WELLS — “Beat the record!” Karin Mantor yelled as her daughter Emily Mantor ran the 3,200-meter run at an invitational track and field meet at St. James High School.

Mantor, a sophomore member of the United South Central-Alden-Conger track and field team, has set school records over the past month without realizing it.

“Normally I yell beat the person in front of her,” Karin said. “I had no idea what the record was, but there wasn’t anyone in front.”

The first time Mantor beat a school record was at the St. James meet on April 5.

She ran in the 3,200-meter run and beat a school record set by Lori Kruckeburg in 1980. Kruckeburg’s time was 11 minutes and 41 seconds and Mantor’s new time was 11 minutes and 38.2 seconds.

Kruckeburg, who was a Blooming Prairie resident in high school, also had a brother and sister with notable track and field careers.

Mantor is USC-AC’s prime example of someone who has shown perseverance as she has moved from last-place finishes to record-setting first-place finishes.

Mantor’s coach, Kent Viesselman, said last spring her best time was 15 minutes and 22 seconds.

“Emily has worked very hard for the last two years training year round,” Viesselman said. “She not only does the off-season training, but she does it right.”

At a meet in Blue Earth on April 14, Mantor beat her own record in the 3,200-meter run.

“It felt good,” Mantor said. “The two-mile is really relaxing. I wasn’t intentionally trying, I just ran it.”

Karin said the second time it was easy to tell she was doing good because she was far ahead of other runners, but there was no way of telling that she was beating a record when it was happening.

“She surprised a lot of people, let’s put it that way,” Karin said. “She’s worked really hard to become a good runner. It wasn’t a natural thing for her.”

Mantor, who started running track in the seventh grade wasn’t so sure it was for her.

In addition to her two-mile records, Mantor set a record in the one-mile race while competing in Mankato. The previous record was 5 minutes and 42 seconds. Mantor beat it by six seconds resetting the record to 5 minutes and 36 seconds.

She said when she thinks of people beating records, she thinks of the end of a season, so now she wants to stick with it.

“She has the ability to race very well at any level partly because she doesn’t worry so much about place, time or competition, but rather how much fun she’s having,” Viesselman said.