100 —Track newcomer Mariah Schroeder hasn't lost a 100-meter race since the beginning of the season. The Caledonia/Spring Grove junior now will test her self against the state's best. She has the field's seventh-best qualifying time of 12.58. Tops is Minneapolis North's T'Nia Riley (12.17). Amelia Harmon of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown comes in with a 12.35.
200 —C/SG's Schroeder is higher ranked in this race. She is third among qualifiers with her 25.42. North's Riley is best here too with her 25.08. Defending champion Jada Lewis, of Minneapolis Edison, comes in at 25.08. Plainview-Elgin-Millville's Morgan Shindelar, who was third at state in the 100 last year (but disqualified at sections this time), ran a 25.99 200 to qualify.
400 —GMLOKS' Lauren Buchholtz (59.10) and Plainview-Elgin-Millville's Chloe Holtz (59.58) both come in with nice times. But this field is stacked. Pequot Lakes' Chloe Bermel leads it with her 56.48 time. Three others have run under 59 seconds.
800 —This doesn't appear to be a killer field. Wabash-Kellogg's Ellie Sholing leads the pack with her 2:18.76 qualifying time. Next is Holy Family Catholic's Allie Bodin at 2:19.08. Triton's Nell Graham is at 2:21.68.
1,600 —And a child shall lead them. That is Winona Cotter seventh-grader Grace Ping, who is the one to beat. She ran a 5:04.04 in the section meet. Byron's Taylor Kreitinger, a freshman, is second at 5:09.79.
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3,200 —Cotter's Ping is the one to beat here, too. Her qualifying time of 10:42.24 is the field's best. Only one other runner in the pack has run sub-11 minutes (Math and Science's Tierney Wolfgram, 10:54.98). Lyle/Pacelli's Kayla Christopherson is also in the converstation, at 11:19.72.
100 hurdles —Kenyon-Wanamingo's Mara Quam and Byron's Emma Weatherly were fourth and seventh, respectively, at state last year. This time Weatherly comes in with the state's fourth-best qualifying time of 15:28. Quam is at 15.54. Bele Plaine's Selin Dikmen owns the best time (15.11).
300 hurdles —Dover-Eyota's Marissa Richter (46.23) and La Crescent's Clair Shepardson (46.80) are in the upper one-third of qualifiers. Richter has the second-best time in the field, with Belle Plaine's Dikmen on top (45.51).
High jump —Section 1A is loaded again with great girls high jumpers. Lyle/Pacelli's Sarah Holtz and P-E-M's Chloe Holtz are best in the field with their 5-4 jumps. Sarah Holtz was fourth at state last year, going 5-4. Chloe Holtz was fifth (5-3).
Long jump —Kenyon-Wanamingo's Quam will be trying to defend her state championship. She won it lastl year with a 17-7 jump. This time there is great competition, with Concordia Academy's coming in first with a 17-9 1/4 clearancer. Mora eighth-grader Taytum Klink went 17-4 1/4 in her section meet. Quam went 17-2 3/4 at sections.
Triple jump —K-W's Quam finished fifth at state last year with her 35-5 3/4 1/2 leap. She comes in with the third best qualifying distance of 36-4 1/2. Jenna Kes of Jordan went a superbt 38-7 at sections.
Shot put —P-E-M's Sarah Hart has been consistently excellent all season, with many throws in the 39-feet range. But she'll likely need to come up with something better at state, with four girls throwing over 41 feet at sections. That group is led by Blake's Jaimi Salone at 45-11.
Discus —Section 1A doesn't appear to have a state contender in the discus. The clear-cut favorite is Blake's Jaimi Salone. She threw is 150-8 at sections.
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Pole vault —If Byron's Hannah Coleman can perform as she did most of the season, including once vaulting 11 feet, she is a serious contender for a state title. She went 10-4 at sections, while Stewartville's Mariah Terhaar went 10-10. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown's Samantha Petry went 11-1.
400 relay —La Crescent is the one to beat here. The Lancers were timed in 50.08 in the section meet. Mineapolis Edison has the second-best time, 50.10. Caledonia/Spring Grove isn't far off at 50.38.
800 relay —Plainview-Elgin-Millville, led by star sprinter Morgan Shindelar, is a strong contender. The Bulldogs enter with the second-best qualifying time (1:46.05). Ahead of them is Blue Earth (1:45.52). GMLOKS is also right there, at 1:46.34.
1,600 relay —Lake City, Plainview-Elgin-Millville and Lanesboro/Fillmore Central are three teams to watch out for here. Lake City is at 4:03.13, second best in the field. Lanesboro/Fillmore Central comes in at 4:03.61 and P-E-M is at 4:03.97. The favorite is Blue Earth (3:59.54).
3,200 relay —Byron is in the middle of the pack among 3,200 qualifiers (9:43.89). Belle Plaine leads everyone with its 9:34.48 time.
— Pat Ruff
