MULTIPLE BIDS — Fairmont’s Ellie Hernes sprays the sand on her first-place landing in the triple jump during Saturday’s Section 2A track & field meet at Mankato West High School. Hernes qualified for state in all four of her sectional events. (Photo by Greg Abel)

MANKATO — The Cardinals will be flying all over Friday’s Class A state track & field meet.

Four Fairmont individuals and two Cardinal relay teams placed in the top two of their 12 events at Saturday’s Section 2A Meet at Mankato West.

Ellie Hernes will represent Fairmont in four events, Hudson Artz advances in three, Laura Thompson will hit the St. Michael Albertville track twice and Hank Artz will put the shot.

The Cardinal boys 4×200 and the Fairmont girls 4×100 will compete in the relays, while the Blue Earth Area boys 4×100 relay and Martin County West’s Makena Larson and Katie Hartke will also hit the track at state.

Hernes was the first Fairmont athlete to write her name in Friday’s state program when she took silver in both the 100-meter high hurdles and the long jump. Hernes ran a time of 16.05 in the hurdles, just behind Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton’s Lauren Dimler at 15.74, while Dimler jumped 17-1 to take gold in the long jump and Hernes made 16-8 for second.

Hudson Artz then locked up a spot in the state meet when he took gold in the 100-meter dash. He ran an 11.53 for first, while Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Treay Taylor took second at 11.6.

The Cardinal 4×200 relay team of James Johnson, Trey Tumbleson, Kainen Craig and David Maakestad then ran a time of 1:36.32 for second, behind Belle Plaine’s 1:35.15.

Thompson locked up her spot in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:07.66 for gold, beating the automatic qualifying time of 5:09.66, while LCWM/Nicollet’s Grace Moeller claimed second at 5:19.22.

The Cardinal 4×100 relay crew of Karalyn Closs, Brooklyn Meyer, Ellie Schultze and Sabrina Segar earned a state spot with a time of 52.79, second to Belle Plaine (51.75).

BEA’s 4×100 of Riley Anderson, Austin Thielfoldt, Jacob Olson and Jack Norman followed suit with a second-place finish. The crew nearly took gold with their time of 45.49, but GFW’s anchor was able to grab the lead in the final steps for a first-place time of 45.35.

Hudson Artz claimed his second gold of the day in the open 400 with a time of 50.62.

“For the most part, (the Cardinals’ performance) was really strong,” Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said. “At big meets, there’s always a couple of things you wish you could do again. I think the highlight for the girls is the 4×1, because it’s always nice to get a relay. We were right at the bubble of getting in and the girls really responded well.

“You just can’t take Laura (Thompson) and Ellie (Hernes) for granted, they start with everyone else, but they perform magnificently every time. … Emily Frank and Macy Hanson got good points for us, even though they didn’t qualify for state. Sabrina Segar was really busy and sometimes that’s good and sometimes it isn’t, but her anchor in the 4×1 was the real deal.”

Hernes then edged BEA’s Eloise Blair for second in the 300-meter hurdles, 48.38-48.51. JWP’s Dimler took gold at 46.72.

Hudson Artz took his final gold in the 200 meters, sweeping the sprints with a time of 22.97.

Thompson followed with her second gold of the day in the 3,200-meter run with a dominant performance of 11:17.67, lapping more than half the field, before MCW’s Hartke took second at 11:46.25.

Hernes went directly from her 300-meter hurdle finish line to compete in the triple jump, clearing 37-3.25 to capture first-place honors.

MCW’s Makena Larson continued her stately seasons in the shot put, advancing to Friday’s meet for the third time with a first-place throw of 39-4.75. Hank Artz grabbed the final Cardinal spot in the state meet, repeating his performance from the sub-section meet and heaved the shot 48-10.75 for gold.

“Hudson was spectacular, it’s very rare to see someone sweep the 100, 200 and 400,” Bonk said. “… To do all three and win convincingly is pretty impressive. I felt bad for Maakestad, he went so hard in the 300s. … For never doing it until this year, he had a really good year in the hurdles. I was very happy with the boys’ 4×2, that was not a gimme by any means. … And don’t forget Hank Artz with an incredible performance. That’s just unheard of. We’ve had one other spectacular young thrower in the 40-some years I’ve coached and that was Nick Lardy, but this is just uncharted territory really.”

Section 2A Track & Field Meet

Boys Division

Team standings: 1. Belle Plaine 91; 2. (tie) Fairmont, Sibley East 66s; 4. Holy Family Catholic 46.5; 5. St. James Area 42; 6. LCWM-Nicollet 41; 7. Maple River 32.5; 8. Tri-City United 28.5; 9. Blue Earth Area 28; 10. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 26; 11. (tie) Mankato Loyola/Cleveland, Le Sueur-Henderson 24s; 13. (tie) Norwood-Young America, Watertown-Mayer, Mayer Lutheran 23s; 16. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 21; 17. United South Central 19; 18. Lester Prairie 16; 19. St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran 15; 20. Glencoe-Silver Lake 13; 21. Martin County West 12; 22. River Valley 10; 23. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 7.5; 24. Madelia/Truman/ GHEC/Martin Luther 5; 25. NRHEG 4; 26. Southwest Christian 1; 27. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 1.

(Top 2 individuals and relay teams advance)

100: 1. Hudson Artz (F) 11.53; 2. Treay Taylor (GFW) 11.6.

Other area times: 4. Riley Anderson (BEA) 11.76; 9. James Johnson (F) 12.28.

200: 1. Hudson Artz (F) 22.97; 2. Dylan Novak (LH) 23.57.

Other area times: 7. David Maakestad (F) 24.42; 9. Ryan Koberoski (MTGHECML) 24.45.

400: 1. Hudson Artz (F) 50.62; 2. Marco Reyes (TCU) 52.23.

Other area times: 4. Ryan Koberoski (MTGHECML) 52.99; 12. Gabe Torres (BEA) 55.4.

800: 1. Emmett Gerres (BP) 1:57.98; 2. Tyler Smith (NYA) 1:58.29.

Area times: 10. Cameron Germain (BEA) 2:12.21; 13. Andrew Johnson (F) 2:14.65; 14. Connor Artner (F) 2:14.76.

1,600: 1. Emmett Gerres (BP) 4:26.24; 2. Caleb Rivera (SJA) 4:32.39.

Area times: 6. William Saari (F) 4:59.82; 9. Jamesson Forsberg (MCW) 5:02.99.

3,200: 1. Jaden Lorenz (HF) 10:06.35; 2. Connor Hallaway (GSL) 10:26.8.

Area times: 3. Jake Lewis (MCW) 10:29.19; 8. William Saari (F) 11:03.52; 13. Alex Cruz (F) 11:47.8.

HH: 1. Simon Morgan (MLC) 15.61; 2. Jordan Meyer (TCU) 15.88.

300H: 1. Dylan Novak (LH) 41.52; 2. Jordan Meyer (TCU) 41.92.

Area times: 3. David Maakestad (F) 42.35; 5. Gabe Smith (BEA) 44.06; 8. Kainen Craig (F) 44.92.

4×1: 1. GFW 45.35; 2. BEA (Riley Anderson, Austin Thielfoldt, Jacob Olson, Jack Norman) 45.49.

4×2: 1. Belle Plaine 1:35.15; 2. Fairmont (James Johnson, Trey Tumbleson, Kainen Craig, David Maakestad) 1:36.32.

4×4: 1. Holy Family Catholic 3:35.59; 2. Sibley East 3:36.45.

Area time: 7. Martin County West (Riley Cole, Jamesson Forsberg, Joseph Forsberg, Jake Lewis) 3:45.9.

4×8: 1. St. James Area 8:21.76; 2. Sibley East 8:31.64.

Area times: 5. MCW (Riley Cole, Kylar Larson, Jamesson Forsberg, Jake Lewis) 8:51.05; 8. Fairmont (Taylor Austin, Andrew Johnson, Isaac Sheard, Connor Artner) 9:19.62.

High Jump: 1. Andrew Siegle (BP) 6-2; 2. Tayvaire Davis (WML) 6-0.

Pole Vault: 1. Jacob Cahill (JWP) 12-7; 2. Jack Cahill (JWP) 11-7.

Area score: 13. Kainen Craig (F) 9-1.

Long Jump: 1. Tayvaire Davis (WML) 20-5; 2. Zach Paxdernik (SE) 19-6.5.

Area scores: 6. Austin Thielfoldt (BEA) 19-1; 16. Isaiah Lockwood (F) 16-8.75.

Triple Jump: 1. Andrew Siegle (BP) 41-3.5; 2. Zach Jackson (LP) 40-6.

Area score: 9. Isaiah Lockwood (F) 36-4.5.

Discus: 1. Ethan Fischer (MR) 179-8; 2. Jackson Burdorf (SE) 143-7.

Area scores: 5. Luke Norman (BEA) 126-4; 6. Sawyer Tordsen (F) 125-4; 12. Nick Frank (BEA) 109-7.

Shot Put: 1. Hank Artz (F) 48-10.75; 2. Ryan Retzer (BP) 47-4.

Other area scores: 5. Nick Frank (BEA) 46-8.5; 8. Noah Rahm (F) 43-10.

•

Girls Division

Team Scores: 1. Belle Plaine 128.50; 2. Fairmont 118.50; 3. Glencoe-Silver Lake 52.50; 4. Blue Earth Area 43; 5. Janesville-Waldorf-Pembert 42; 6. LCWM/Nicollet 40; 7. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 36; 8. Southwest Christian 30; 9. St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran 24; 10. Martin County West 23; 10. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 23; 12. River Valley 19; 13. Tri-City United 18; 13. NYA 18; 15. Lester Prairie 17; 16. Sibley East 15; 17. HFC 14; 18. G-F-W 11; 19. St James Area 6.50; 20. LSH 6; 20. Mayer Lutheran 6; 22. USC 5; 23. Maple River 4; 23. NRHEG 4.

(Top 2 individuals and relay teams advance)

100: 1. Ellie Sonju (GSL) 12.75; 2. Mehlayna Straub (SC) 13.0.

Area times: 6. Sabrina Segar (F) 13.72; 13. Kari Matejka (MCW) 14.29; 14. Lauren Bleess (BEA) 14.4.

200: 1. Ellie Sonju (GSL) 26.08; 2. Mehlayna Straub (SC) 26.21.

Area times: 6. Te’a Armstrong (BEA) 27.73; 13. Karalyn Closs (F) 29.25; 14. Emily Frank (F) 29.27; 15. Kari Matejka (MCW) 29.84.

400: 1. Addison Hoof (LP) 58.48; 2. Lizzy Schmidt (BP) 58.92.

Area times: 6. Addison Armstrong (BEA) 1:03.5; 11. Corene Moeller (F) 1:05.95; 15. Johnnie Zaharia (MTGHECML) 1:09.24.

800: 1. Madison Daly (SCI) 2:25.47; 2. Malina Koepp (BP) 2:26.3.

Area times: 9. Hannah Neusch (F) 2:40.82; 11. Ellie Ortega (F) 2:42.68; 14. Carys Gudahl (F) 2:53.44.

1,600: 1. Laura Thompson (F) 5:07.66; 2. Grace Moeller (LCWM) 5:19.22.

Other area times: 3. Macy Hanson (F) 5:33.96; 9. Tabitha Thatcher (F) 6:01.25.

3,200: 1. Laura Thompson (F) 11:17.67; 2. Katie Hartke (MCW) 11:46.25.

Other area time: 6. Macy Hanson (F) 12:01.7.

HH: 1. Lauren Dimler (JWP) 15.74; 2. Ellie Hernes (F) 16.05.

Other area times: 3. Eloise Blair (BEA) 16.74; 5. Brooklyn Meyer (F) 17.89; 10. Hadley Artz (F) 18.41.

300H: Lauren Dimler (JWP) 46.72; 2. Ellie Hernes (F) 48.38.

Other area time: 3. Eloise Blair (BEA) 48.51.

4×1: 1. Belle Plaine 51.75; 2. Fairmont (Karalyn Closs, Brooklyn Meyer, Ellie Schultze, Sabrina Segar) 52.79.

Other area time: BEA (Te’a Armstrong, Sophie Keister, Lauren Bleess, Tailor Douglas) 53.37.

4×2: 1. GSL 1:47.66; 2. Belle Plaine 1:48.11.

Area times: 3. Fairmont (Ellie Schultze, Brooklyn Meyer, Corene Moeller, Carissa Saxton) 1:53.04; 5. BEA (Addison Armstrong, Kate Armon, Lauren Bleess, Tailor Douglas) 1:55.04.

4×4: 1. Belle Plaine 4:08.42; 2. LCWM/N 4:17.43.

Area times: 4. Fairmont (Hadley Artz, Carissa Saxton, Corene Moeller, Laura Thompson) 4:20.84; 5. BEA (Te’a Armstrong, Addison Armstrong, Kate Armon, Tailor Douglas) 4:22.37.

4×8: 1. River Valley 10:19.26; 2. Tri-City United 10:22.93.

Area time: 5. Fairmont (Hannah Neusch, Carys Gudahl, Tabitha Thatcher, Ellie Ortega) 10:40.13.

High Jump: 1. Toryn Richards (WEM) 5-2; 2. Elissa Moonen (BP) 5-0.

Area scores: 3. Sophie Keister (BEA) 5-0; 8. Shaye Dietz (F) 4-8; 8. Hannah Linse (F) 4-8.

Pole Vault: 1. Toryn Richards (WEM) 10-2; 2. Madison Daly (SCI) 9-8.

Area scores: 3. Addison Armstrong (BEA) 9-2; 4. Sabrina Segar (F) 9-2; 5. Rachel O’Connor (F) 8-8.

Long Jump: 1. Lauren Dimler (JWP) 17-1; 2. Ellie Hernes (F) 16-8.

Other area scores: 4. Brooklyn Meyer (F) 15-6.75; 10. Emily Frank (F) 14-9.25; 15. Haley Kalis (BEA) 13-5.5.

Triple Jump: 1. Ellie Hernes (F) 37-3.25; 2. Mehlayna Straub (SC) 34-7.5.

Other area scores: 4. Emily Frank (F) 33-4.75; 9. Jazlyn Geerdes (F) 32-2.75; 10. Johnnie Zaharia (MTGHECML) 30-9.

Discus: 1. Olivia Schwarzrock (GFW) 124-11; 2. Emily Lorentz (LCWM/N) 123-6.

Area scores: 4. Makena Larson (MCW) 114-6; 6. Natalie Tonne (F) 106-1.

Shot Put: 1. Makena Larson (MCW) 39-4.75; 2. Emily Lorentz (LCWM/N) 37-9.75.

Other area scores: 5. Sabrina Segar (F) 33-2; 13. Natalie Tonne (F) 31-6.