(The Chaska Girls Track & Field team competed in the Section 2AAA Championships on May 28 and 30, sending two individuals and one relay to the Minnesota State AAA Track and Field Meet, held June 10 and 12 at STMA High School.)

The Hawks Girls Track & Field team turned in a strong performance at the Section 2AAA meet, highlighted by a slew of personal records, two school records, and five athletes advancing to state.

Junior Noella Ross continued to etch her name into the Hawks’ all-time record book, breaking her own school record in the 800-meter run and helping set a new school record in the 4×800-meter relay. Ross qualified for state in both events.

Competing in one of the toughest sections in Minnesota, Ross finished second in the 800 meters — just four-tenths of a second behind first place. She heads to state with one of the top qualifying times and is a strong contender for this year’s 800-meter title.

Ross was joined by freshmen Lillian Gramith and Rebecca Ross, as well as senior Sidney Fuhr, on the record-breaking 4×800-meter relay. The quartet placed third in the section with a season-best time of 9:26 and will head to state with a solid shot at earning All-State honors. Freshman Maria Knott will serve as the team’s alternate.

Junior Ayla Schmitz rounded out Chaska’s state qualifiers, placing second in the high jump with a leap of 5’2”. Schmitz now ranks second place all-time in Chaska High history in the high jump. 

This marks the second consecutive state meet appearance for both Ross and Schmitz.

Head Coach Jesse Longley praised his athletes’ efforts.

“Our 4×800 team was really one of our top highlights of the whole season,” said Longley. “They’ve had a HUGE time drop since the beginning of the year, breaking our school record, and qualifying for state.”

Longley also had high praise for Schmitz.

“Ayla has been a top athlete in this program and really works hard at her trade,” Longley said. “I’m looking forward to her finishing strong at state in two weeks.”

In addition to the state qualifiers, Longley highlighted several other standout performances at the section meet:

• The 4×200 relay of junior Evelyn Balk, freshmen Jazzmin Twaglee and Kaylyn Harris, and sophomore Moriya Hall ran a season-best time to finish 5^th in sections. The team also moved into 5^th place on the all-time Chaska list.
• The 4×100 relay of Hall, Harris, Twaglee and freshman Faith Lubs now ranks 6^th on the all-time Chaska list.
• The 4×400 relay team — Noella and Rebecca Ross, Gramith, and senior Izzy Bigaouette — dropped a whopping six seconds to place 5th.
• Bigaouette, one of the team’s most well-rounded athletes, also competed well in the discus, shot put, and 400-meter run, finishing as Chaska’s top performer in each event.
• Freshman Lyla Dreyer (3rd) and sophomore Claire Hendrickson (5th) both landed on the pole vault podium, with Dreyer narrowly missing a state berth. Both athletes now rank in the all-time Top 5 in CHS history in the pole vault (Hendrickson is 3^rd, Dreyer is 4^th).
• Senior Madison Edwards finished 8th in the high jump, also making the podium, while narrowly missing state. Edwards finishes her Chaska career with the 3^rd highest high jump in school history.
• All three 3200-meter runners hit personal bests and finished in the Top 10: freshman Rebecca Ross (5th), senior Sidney Fuhr (8th), and freshman Maria Knott (10th). Ross and Fuhr also moved up the all-time Chaska 3200-meter list, with Ross now ranking 4^th and Fuhr now ranking 6^th.  Fuhr also ranks 7^th in the 1600-meter run.

Coach Longley was proud of the team’s effort overall.

“It was great to see kids hit their PRs and best marks, but even more important, how well they all supported each other. And it was so great for the 4×800 relay to qualify!”

Looking ahead to next year, Longley is optimistic.

“We have a young, talented group of athletes — especially our 22 freshmen, one of our biggest and most talented classes in years. Hopefully we will send even more athletes to State next year,” Longley said. “The future is bright!”

Metro West Conference

Led by three-time conference champion Noella Ross (400m, 800m, 1600m), conference high jump champion Ayla Schmitz, and conference 3200m champion Rebecca Ross, the Hawks Girls Track & Field team took 4^th place in this year’s Metro West Conference Track Meet.

Ross, Ross and Schmitz all earned All-Conference honors for their wins. Earning Honorable Mention All-Conference were Madison Edwards (3^rd in the High Jump) and Claire Hendrickson (3^rd in the pole vault).