The Hastings Raiders turned in a strong performance at the Section 3AAA Track and Field Championships on May 27 and May 29 at Macalester College, earning third place in the boys team standings and fourth place in the girls standings while sending 11 athletes on to the Class AAA State Meet. State qualifiers for Hastings included Ellie Magnus in the girls 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, Olyvia Erickson in the girls 400-meter dash, Mya Bauer in the girls high jump, Zachary Shatek in the boys 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, Lane Hoffman in the boys 200-meter dash, Sebastian Strauss, Gunner Hanstad and Matthew Jelks in the boys 400-meter dash, along with three relay teams.
The girls 4x200-meter relay team of Kaylin Jelks, Olyvia Erickson, Jersey Appert and Ellie Magnus qualified for state by winning the section championship in a meet-record time of 1:39.77. The boys 4x200-meter relay team of Gunner Hanstad, Zachary Shatek, Sebastian Strauss and Lane Hoffman also captured a section title and state berth with a meet-record 1:26.10. The boys 4x400-meter relay team of Lane Hoffman, Gunner Hanstad, Brayden Thomsen and Sebastian Strauss added another section championship and state qualification after running a meet-record 3:16.95.
The girls opened the meet with one of the most impressive performances of the weekend. Senior Ellie Magnus captured the section title in the 100-meter dash, running a meet record time of 11.80 seconds. The mark not only won the event but also bettered the previous section record. Teammate Kaylin Jelks added a fifth-place finish in 12.87.
Magnus followed that effort with another dominant victory in the 200-meter dash. She crossed the finish line in 24.11 seconds to claim another section championship. Jelks again scored valuable team points with a fifth-place finish in 26.61.
Hastings continued its success in the sprint events when Olyvia Erickson won the girls 400-meter dash. Erickson ran 56.70 seconds to take first place and secure a state berth. Freshman Paisley Grunzke added a strong fourth-place finish in 1:00.31.
In the hurdles, Grace Braucks reached the podium twice. The ninth grader placed third in the 300-meter hurdles in 48.03 and finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.08. Jenevieve Behnke added a ninth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
The Raiders also found success in the relays. Hastings won the girls 4x200-meter relay in a meet-record time of 1:39.77. The championship quartet of Jelks, Erickson, Appert and Magnus secured a return trip to state. The girls 4x400-meter relay team of Jersey Appert, Grace Braucks, Paisley Grunzke and Erickson finished third in 4:13.96, while the 4x800-meter relay team of Sara Siebenaler, Lucy Burmeister, Elliana Lucking and Linnea Ronning placed third in 10:04.27.
In the field events, Mya Bauer delivered another state-qualifying performance by winning the high jump at 5 feet, 2 inches. Bauer cleared the state standard and earned 12 team points with the section title.
Distance runners also contributed important points. Lucy Burmeister finished eighth in the 800 meters, Katherine Nowak placed 11th in the 1600 meters, and Linnea Ronning, Clara Hochmuth and Elliana Lucking finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively in the 3200 meters.
The Hastings boys matched the girls with a series of standout performances across the track.
Zachary Shatek earned a state berth in the 100-meter dash, placing third in the finals with a time of 10.87 seconds. He returned later to finish fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.22, also under the state qualifying standard.
The highlight of the boys sprint events came from Lane Hoffman, who won the 200-meter dash section championship in 21.50 seconds. Hoffman's victory gave Hastings another individual title and another state qualifier.
The Raiders dominated the 400-meter dash. Sebastian Strauss won the event in 47.75, Gunner Hanstad finished third in 48.59, and Matthew Jelks took fourth in 49.33. All three performances met the state qualifying standard and gave Hastings a huge boost in the team race.
Aiden Reuter scored in the 800 meters with an eighth-place finish in 2:05.72. Will Carry placed 19th in the 1600 meters and 14th in the 3200 meters, while Tristan Herbst finished 13th in the 3200.
In the hurdles, Aven Johnson finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 42.63 and Ashton Arnes was close behind in fifth at 43.29. Davion Navarrette added an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles.
The relay teams were once again a major strength for Hastings. Hanstad, Shatek, Strauss and Hoffman combined to win the 4x200 relay in a meet-record 1:26.10. Hoffman, Hanstad, Thomsen and Strauss followed with another meet record and section title in the 4x400 relay at 3:16.95. The 4x800 relay team of Brayden Thomsen, Finn Cullen, David Tireman and Aiden Reuter added a third-place finish in 8:08.74.
When the final team scores were tallied, the Hastings boys finished third with 110 points behind champion Rosemount and runner-up Eagan. The Hastings girls scored 136 points to place fourth behind Rosemount, Apple Valley and Eagan. The Raiders were led by individual section champions Magnus, Erickson, Bauer, Hoffman and Strauss, along with championship relay performances from Jelks, Erickson, Appert, Magnus, Hanstad, Shatek, Strauss, Hoffman and Thomsen. Hastings will now turn its attention to the Class AAA State Track and Field Meet, where a large contingent of Raiders will compete after an outstanding showing at the section championships.