Five Blossoms, one Tiger take on state
Blooming Prairie’s Gloria Hernandez races ahead of an opponent in the Class A state 4x400 relay race. Hernandez qualified for state in the 4x400 and the 1,600-meter race in her state track and field debut. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
A group of five Awesome Blossoms and one Tiger took on the Class A state meet last week with Blooming Prairie qualifiers Gloria Hernandez, Jaspher Doocy, Haley McIntosh and Bella Romeo teaming up for the 4x400 relay – Hernandez also ran in the 1,600-meter race – and Medford’s Henry Miller competing in the discus and shot put events.
Blooming Prairie’s 4x400 relay team kicked off the weekend by placing 10th and setting a new season-best time of 4:06.35.
Since the beginning of the season, the 4x400 team has also improved its personal best time by 33 seconds.
However, the team’s time and placement are the cherries on top of what is already a major accomplishment for Blooming Prairie’s track program.
“If my stats are right, the last time Blooming brought a relay team to the state state was in 1997. So, 29 years. To bring a great group of kids to the state meet is a blast,” said Blooming Prairie head coach Kylie Forystek.
Blooming Prairie’s Hernandez also competed in the 1,600-meter race on Friday night, finishing 12th in her first state meet after qualifying for state cross-country the past two seasons.
The junior crossed the finish line in 5:17.45 for a personal-best time and will look to continue building her impressive Awesome Blossoms’ resume with one more season of eligibility next year.
“I thought the first lap was going to be fast and I knew that I was going to have to kick really hard on that last lap… It felt good being out here and being able to share this moment with my teammates. It’s always more fun being here with friends and not being alone at a meet like this,” said Hernandez.
Medford’s Henry Miller was the lone Tiger to suit up at state and finished his two-day stretch by taking 11th in the shot put and 17th in the discus event.
Miller was just under two feet shy in the shot put of making a finals appearance in his sophomore season, but still threw an impressive 51 feet, 9.25 inches in a field largely made up of seniors.
In the discus, Miller had a tough start with a foul on his first throw, but bounced back to throw a final distance of 138 feet and one inch for 17th place.
