Fairmont’s Moeller keeps lowering her times

FAIRMONT -- Fairmont senior standout Corene Moeller literally has run the gamut during her six prolific varsity track seasons.

Standing nearly 6 feet even in her mint-colored Nike spikes, the Cardinal captain reflected upon an ironic inverse proportion pertaining to her height and the length of her individual events throughout her high school career.

"Through the years, the taller I've grown, the shorter the distances of my races have become," said Moeller. "When (former Fairmont head coach Bob) Bonk first asked me to come practice with the varsity, I was a short thin seventh-grader who was used to running long distances in cross country.

"I've run the 100 (meters), 200, 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200, but never anything over hurdles or any field events."

After being penciled into the half-mile, mile and 2-mile events as a seventh-grader, Bonk inserted Moeller into her first-ever 400-meter dash as a somewhat taller eighth-grader.

One glance at Moeller's times in the quarter-mile race and Bonk knew his athletic phenom and the premier sprint were a perfect match.

"It's definitely my favorite race," said Moeller. "It's the one that makes me the most nervous. My heart rate goes up just thinking about running it.

"When the race is done, as much as it hurts, it's rewarding because I've reached a goal."

Indeed. Moeller earned an eighth-place Class AA state medal last spring at St. Michael-Albertville's track facility by recording the seventh-best girls time ever in Fairmont's school history by crossing the finish line in 60.02 seconds.

Moeller, who also holds the No. 7 all-time mark in the open 200 (26.57) and the No. 9 spot in the 100-meter dash (13.17), also got Fairmont's 4×400 relay team of Laura Thompson, Macy Hanson and Carissa Saxton started off to an all-state showing at the 2022 state meet. The Fairmont foursome exchanged handoffs in a combined time of 4:07.5 to earn sixth-place honors.

Moeller also has demonstrated her versatility in relay events by trading the baton with Saxton, Mackenzie Householder and Jazlyn Geerdes to establish the Cardinal girls program's No. 1 time of 1:54.2 in the indoor 4×200, set in 2022 on the Minnesota State University campus in Mankato.

Moeller and Saxton also etched their names into Fairmont's record books by combining with David Maakestad and Hudson Artz to capture second place in the first-ever mixed 4×400 race at last year's Hamline Elite Meet in St. Paul. The foursome covered the distance in 3:43.99 to garner silver medals.

"It was the first year that Hamline had put together a mixed 4×4, and the experience was super fun," said Moeller. "Running with quality sprinters in a highly-competitive environment like Hamline was something I'll always remember."

Fast forward, and Moeller is preparing physically and psychologically for her final Sentinel Relays competition starting at 4 p.m. Friday at Bob Bonk Track in Fairmont on the heels of a hectic week.

Moeller joined forces with Blaze Geiger, Harper Artz and Nolan Schultze to place seventh in the mixed 4×400 (3:52.35) at the Hamline Elite Meet last Friday after generating four first-place finishes and one runner-up showing during meets last Tuesday and Thursday.

The North Dakota State University track commit struck gold in the open 200 (27.8) and silver in the 400 (62.9) last Thursday night in Fairmont just two days after winning the open 400 (63.83) and anchoring both of the Cardinals' winning 4×200 (1:53.24) and 4×400 (4:26.36) in St. James.

"Obviously, I want to win every race I'm entered in and help our team extend our winning streak (to eight in a row) at the Sentinel Relays on Friday," said Moeller. "In the next two weeks, I definitely want to run a PB (personal-best) to build some momentum going into sections.

"I'd love to break 60 (seconds) in the 400, so I need to continue to work on getting out of the blocks harder. If I can push off harder and have a good turnover at the 200 (meter) mark, I have a chance of reaching the 59s."

After Moeller closes out her historic senior prep track campaign later this spring, she will take her spikes to Fargo, North Dakota, in the fall.

"My college coaches want me to run 400s, but I personally would like to run 200s," Moeller said with a laugh. "They'll also probably want me to run the 800, and that race -- with the 400 -- are two of the toughest races. Both have evolved into all-out sprints.

"In order to succeed in those two races, you have to give it your all -- guts and glory."