA: 1977 STATE TRACK 440-YARD DASH 1-2 FINISH BY SMALL-COMMUNITY BENSON RUNNERS UNDER 50 SECONDS IS PRETTY AMAZING
July 25, 2023 “I had an idyllic childhood,” says Ryan Lamppa of life in the small Minnesota communities of Blackduck and Benson (located 125 miles west of Minneapolis and serves as the county seat of Swift County). The fifth of six children of Herman “Roger” (a Flying Finn from Embarrass under the tutelage of coachContinue reading “RYAN LAMPPA: 1977 STATE TRACK 440-YARD DASH 1-2 FINISH BY SMALL-COMMUNITY BENSON RUNNERS UNDER 50 SECONDS IS PRETTY AMAZING”
BRUCE MORTENSON: 185,300 MILES; WE KEPT EACH OTHER RUNNING
February 7, 2023 A 1943 New Year’s Eve baby born in Minneapolis was probably churning his legs immediately after birth and they have never stopped for any time of significant duration. People in the Minnesota running community can probably guess that the person who has logged 185,300 miles can only be Bruce Mortenson, a runnerContinue reading “BRUCE MORTENSON: 185,300 MILES; WE KEPT EACH OTHER RUNNING”
David Van Orsdel: RUNNER TURNED EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST NOW “ALL IN” AS HE RIDES ON EMOTION
November 16, 2022 “I was always obsessed with sports,” says David Van Orsdelwho moved to Hopkins, Minnesota from Minneapolis at the age of one. One of two sons of Lil (Lundeen) and Scott Van Orsdel, a sprinter at Concordia College in Moorhead, David, born in 1984, grew to 5’ 8” by 8th grade—and has remainedContinue reading “David Van Orsdel: RUNNER TURNED EUROPEAN PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST NOW “ALL IN” AS HE RIDES ON EMOTION”
DANIEL HUMES: RUNNING AT A TIME OF CROSSROADS
The sport of running changed dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s with the construction and marketing of lightweight, supportive shoes through the founding of Nike (its predecessor was Blue Ribbon Sports) in 1964; the advent of synthetic surface running tracks starting in the 1968 Olympics; and the implementation of Title IX in 1972 which allowedContinue reading “DANIEL HUMES: RUNNING AT A TIME OF CROSSROADS”
JOHN, ED, AND BILL TWOMEY: WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING GAMES AND RUNNING
In the late 1950s, surgeon John Twomey (pronounced too-mee) and his wife, Katie, a medical technologist, moved their young family from Northeast Minneapolis to the western suburb of Golden Valley, Minnesota. Three boys, John, Ed, and Bill, and an infant daughter, Cathie, were in tow. “We were always outside playing games like capture the flagContinue reading “JOHN, ED, AND BILL TWOMEY: WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING GAMES AND RUNNING”
M Club Induction, Fall Sports Start
On Thursday, September 13th, eight Gopher athletes were inducted into the prestigious M Club at the University of Minnesota. Heather Kampf (Rosemount High School), a middle distance star and the first U of M female track athlete to be a national champion (2006, indoors 800-meters); Damion Hahn, a two-time national champion wrestler; fleet running backContinue reading “M Club Induction, Fall Sports Start”
Crediting Coaches
Minnesota athletes interviewed usually state a common goal: “to give back.” They appreciate the support received from family, friends, teammates, and their local community, but voice an emphasis on coaches who have helped their athletic careers. Here are a few names mentioned by those contacted. Runner Garrett Heath (who finished 5th in the 10,000-meter runContinue reading “Crediting Coaches”
Minnesota Athletes 