Prep athletes of the week: Eden Prairie's Ramacher jumps, hurdles to victory

Ramacher didn't grow up racing neighbor kids or jumping over things. In fact, it wasn't until eighth grade that she gave track and field a shot. "I was in dance," she said.

The dance world's loss is track and field's gain. The 5-9 senior is the defending Class 2A high jump state champion and has made herself into a top hurdler. Last week she won all four events in which she was entered at the Class 3A, Section 7 True Team meet. She won the high jump, the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and ran the second leg on the Eagles' winning 4x100 meter relay team.

She did this one week after setting a personal best with a high jump of 5 feet, 9 inches in a meet at Edina. It's the best mark in the state this spring and only 2 inches short of the state record for girls of 5-11.

"I tried at 5-11 ¼ and I barely hit the bar on my second attempt," said Ramacher, who will jump for the Gophers next year. "My goal this season is to get 5-10. I think I'm really close."

Playing goal in lacrosse is a thankless job. Even the best often have save percentages close to 60 percent. Follmer, a senior goalie, stopped 22 of 31 shots (70.9 percent) as the No. 4-ranked Irish defeated No. 5 Eastview (9-6) and Apple Valley (15-6).

The junior attacker has emerged as the Lightning's leading scoring threat. She scored eight goals last week as Eastview bounced back from a 1-6 start to win two of three games. Hodgen leads the team with 22 goals.

The junior celebrated her commitment to the University of Denver by winning the Red Wing Invitational at Mississippi National Golf Club with an even-par 71, followed by a 1-under-par 35 in a Tri-Metro Conference victory at Columbia Golf Course.

The sophomore was the Orioles' primary weapon in a stirring, come-from-behind victory over Breck. He scored four of the team's six goals in a fourth-quarter outburst that turned a 6-3 deficit into a 9-7 victory. Lochan scored 12 goals in three games last week.

The senior center midfielder is instant offense for the 9-2 Eagles. Last week she had 15 goals and 10 assists in victories over St. Louis Park and Minneapolis. She leads the state with 61 goals on the season.

The senior won two sprints — the 100 meters (11.28 seconds) and the 200 (22.19)— and added victories in the long jump (21-11) and triple jump (43-1 ½) at the Class 3A, Section 2 True Team meet.

JIM PAULSEN

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