Six Crusader athletes punched their ticket to the state meet after placing first or second or making a qualifying time or height at the Section 2A meet, which was held at Mankato West on Saturday. They will compete in eight different events.
“It was a great effort today by all of our athletes,” said head coach Casey Olson. “I am pleased we have two more going to state than we had last year.”
It was another good day on the oval for the Meyer sisters, who, between them, took two firsts and a second, despite the 85-degree temperature, which was even hotter on the track.
Savannah Meyer will return to state in the 800 after missing out by a spot in that event last year. Her 2:21.91 finish was 2.58 faster than the next runner in line and good for first place. Meyer’s subsection time was 2.27.62.
“I was going to stay behind at first, but then I felt I had more in me after the first lap, so I got out front and stuck with it and won,” said the senior.
Charlotte Meyer jumped out front after the first turn in the 3200 and never looked back for an 11:29.17 gold finish. She and her cross-country teammate from St. Clair, Valarie Quast, traded places in the 1600 with Meyer crossing the finish line in 5:09.72, 2.68 seconds behind Quast, for second place. Quast’s time in the 3200 was 11:39.82.
Her 3200 time was about 10 seconds slower than her subsection finish.
“It was really hot for the two mile,” said the eighth grader. “I also ran the mile, so I was really exhausted after that. In the 1600, I wasn’t trying to catch Valarie, just stay right behind her.”
With a 10”00.40 finish, Soren Kelly, a junior, won the 3200.
Freshman Charlotte Kirschner cleared the bar in the high jump in a state qualifying height of 5-00.00. Her leap was also good for fifth place. The winner cleared 5-3.
Maddie Hurias won both the 100-m hurdles (in 15.79) and the 300-m hurdles (in 46.30).
Just 0.23 behind the winner for second in the 300-m hurdles with a 40.73, Chase Kajinski is also going to the state meet. With a 15.79, he took fifth in the 110-m hurdles. His qualifying time in the prelim in the 110 was 15.67 for fourth place. The winning time in the final was 14.62.
Other Crusader results
Maintaining the same placement he had in the subsection, despite tougher competition, TJ Waldron, a senior on his birthday, was sixth in the 3200 with a 10:59.97 finish. His performance was a significant improvement from his effort at the section meet a year, when he took 15th place with an 11:25.96.
Earlier in the meet, Waldron ran the third leg of the third-place 4x800 team.
“TJ has always been an incredibly hard worker, but he was even more determined throughout this entire track season,” Olson said. “He put in good mileage over the winter and he's continued to do so during the spring. He set his mind to making the 4x8 team as competitive as it could be, and he was instrumental in that success, dropping four seconds off his time from subsections to sections. He then doubled back in 85-degree heat to place sixth in the two mile, improving his seed by two positions. It's awesome to see him running and competing his best at the end of the season. His work ethic and drive to be successful have been a great asset to his success and the team's culture throughout his career.”
Sam Vetter, a senior, took sixth in the 1600 with a 4:52.27 while Mitchell Buboltz, a junior, was 11th with a 5:08.71. The winning time was 4:36.87.
Casey Fogal, a senior, was 13th in the 110-m hurdles with a 16.88 and 10th in the 300-m hurdles with a 46.13.
Marshall Jordan, a sophomore. finished the 100-m dash in 12.12 for 15th place. The winning time was 11.21.
Izzy Endres high jumped 4-8 for 14th place.
Thayne Remiger, a senior, triple jumped 37-07.50 and long jumped 19-02-00. Both distances were good for ninth place. The triple jump winner leaped 45-04 while the long jump winner leaped 21-05.
Brayden Heksel, a sophomore, pole vaulted 11-02-00 for fifth place. The winner cleared 13-08.
The boys 4x800 quartet of Vetter, Kelly, Waldron and Buboltz led most of the relay but finished in third place with an 8:26.47. The winning time was 8:22.31.
“They all would have had to PR to make state,” said assistant coach Bree Meyer.
The girls 4x400 team of Charlotte Kirschner, Maddie Cooney, Savannah Meyer and Maddie Huiras finished in 4:22.10 for fifth place. The winning time was 4:03.73.
Christian Barker, a sophomore, flung the discus 114-08 for 11th place. On the girls side, Brianna Michels, a senior, hurled the discus 96-05 for ninth place.
Sixteen athletes typically participated in each event. For the relays, there were four teams. Some of the field events were a few short of the 16 maximum participants.
As a team, the Crusader girls finished in a respectable third place with 56 points behind JWP (79) and St. Clair (63). There were 23 teams competing.
The boys were tied for seventh place among 24 teams. With 74 points, Maple River won the meet. Jackson County Central was second with 25 points, LCWM-Nicollet was fourth with 62 points, Le Sueur-Henderson was fourth with 61 points, Windom Area was fifth with 51 points, Sibley East was sixth with 39 points. Loyola/Cleveland and JWP each had 37.5 points.
State meet info
The state meet will be held at St. Michael-Albertville. Tuesday June 10 are Class A prelims while finals are the next day. Both start at 3:30 p.m. The 3200 is an exception as the finals will be the second-to-last event on Tuesday. The 1600 does not have a prelim. The girls high jump is on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Last year, Charlotte Meyer finished the state 3200 in 11:27.85 for sixth place. Savannah Meyer ran the 800 at state in 2023 and the 1600 there three years ago. Kelly was 10th in the 3200 a year ago. Huiras and Kijenski competed at state last year in the same events they will do this year but did not get out of the prelims.
Above: Earning a trip to the state track & field meet are, from L-R, Charlotte Meyer (1600, 3200), Maddie Huiras (110 H, 300 H), Chase Kijenski (300 H), Soren Kelly (3200), Charlotte Kirschner (high jump) and Savannah Meyer (800).
Savannah Meyer was happy to make a return trip to state after sitting out the meet last year.
