6/26/16 6:35 AMNorth hurdler wins gold at Class AA track |

Page 1 of 4http://sunthisweek.com/2016/06/16/north-hurdler-wins-gold-at-class-aa-track/

By Mike Shaughnessy

Sports

North hurdler wins gold at Class AA trackPublished June 16, 2016 at 12:27 pm

Evan El-Halawani did just enough to qualify for the state track and field meet but realized thatwouldn’t be enough once he actually got there.

Evan El-Halawani (right) of Lakeville North runsthe 110-meter hurdles at the state Class AA trackand field finals Saturday. He finished fifth in thatrace, but later won the 300 hurdles. Photo byMike Shaughnessy

The Lakeville North junior was the only competitor in the Class AA boys 300-meter hurdleswho didn’t get in by finishing in the top two in his section. He finished third in the Section 1AAmeet but beat the state qualifying standard with two one-hundredths of a second to spare.

“He was the 17th to get in,” Lakeville North head coach Todd Endersbe said. “Everyone else

6/26/16 6:35 AMNorth hurdler wins gold at Class AA track |

Page 2 of 4http://sunthisweek.com/2016/06/16/north-hurdler-wins-gold-at-class-aa-track/

finished first or second in his section. He was the only one to get in by the time standard.”

El-Halawani’s qualifying time actually was faster than several hurdlers who finished first orsecond in other sections, but if you want to say he went from 17th to first at state, he andEndersbe won’t argue. El-Halawani ran the 300 hurdles finals in 38.07 seconds to win theevent Saturday at Hamline University.

Endersbe “always told me to stick to your plan and it’ll all work out, and that’s whathappened,” El-Halawani said. “Guys started fading off, I started pulling ahead and I felt strongall the way through it.”

He went from 39.27 in the Section 1AA finals to 38.36 in the state preliminaries (the fastesttime of that session) to 38.07 in the state finals. He was eighth in the 300 hurdles at the 2015state Class AA meet.

“At our sections race I had the top time going in,” he said. “There was still that fear that I kindof peaked in prelims, but I’m glad it didn’t work out that way.”

El-Halawani and Endersbe, who’s also the Panthers’ hurdles coach, went to Klas Field atHamline University two days before the state meet to work on the track, which Endersbedescribed as “much faster than any other surface they get to run on.”

They also worked on El-Halawani’s start, which the hurdler said was his biggest problem inthe Section 1AA finals. “We figured if I had a faster start it would just help accelerate methrough the finish,” he said.

Endersbe said El-Halawani has had several coaches through his hurdling career. In thesummer, the junior trains with a team run by Eagan High School girls track coach RobGraham. El-Halawani also has worked with former U.S. Olympian Shani (Marks) Johnson.

His biggest influence has been his father Samy, who ran the 400 hurdles in college atHamline. When Evan was in grades five through eight, Samy El-Halawani was his primaryhurdles coach.

“When I was in middle school, he and I worked on the 300 hurdles and we kept grinding at it,working hard. He’s my biggest role model, so I always looked up to him in that sense,” EvanEl-Halawani said. “I think it means a lot to him to come here and see his son run, especiallybecause he worked with me for so long.”

El-Halawani also finished fifth in the 110 hurdles final in 14.64. He was pleased with that result

6/26/16 6:35 AMNorth hurdler wins gold at Class AA track |

Page 3 of 4http://sunthisweek.com/2016/06/16/north-hurdler-wins-gold-at-class-aa-track/

because he was seeking a top-five finish and the time set a personal record.

By next season El-Halawani might be a state championship contender in the 110 hurdles too,Endersbe said.

“The 110 high hurdles is more of a strength event, while the 300 hurdles is more of a finesseevent,” Endersbe said. “Evan is so technically sound, and he’s getting stronger.”

By next year he also may be more accustomed to the idea of being a state champion. “It stillfeels like I’m about to race. I still have that nervousness,” he said Saturday after receiving hisgold medal. “It doesn’t even feel real. If you asked me a couple of years ago if I thought I wouldbe here right now, I probably would have said no.”

El-Halawani scored 17 of the Lakeville North boys’ 19 points in the state meet. The other twowere scored by senior wheelchair athlete Jonathan Laing, who set state records for the discus(41 feet, 3 inches) and shot put (22-4.75).

North was tied for 16th in the boys team standings. The Panthers were 22nd in the girls ClassAA state meet, scoring 15 points.

North junior Madeline Moorhouse was third in the girls shot put with a throw of 42-11.75.That’s about 2 feet farther than her seventh-place throw at the 2015 state meet.

Danielle Bellino, Brooke Anderson, Emma Drangstveit and Ella Larson were fifth in the girls4×800 relay in 9 minutes, 19.97 seconds. Edina and Minnetonka broke the previous state meetrecord, with Edina taking first in 8:59.69.

Ella Larson (right) of Lakeville Northruns the anchor leg of the girls4×800-meter relay at the state ClassAA meet. Photo by Mike Shaughnessy

Larson, an eighth-grader, also was eighth in the 800 in 2:18.20. Temi Carda went 17-1.75 in thelong jump to finish ninth.

Filed Under: Lakeville Sports