Bowling Green Relay Team Wins Another State Championship
Bobcats Compete At State Track Meet
Bowling Green track athletes competed in the Class 3 state track meet over the weekend.
(The following results were reported by Coach Matt Chance.)
The 4×800 relay team of Hannah Kroencke, Kate Klott, Erin Martin and Quinn Grote collected their second consecutive state championship. The team also set a new school record time of 9:51.61, breaking their own record set at the state meet last year of 9:56.
“This was an amazing race for our 4×8 girls team. They ran a 17-second season-best and had all four girls run season-best performances,” Chance remarked. “We had three girls run personal-best performances and that led to us having a chance to beat Fatima High School.”
He noted that Kroencke led off the relay with her best race of the year.
“She fought extremely hard to stay with the lead group. She did exactly what we needed her to do and kept us within striking distance.”
Klott ran the second leg and took the baton from 11th place all the way to first place by the the end of her second lap.
“ It was a gamble to put our top 800 runner on the second leg, but I really felt that Kate would do whatever she had to do to get us back in first place and that would give our 3rd and 4th runners confidence that we could win it,” he explained. “It worked perfectly as Kate ran her best 800 relay split all season.”
Martin ran the third leg of the race and ran the best 800 of her life.
“She was very aggressive the first lap and finished very strong down the stretch. Erin did the same thing at state last year where she extended the lead and we got another big-time performance out of Erin in the 3rd leg.”
Grote wrapped up the race with the fourth leg and ran a five-second career-best.
“I informed Quinn early in the week that I was thinking about running her the fourth leg and I know she was a little nervous,” Chance said. “It’s tough asking a freshman to anchor a relay that has a chance at a state championship, but I saw something in practice the last few weeks that told me that she could handle it. Quinn could not have run a better race and outkicked the top distance runner in the state over the final 100 meters to bring home the state 4×800 relay championship for the second straight year.”
Klott also competed in the individual 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run. She took third place in the 800-meter and set a new school record of 2:21.21 that was set by Kelsey Finley in 2014 at 2:24.
Klott took fifth place in the 1600-meter run and set another new school record of 5:16.84, breaking her own that was set at the district meet at 5:24.
“Kate ran a great race in the 1600. She committed to the leaders at the start of the race and really fought hard to stay with them the entire race,” Chance said. “She was running as well as any distance runner in Class 3 at the end of the season and it was great watching her run an incredible race.”
For the 800-meter race there was an almost six-hour rain delay after Klott ran the 1600.
“That break really helped Kate refocus and rest up for her last race. From the start to the finish she was totally locked-in to breaking the school record and getting All-State. She was very confident all weekend and ran one of the best 800 races I have ever seen to finish third. Kate was in a zone that very few distance runners ever experience. Kate ran 3 races at state and set three school records and had three All-State performances.”
He added that Klott is now a five-time All-State athlete in cross country and track and still has two more years left in high school.
KateLynn Charlton finished in 10th place in the discus event with a distance of 108’4.
Assistant Coach (and throws coach) Virginia Ream noted that KateLynn had a great performance.
“She was able to hit a pretty good distance, but the field was really stacked with multiple girls hitting their personal bests well above recent performances. The discus field was probably the best it has been in several years. Even though Katelynn didn’t place in the top eight, she’s still in the top 10 which is a great accomplishment. I know it will give her a goal and a focus for next season.”
Jaylen Early took 11th plae in the high jump with a height of 5’0”.
“Jaylen had a tremendous season. This was by far her best season in high school. She is a three-time state qualifier in the high jump and she will be back again next season to get back on the podium. She was the conference, district, and sectional champion this season in the high jump. She will learn from this experience and it will drive her to get back to state next season.
Justin LeBeouf rounded out the state performances with the 800-meter run. He finished in 12th place with a personal-best time of 2:01.37.
“Justin ran a personal best and competed very well with some of the best mid-distance runners in the state. He was in the top eight until the final 50 meters and came up just short of being All-State,” Chance said. “Justin is a tough competitor and will be back again next season.”
