Three automatic state bids lead CMB girls to third at Hampton

HAMPTON — For the second straight season, senior Heather Jessen and junior Sailor Hinegardner are heading to the state track and field meet in individual events.

Jessen won the 3,000-meter run and Hinegardner was the runner-up in the long jump, and those finishes helped the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter girls’ track and field team to a third place team finish.

Sophomore Lauren Ratliff also punched her ticket to the state meet with a runner-up finish in the 800.

In the end, members of the Raider boys and girls teams ran one last lap together as Baxter and Collins-Maxwell will go their separate ways next season.

“This is a bittersweet end to the CMB Raider track team,” CMB girls coach Jerry Meinerts said. “As we go our separate ways next year, it was fitting that our girls and boys team ran one last lap after the meet was over, singing the Raider fight song on the home stretch as they finished together one last time.

“Many tears were shed tonight. Some happy tears as we had girls qualify for state, some sad tears as that will be the last time I hear the Raider fight song.”

Official results were unavailable at press time. The CMB boys did not have an automatic state qualifier and will have to wait until the at-large berths are announced Friday afternoon.

The top two finishers in each event in all Class 2A state qualifiers advance to next week’s state meet. The next best eight times, distances and heights earn at-large berths in each event.

Jessen won the 3,000 with a season-best time of 11 minutes, 34.59 seconds. She’ll run in the event at the state meet for the second straight year.

Hinegardner also is back to state in the long jump for the second straight season. She entered the finals in fifth place but a leap of 15 feet, 7 1/2 inches earned her a second-place finish. She missed first place by an inch.

“It really wasn’t a good day at the long jump, but it only takes one good jump to qualify,” Meinerts said. “We couldn’t get her steps right for some reason. She was able to get some run throughs before finals, and we got her dialed in.”

The final automatic qualifier was Ratliff in the 800. Her state-meet qualifying time was 2:30.62.

Meinerts thinks Ratliff also has a strong chance at an at-large berth in the 1,500. Ratliff was third in that event with a personal-best time of 5:13.89. That was six seconds faster than her previous best time.

The other two third-place finishes came from Hinegardner in the 100 hurdles and the 4x100 relay team.

Hinegardner’s time of 16.56 seconds ranks in the top 24 in 2A. The 4x100 relay team of freshman Rachel Kenney, junior Brianda Bane, senior Megan Ritter and Hinegardner finished third with a time of 52.87 seconds. That’s a top 30 time in 2A.

The shuttle hurdle relay was fourth, but the time of 1:11.50 ranks in the top 20 in 2A. That foursome includes sophomore Gracie Cheville, Bane, junior Mary Schabilion and Hinegardner.

On the boys’ side, CMB senior Brady Kemp was not a top-two finisher in the shot put but his distance of 51-1 could get an at-large berth. Sophomore Will Clapper’s best throw was 49-9 1/4.

The state track meet starts Thursday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines and runs through May 20.