8 To State; Diesel Going For 2, 4x8s Both Qualify

BY MICHAEL BOYD JR.

Ste. Genevieve boys' track and field head coach Brian Jett comforts distance runner Kelsea Inman after she completed the 4x400-meter relay race during the MSHSAA Class 3 sectional meet at Ste. Genevieve High. The relay team took fifth and didn't qualify for state. Photo by Michael Boyd Jr.

The nicely revamped Dragons Stadium was the setting for the MSHSAA Class 3 sectional track and field meet Saturday, but the home-track advantage didn’t work out as well as hoped for the Ste. Genevieve teams.

It was the first time SGHS has hosted the state sectionals in program history. A million-dollar stadium renovation that includes a brand new track will earn a school such honors. The last hosted a state playoff meet (districts) in 1989.

The Dragons and Hunters will send only a combined eight athletes to the MSHSAA Class 3 championships Friday and Saturday at Lincoln University’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium in state’s capital city.

MSHSAA doesn’t keep team scores in the sectionals, but the top-four sectional placers qualify for the two-day, 85th-annual state meet in Jefferson City.

The Dragons’ Erich Diesel, a junior, was the only member to qualify in two events.

Diesel took fourth place in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10 minutes and 10.24 seconds.

Diesel will join the 4x800m relay team as its second leg with Tim Lurk, Corey Samples and Will Everett, respectively. They took fourth with a time of 8:16.32.

The Hunters’ 4x800m relay team of Nicole Rottler, Jennifer Bauman, Allison Gettinger and Kelsea Inman also qualified for state, taking third with a time of 9 minutes and 55.14 seconds.