Senior Meagan Grandgenett will compete at the State Meet in the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter hurdles

As expected, Buc standouts Meagan Grandgenett and Kate Hassing qualified for the State Meet held June 6-7 at Hamline University in St. Paul.

What wasn’t anticipated was how the defending state champion 4 x 400-meter relay team would end its season at the Section 2A track and field meet held May 31 in Mankato.

The Buc foursome entered the meet with the best time (4:07.04) among the eight finalists; more than four seconds faster than the nearest challenger.

Three of last year’s State gold medal team — Kate Hassing, Miranda Murray and Meagan Grandgenett — were back to defend their title.

Throughout the season Head Coach Tom Plocker experimented with several runners and was able to fill the shoes of graduate Christine Henke.

Sophomore Kate Hassing (right) jumps her way to a State berth in the triple jump and also qualified in the 200-meter dash. To see more photographs of this event, log on to http://cu.faribaultcountyregister.com

Sunny and hot, with temperatures in the 80s, the conditions seemed ideal for a Buc victory.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Grandgenett became ill and was unable to compete. Plocker inserted alternate Sara Warmka, and the eighth-grader responded with a blistering 61.8 first leg. Murray followed with a 62.2 and handed the baton off to Rylee Wagner.

Around the first turn the Buc freshman and a Belle Plaine runner became entangled and she tumbled to the ground.

“You really can’t fault anybody. Rylee was running hard and trying to get us back in the race,” says Plocker. “That’s the way it goes in athletics sometimes. There are no guarantees.”

Wagner was able to finish her leg and Hassing’s time of 59.2 gave the Bucs a 4:14.6. However, BEA was disqualified when Wagner left the track following her spill.

Grandgenett and Hassing each posted State-qualifying performances in individual competition.

The first two places in an event and winning relays advanced to compete at the State Meet.

In the 100-meter high hurdles, Grandgenett placed third with a time of 15.96, beating the State standard time of 16.0 The Buc senior’s time of 47.39 was good enough for second place in the 300-meter low hurdles.

“Meagan wasn’t feeling well. Her performance was another testament of her fortitude as well as her athletic ability,” Plocker says.

Hassing took runnerup honors in the 200-meter dash with a 26.89. The sophomore set another school record in the triple jump with her distance of 34-10 1/2 to grab the silver medal.

Plocker praised Hassing for her anchor leg in the 4 x 400 even though the Bucs had no chance of winning.

“Kate really ran an excellent leg. She and Meagan both performed at their customary high level,” he says.

Team scores: Belle Plaine 114, BEA 64, USC/AC 57, Jordan 52, NRHEG 52, plus 16 other teams.

Other BEA results:

100-meter high hurdles — Kelly Aukes 18.44, (15th).

4 x 100-meter relay — Meghan Mittelstadt, Annemarie Hoyt, Carolin Oswald, and Lexi Holland 52.54, (3rd).

4 x 200-meter relay — Mittelstadt (27.3), Hoyt (28.5), Sara Warmka (26.8), and Holland (27.6) 1:50.52, (4th) Shot put — Carolin Oswald 31-7, (12th).

Discus — Annemarie Hoyt 81-5, (13th).

100-meter dash — Lexi Holland 13.72, (6th).

400-meter dash — Sara Warmka 63.15, (7th).

800-meter run — Courtney Grandgenett 2:27.19, (6th, personal best time); Miranda Murray 2:32.18, (10th).

1,600-meter run — Rylee Wagner 5:58.6, (10th).

Triple jump — Sara Warmka 31-3 1/4, (10th).

Pole vault — Marissia Hagedorn 8-6, (7th); LaNay Walker 8-0, (10th)