State title in the slow heat as Eden Prairie defies the odds

They ran in the slow heat – and still won the state title.

On June 12, at the Class AAA state meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School, four Eden Prairie track athletes – wearing ponchos and warmups – gathered near the finish line to watch the fast heat of the 4×800-meter relay play out in cold, windy rain.

They had already run their race. Their heat was earlier, quieter – and assumed to be slower.

But when the clock stopped on the final heat, Eden Prairie’s time – 7 minutes, 59.94 seconds – still stood.

“You’re not supposed to win from the slow heat,” said Simeon Donaldson, the team’s anchor and only underclassman. “That’s just not how it works.”

But they did.

A misstep leads to opportunity

The team’s unexpected state title traced back to a strategic miscalculation at the section meet.

Eden Prairie’s lineup – seniors Elijah Donaldson, Tyler Doolittle, Elijah Magare, and junior Simeon Donaldson – focused on winning their section race but didn’t push for a faster time.

“That was on us,” said Elijah Donaldson. “We spaced that time mattered more than place. And once you’re in the slow heat, you’re kind of on an island.”

In Minnesota’s state meet format, the 4×800 relay is divided into two heats based on section times – with the fastest teams placed in the second, ‘fast’ heat. Eden Prairie’s section-winning time wasn’t fast enough to qualify for that heat, landing them in the first. On race day, that meant colder conditions, no direct competitors to push the pace – and a long wait to see if their time would hold.

“It was brutal,” said Doolittle. “Wind in your face, rain, cold. We weren’t even sure if we’d broken 8 (minutes).”

Their final time of 7:59.94 outpaced Wayzata (8:00.01) and Eagan (8:00.23) — both running in the fast heat. It marked Eden Prairie’s first boys’ 4×800 state title since 2014.

Redemption, one leg at a time

For Simeon Donaldson and Doolittle, the victory was personal.

A year earlier, they had led much of the 4×800 before being outkicked in the final stretch.

“That stuck with me,” Donaldson said. “We needed to come back stronger.”

This time, the foursome brought depth and balance. Doolittle, usually a two-mile runner, stepped into the 800. Magare powered the middle. Elijah Donaldson led off. Simeon closed.

“Elijah and I are the closers,” Simeon said. “We can make up ground when we need to.”

Magare added: “Yeah, we can make it up quick.”

Head coach Zach Hanson, now in his third year, praised their chemistry.

“They trust each other. And in a relay, that’s everything,” Hanson said. “They’ve been grinding for years. They deserved this moment.”

A team worth waiting for

After their race, the hardest part was waiting.

“We just watched the next heat and hoped,” Elijah said. “Everyone kind of thought – ‘No way 7:59 wins this.’”

“At first, I thought we ran an 8:02,” Simeon said. “Then our coach came over and said, ‘You guys won.’ I was like – wait, really?”

The school record – 7 minutes, 47.21 seconds, set by Eden Prairie’s 2013 state title team – still stands. This year’s quartet didn’t match it, but they didn’t need a record to make their mark.

“That’s going to stick with me forever,” Magare said. “People doubted we could win from the slow heat. But we knew we had it in us.”

What’s next

The seniors — Elijah Donaldson, Doolittle and Magare — graduated last month. Elijah will attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to study cybersecurity and plans to run track and cross country. Doolittle is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study mechanical engineering but doesn’t plan to compete. Magare, who also will attend UW–Madison, plans to study psychology and may join the school’s Run Club.

Simeon, who will be a senior next year, said he plans to focus more on individual races, including the open 800 and 400.

“We’ve still got a solid 4×400 team,” he said. “I think the younger guys can rebuild the 4×800, too.”

Hanson said the distance program will look different next year – but the future is still bright.

“We’re losing a really strong mid-distance class,” he said. “But we’ve got promising athletes coming up in other events. It’ll be a different kind of year.”

A season of surprises

From an early 15-second win at the Lake Conference Relays to a cold, wet state final, no one expected them to win – but this team kept finding ways to deliver.

“Last year, we were leading and lost it,” Doolittle said. “This year, we thought we lost – and we won.”