Blue Earth Area’s Addison Armstrong had an impressive performance at the south subsection competition in Mapleton. Armstrong won gold in the individual sprint and pole vault and anchored the runner-up relay. He demonstrated his athletic versatility and helped the team prepare for next week’s Section 2A competition.
Armstrong’s winning time in the 400 meters was 63.23 seconds, and he cleared the pole vault at a height of 10 feet 9 inches. He also competed in the 4×200 meters relay with teammates Eloise Blair, Taylor He Douglas, and Catherine He Amon. Their time of 1:53.26 secured a spot in the divisional competition starting on June 3.
Chloe Grohe, another Blue Earth Area teammate, qualified for both throwing events. She finished second in the shot put and fourth in the discus. Douglas and Blair also earned divisional berths for the team.
Natalie Silz finished fifth in the Open 400, and Aubrey Woodwick finished seventh in the 3,200m sprint for the Blue Earth area. Kayla Mattson of the Maderia/Truman/Granada Huntley East Chain/Martin Luther Jayhawk team earned the only qualification in the women’s division with her sixth place finish in the Open 400.
Martin County West women’s line-up was led by Lucy Larson and Katie Hartke, who finished second in their sprint and distance races respectively. Avery Sanders finished eighth in the Open 100 and qualified for the final round. Jayhawk sprinter Ryan Kobelski won subsection gold in the Open 400 and placed second in the half distance.
BEA teammates Jack Norman and Austin Stauffer each had two individual performances in their qualifying division. Norman advanced to section action in both throws and in both the Bucks’ third-placed 4×200 and 4×100. Stauffer cleared 18-8 1/2 in the long jump and threw the sand 38-1 3/4 in the triple jump.
Ryan Pearson topped Martin County West/Butterfield Odin’s 3,200m, while Max Olsson and Carlos Rodriguez created a double forward effort for the MCW/BO conglomerate. MCW/BO Berent Kosbab, Jameson Forsberg, and the team’s 4×400 relay also secured spots in the divisional competition.