TRACK & FIELD STATE QUALIFIERS — Fairmont sprinters Corene Moeller (second from left) and Carissa Saxton (far right) press toward the finish line during the Section 2AA track & field meet’s 400-meter dash’s finals on Friday at Waconia High School’s campus. Marshall’s Brianna Simpson (second from right) edged Moeller for first-place sectional honors at the wire, while Hutchinson’s Morgan Dean and Saxton went on to place third and fourth, respectively. Moeller and Simpson qualified for next week’s Minnesota State High School League’s Class AA state individual competition at St. Michael-Albertville High School’s campus. (Photo by Greg Abel)

WACONIA — Even legendary Fairmont head track & field coach Bob Bonk could not have written a more perfect ending for his Cardinals’ storybook debut in the newly-formatted Section 2AA Meet in Waconia.

The fleet-footed foursome of Corene Moeller, Laura Thompson, Macy Hanson and Carissa Saxton led the sectional’s last girls race — the 4×400-meter relay — from start to finish to generate Fairmont’s fifth state bid on Friday and eighth overall of the two-day event.

During Wednesday’s Day 1 competition, thrower Hank Artz heaved the shot to a sectional gold medal at 51 feet, 3 inches, while teammates Ellie Hernes and Thompson merited runner-up showings in the long jump (17-3 3/4) and 3,200-meter run (11:02.02), respectively, to literally put the trek to the St. Michael-Albertville High School campus in motion.

Moeller also earned a lane in the Class AA state meet’s 400-meter preliminaries on June 10 via a second-place performance earlier Friday, Hernes doubled her state berths by leaping to gold in the triple jump, Hudson Artz sprinted to silver in the open 400 and Sawyer Tordsen climbed Fairmont’s record books with a second-place discus toss during Day 2.

“One could argue that we would have probably had more state qualifiers if we were still in the old class, but sometimes it’s better for your program overall to go up against bigger schools and tougher competition to get there,” Bonk said in reference to Fairmont’s offseason move to Class AA when the Minnesota State High School League recently expanded track & field from two to three classes. “I think we proved that we can compete in the bigger division by producing seven individual state qualifiers and one relay team over the two-day meet.

“What a great way to end a section meet in the girls’ division today.”

Moeller set the tone out of the starting blocks in the 4×400 by building a lead before handing the baton to Thompson. The Augustana University-bound senior maintained the lead before exchanging a handoff with Hanson for the third leg. Hanson then dealt the baton to Saxton, who fended off all challengers down the backstretch to cap a winning sectional time of 4:09.75.

“The (20-minute) delay to the start of the 4×4 race definitely helped me to get my adrenaline pumping again,” said Moeller, who garnered fourth place in the open 200 in 27.29 after capturing second at twice the distance with a state-qualifying 400-meter time of 1:00.63.

Ironically, Saxton, Thompson and Hanson all just missed earning trips to the Class AA state competition earlier on Friday.

Thompson and Hanson produced respective third- and fourth-place finishes in the 1,600-meter run. Thompson, who led the first two of the mile run’s four laps, posted a bronze-medal time of 5:06.04, while Hanson netted the next overall sectional spot in 5:21.13.

“Laura probably has the best mile in the state who won’t be running in the mile at state,” Bonk said, “but sometimes that’s the way it goes and you can’t control it.”

Saxton, who turned on the jets down the backstretch to narrow the final time differential, claimed fourth place in the 400 at 1:01.08.

Like Saxton, Hernes made her final sectional meet a memorable one by attaining a first-place mark of 37-11 1/4 in the triple jump to pocket a second state bid this spring.

Teammate Jazlyn Geerdes captured a fourth-place medal by hop, skip and jumping to a career-best distance of 35-2 in the sandy field event.

Hernes narrowly missed going a perfect 4-for-4 in qualifying for state during her senior campaign, placing third in both the high hurdles (15.79) and 300-meter hurdles (41.94).

“What a competitor she’s been for us,” Bonk said in reference to Hernes. “If not for covid wiping out the entire 2020 season, she would have ended her career as our all-time leading scorer.”

In the boys’ competition, Hudson Artz closed out his prolific prep track career at the sectional level by capturing a state bid in the open 400 by earning runner-up honors in 50.56.

The Fairmont senior speedburner also claimed sixth place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.2 to complement anchoring the Cardinals’ bronze-medal 4×400 relay performance.

David Maakestad, Nolan Schultze and Blaze Geiger covered the first three respective legs of the 4×4 before Artz crossed the finish line for a combined time of 3:31.83.

“Unfortunately, Hudson, like Ellie (Hernes), didn’t get to compete in 2020, but he will exit his career as one of our best of all-time,” said Bonk.

Sawyer Tordsen and Evan Meade each etched their names in the Fairmont program’s all-time lists during Friday’s sectional. Tordsen hurled the Cardinals’ second-best ever discus distance of 155-1 to claim second at the sectional and a Class AA state bid.

“Sawyer made a legitimate run at a record that goes all the way back to 1966 when Fairmont Athletic Hall of Famer Steve Ring set the discus mark at 164-11,” said Bonk. “On the track, Evan Meade ran the fifth-fastest time ever in the 100, but the sectional field was so fast that he placed sixth overall. Incredible.”

Meade crossed the finish line in 11.18 in the 100, Maakestad delivered a third-place time of 41.94 in the 300 hurdles, while Armando Hernandez managed to overcome footing problems in the high jump to tie for fifth place at a height of 5-9.

The Class AA state preliminaries will start at 9 a.m. Friday, June 10, at St. Michael-Albertville High School’s campus before the finals begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 11.