STATE QUALIFIER — Blue Earth Area’s Addison Armstrong rejoices after clearing the winning height in the Section 2 pole vault competition Saturday at Mankato West’s track & field facility. Armstrong earned a bid to the Class A state meet on Thursday at St. Michael-Albertville. (Photo by Greg Abel)

MANKATO — Blue Earth Area’s Addison Armstrong, the Bucs’ 4×100-meter relay team of Nick Nelson, Gage Barker, Jack Norman and Jacob Grandgenett, along with Madelia/ Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther teammates Ryan Koberoski and Josiah DeMaris each made the Class A track & field state meet.

The state meet’s preliminaries begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, with the finals scheduled for another 3:30 p.m. start on Friday at the St. Michael-Albertville High School track & field facility.

Armstrong won the Section 2 pole vault with a mark of 10 feet, 8 inches for the Bucs. Nelson, Barker, Norman and Grandgenett combined in the 4×100 to qualify for state by posting a second-place time of 44.93 seconds.

The Jayhawks’ Koberoski won the 400-meter dash in 50.68, while DeMaris won the 2-mile run with a time of 10:01.49 to earn state bids.

DeMaris won by sprinting the final 50 meters to finish ahead of Maple River’s Cole Stencel, who finished with a time of 10:01.78.

The Bucs’ Eloise Blair finished third in the sectional’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.88 to just miss a trip to state.

Blue Earth Area’s 4×200 relay of Blair, Tailor Douglas, Katherine Armon and Armstrong ran third with a time of 1:52.15.

The Martin County West/Butterfield-Odin Mavericks’ 4×100 relay team of Ava Thate, Aspen Kosbab, Avery Sanders and Lucy Larson finished seventh with a time of 53.73.

The Mavericks’ Larson and Sanders also ran the 100-meter dash in the sectional, finishing 10th and 14th with times of 13.9 and 14.18, respectively, in the preliminary round. Earning the state meet bids in this event were Lester Prairie’s Addison Hoof (12.57) and River Valley’s Hailey Hollar (12.67).

BEA’s Douglas also competed in the pole vault, finishing sixth with a mark of 8-2. Armstrong, along with Maple River’s Lauren Mutschler (10-2) and LeSueur-Henderson’s Riley Sater (10-2) made the state meet.

In the open 400, Armstrong placed third, the Jayhawks’ Kayla Mattson was 11th and BEA’s Natalie Schiltz was 12th with respective times of 62.02, 67.14 and 68.88. Lester Prairie’s Hoof (58.13) and River Valley’s Brynne Ibberson (60.77) earned the state meet bids in the event.

The Bucs’ Chloe Groe placed fourth in each the shot and discus with respective throws of 33-6 and 107-0. State meet bids went to Windom Area’s Elliot Espenson (38-9) in the shot and Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet’s Katelyn Flack (116-3) in the discus.

The Mavericks’ Katie Hartke placed fifth in the 3,200-run with a time of 13:17.38, while the Bucs’ Aubrey Woodwick placed 10th in 14:06.52. St. Clair’s Valerie Quast won the 2-mile run in 12:03.36.

For the boys, BEA’s 4×200 team of Nelson, Barker, Norman and Grandgenett took fourth with a time of 1:33.28. Maple River (1:31.03) and Jackson County Central (1:31.9) earned the state meet bids.

The Mavericks’ 4×400 relay of Joseph Forsberg, Kyler Larson, Jamesson Forsberg and Riley Cole placed fourth with a time of 3:38.11. Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey (3:31.44) won the sectional championship.

MCW/B-O’s Ryan Pierson placed third in the 2-mile with a time of 10:10.14, while teammate Max Olson placed ninth in the shot put with a throw of 41-2 and seventh in the discus at 129-5. Jackson County Central’s Caleb Vancura won the shot put with a throw of 47-0, and the discus at 150-10.

MCW/B-O’s Jamesson Forsberg finished eighth in the mile with a time of 4:52.14, and the duo of Berent Kosbab and Carlos Rodriguez finished 11th and 14th in the 100-meter dash with times of 12.21 and 12.30, respectively. Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey’s Zach Classen (4:25.76) and Maple River’s Stencel (4:26.57) earned state bids in the 1,600-meter race.

The Jayhawks’ DeMaris was sixth in the mile with a time of 4:46.82.

The Bucs’ Grandgenett and the Jayhawks’ tandem of Koberoski and Jackson Madsen ran in the 200-meter dash.

Koberoski took fourth in 23.38, Grandgenett was sixth at 23.61 and Madsen placed 12th in 24.34. Maple River’s Mason Schirmer (22.84) won the section title.

In the open 400, Madsen and Rodriguez placed seventh and 12th with times of 54.28 and 55.59.