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HHS' Aageson to continue track career in college

Blue Pony pole vaulter headed to Pacific Lutheran University

It’s been a great year in athletics for Havre High’s Gunnar Aageson, and thanks to some recent news regarding the three-sport athlete, it just got even better.

That’s because Aageson, will get to continue his athletic career at the collegiate level next season after signing an NCAA national letter of intent to compete in track and field at Pacific Lutheran University, which is located in Tacoma, Washington. PLU is a NCAA Division III school that competes in the Northwest Conference and Aageson will be joining the men’s track and field team, where he will compete in the pole vault.

“I am very excited,” Aageson said. “When I started track, a couple of seniors convinced me to go out. Then I started really liking it and thinking it was something I could be good at. So I just kept working hard and got better and better.”

Aageson, who is getting ready to compete in the Class A state track meet for the fourth consecutive year this Friday and Saturday in Laurel, has had an illustrious career for the Blue Ponies in the pole vault and is coming off his fourth-consecutive top-five finish in the event at the Central A divisional meet last Saturday in Belgrade.

The senior finished ninth at the state meet in the pole vault last year and will look to get himself a medal and on the podium for the first time in his final appearance at the meet, which requires finishing in the top-six.

Although he hasn’t medaled at state quite yet, Aageson has gotten used to being on the podium as he has placed in every meet he’s competed in this season and won the pole vault a number of times. In addition to competing in the pole vault at state, Aageson is also a member of the Ponies’ 4x100 relay team, which finished first at divisionals. He also competed in the 100-meter dash for HHS this season.

While he will compete in the pole vault, he will likely compete in other events for the Lutes as well. Aageson is determined to make a positive impact on the PLU track team and the way to do that, according to him, will be with hard work and mental toughness.

“You can be a good athlete,” Aageson said. “But if you aren’t mentally prepared and aren’t doing what you need to do to get better, then you are not going to improve much. And I think that goes for all sports. In high school my goal has been to add a foot to my pole vault each year and that will be my same goal in college.”

While Aageson put together a stellar track career for the Ponies, he was also a three-year letter winner in football and wrestled at the varsity level for HHS since his freshman year. This past season, Aageson finished second at the Class A state wrestling tournament after losing to teammate Parker Filius in the championship match of the 145-pound weight class.

On top of being a great athlete, Aageson also excels in the classroom and earned an academic scholarship to attend PLU. He will graduate with a 3.5 GPA and is currently undecided about what he wants to pursue as a major in addition to participating in track and field for the Lutes. And even though he has had great success in Havre, he is looking forward to escaping the freezing temperatures for better weather on the west coast.

“That’s a big reason why I went to PLU was the west coast weather,” Aageson said. “That was a big part of my decision. I had a chance to go to some schools in the Midwest but my visits over there were cold and windy. But my visits out west were warm and sunny so that was a big part of it.”

 

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