BLUE EARTH — Uncertainty and nervousness surrounded both the Blue Earth Area Bucs girls and boys track & field teams last Thursday at the Section 2A True Team Meet in Wells, but for different reasons.

The Blue Earth Area boys roster’s nerves were rooted in the uncertainty of the final results.

“It was an electric atmosphere the other night over in Wells when we could tell it was going to be close coming down to the wire,” Blue Earth Area head coach Tom Plocker said. “I think that really energized the whole team.”

Ultimately, the Bucs came out on top, edging the runner-up Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/ Nicollet Knight-Raiders, 613-604, for their first Class A State True Team Meet appearance since 2013.

“It’s nice to be back. The girls have been making it for 12 years now. It’s just nice for the boys to share that opportunity to go up there,” senior hurdler Seth Becker said. “It was really nerve-wrecking not knowing if we’d made it. But when we found out that we did, we were very excited. It was a wonderful experience.”

Becker won the 300-meter hurdles and placed second in the high hurdles to help the Bucs get the section title.

“I was very happy, just glad that I could do it once before I left,” Becker said about winning the section. “To be able to do it with the people that are here is amazing.”

“I think we have a good influx of talent this year on the boys’ side of things. We have some good younger kids and they were able to mesh pretty well and, once again, come through at a big meet like that, at true team,” Plocker said.

The Bucs girls team, however, had uncertainty around them for a different reason. After having a big senior class graduate last season, some doubted as to whether this year’s group could keep the sectional win streak alive.

“People said we wouldn’t be able to do it without the girls from last year, but we did it,” senior thrower Brittany Johnson said.

The Bucs didn’t disappoint, winning the program’s 12th consecutive section crown with 622 points to Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s second-place total of 574.

“We lost some real stellar girls from last year, that’s for sure, but we had enough other girls that have come back that have that same experience,” Plocker said. “I think they knew what they needed to do and were able to be fairly flexible, too. A lot of them have taken on different roles this year, so they’re willingness and ability to do that was really key.”

Senior runner Kenya Whitlow called the win “mind-blowing.”

“I feel a sense of accomplishment because I personally didn’t know if we were going to make it without the girls from last year,” senior sprinter Skylee Bell added. “So, I feel like I kind of doubted the team, but at the same time, I knew that we could work together and make it, and we did.”

Bell ran the last leg of the Bucs’ third-place 4×100 team and placed fifth in the long jump.

Both Bucs teams will hit the road to Stillwater High School for the Class A State True Team Meet, starting at 10 a.m. today.

The Bucs girls team will be going for its third straight state title and are happy to have the boys’ team with them this time.

“I remember when the boys came last time, the energy of everyone was a lot higher,” Bell said.

“It made it a lot more fun because all of us were there together where, in the past, it’s just been us girls. It was still fun, but it was more fun with the boys,” senior thrower Brittany Johnson added. “It feels more like a family.”

Although the boys’ team doesn’t have as much experience as the girls’ when it comes to the state true team meet, both teams are looking forward to what awaits them.

“(I’m looking forward to) seeing the competition that’s out there and seeing how well we match up with the other teams that are out there because there’s some really good teams, obviously,” Becker said.

Bucs senior long distance runner Mariah Halvorson, who returned from a one-year hiatus, is also looking forward to seeing today’s competition and hopes for the team’s three-peat.

“It’s just an extremely well-ran meet. It’s a very exciting atmosphere where the team scores can change pretty dramatically from one event to the other,” Plocker said. “It’s just a privilege to compete up there and hopefully, the kids get a sense of that as well.”