Kinser, Gach and Meyer all place at state track and field meet

Three Worthington High School athletes competing Friday and Saturday at the Minnesota Class AA track and field meet each wound up placing in the top eight of their respective events.

Senior Austin Kinser, who qualified Friday morning for the 400-meter finals by winning his heat in a time of 49.72 seconds, placed fifth Saturday with a clocking of 48.94 seconds. The winner, senior George Nelson of Providence Academy, finished with a personal-best time of 48.41 seconds.

Senior Tethlouch Gach, who also qualified Friday morning for the 110-meter hurdles finals with a time of 15.06 seconds, placed sixth Saturday at 14.98 seconds. The champion, senior Lorenzo Hampton III of Fridley, took the race in a season-best 14.13 seconds.

Junior Caleb Meyer, who advanced to the state meet in the high jump for the third year in a row, finished in eighth place Saturday, on which the entire event took place. Meyer's leap was 6 feet, two inches; the winner — senior Andrew Russell of Mahtomedi — came in with a personal-record jump of 6 feet, 11½ inches. 

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Jackson County Central's Natalia Botello-Ramos on Saturday placed third in the Minnesota Class A track and field meet 100-meters finals. The Huskies' junior finished with a personal-best time of 12.15 seconds. Hills-Beaver Creek junior Brynn Bakken won the race with a PR of 11.69 seconds.

Botello-Ramos also competed in the 200-meter finals and took sixth with a PR of 25.35 seconds. Violet Erdovich of Ely won in 23.89, also her best-ever time. Botello-Ramos — along with teammates Zoey Hall, Stevie Untiedt and Allison Luebben — placed sixth in the 4200 relay with a time of 1:44.51.

Also competing at state this weekend was Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda junior Alabama Hoonhorst. In the discus, Hoonhorst finished 15^th with a throw of 117 feet, 8 inches. In the shot put, she placed 17^th with a toss of 33 feet, 9.25 inches.

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In American Legion baseball, Worthington won its season-opener by blanking visiting St. James 2-0 on Thursday night. Ethan Anderson threw a complete-game four-hitter and struck out seven; he also had an RBI single. Gavin Bell, Austin Gruis, Wilson Mahlberg and Wyatt Petersen also had hits, and Bell drove in the other run. Worthington's next game is at home Thursday against Pipestone.