The Northfield High School girls track and field team capped its successful 2024 season with several solid performances at the recent MSHSL Class AA championship meet, which was held at St. Michael-Albertivlle High School on June 7-8.
Tops on that list were two trips to the podium by Raider athletes in the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles. Sydney Livingston, a ninth grader, earned All-State honors with a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at 15.80, and junior Emily Beaham placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles to receive All-State notice with a time of 46.84.
As a team, Northfield placed 35th in the field of 49 schools at the Class AA meet with six points. Alexandria won the meet with 79 points followed by top five finishers Monticello (68.5), Providence Academy (62), Mankato East (52) and Pequot Lakes (50).
The Raiders sent 11 individual qualifers to the state meet this season along with their 4x800 relay team of Josie Hauck, Peyton Quaas, Claire Fobord and Makayah Petricka (alternates included Anna Forbord, Nora Kortuem and Charlotte Flory).
The 4x800 relay placed 16th at the meet with a time of 9:55.30, while Mankato East won the event at 9:14.93.
Petricka, an eighth grader, qualified for the meet in the 3200 meters and placed 12th overall with a time of 11:32.15.
In the field events, Livingston and Judith Prensa Aupetit qualified for NHS in the long jump. Prensa Aupetit placed 14th at 16-8 and Livingston placed 26th at 16-0.75. In the high jump, sophomore Amber Mahal qualified for the second consecutive season for the state meet and placed 16th at 5-1. Sophomore Tegan Madow also qualified in the high jump and placed 28th at 4-11.
In the pole vault, Northfield senior Erika Neseth placed 21st at the meet at 9-6 and junior teammate Ani Gottfried also turned in a 9-6 performance in the pole vault at the state meet for the Raiders.
Northfield junior Alaina French finished her season with a 10th place finish at the state meet in the shot put at 36-6 and teammate senior Inga Johnson placed 15th in the event at 35-2. The NHS duo also qualified for the state meet in the discus as Johnson placed 11th in the event at 107-5 and French was 21st at 93-11.
“We have all but two of these athletes back next year,” NHS coach Janet Smith said. “The experiences the returners got at the state meet this year will fuel their motivation for next year. If they are able to qualify for the state meet again, they will come into it more confident and calm and use what they learned at this high quality, more intense type of meet. We tied for 35th out of 49 schools represented at the state meet this year. We could definitely place higher as a team at the state meet next season.”
Smith added, “I am proud of all the girls and the season we had. Going from ninth in the Big 9 to third this season and being the Section 1AA runners-up this season exceeded our expectations. Next year we will be even better knowing that we have this kind of talent and can compete at this higher level.”
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