As the track athletes prepared for their events at the state meet on Friday, May 24, they realized having such a large team there showed accomplishment. A total of 40 students qualified for state, the most in school history.

“You had more people cheering you on,” senior pole vaulter Emily Brigham said. “I like the atmosphere of having a big team.”

Brigham won her first state pole vaulting title and broke the state meet record with a vault of 12-1.

“I work at pole vault year round so it meant a lot to finally get a state championship,” Brigham said.

Along with her state championship, Brigham also took home a second place medal in long jump. Sophomore Holly Webb medaled with fifth place in 100-meter high hurdles. The 4×800 girls team medaled sixth place and the 4×400 girls team medaled fourth place. Senior Maddie Estell placed sixth for triple jump and fourth place for high jump. The girls team placed seventh overall.

For the boys team, sophomore Kurt Lovenstein placed eighth in the 800-meters. The 4×800 meter relay team medaled in sixth place. Senior Connor Hays medaled seventh place for pole vault and junior Henry Midyett medaled eighth place for javelin.

“We had some diamonds in the rough,” boys head coach Chris Dunback said. “There were boys who outperformed expectations.”

Though the state tournament ended early for senior Keenan Ford and his 4×400 team, he found positives in the loss.

“The experience of state is better than the competition,” Ford said. “It’s a great bonding experience for the track team as a whole.”