Three WHS track and field athletes qualify for upcoming state meet

Three members of the Worthington Trojans' boys track and field team have advanced to the state meet as a result of their performances during Friday's second day of the Section 2AA Championships at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter. 

Austin Kinser, who graduated from Worthington High School on Friday night, captured the sectional championship in the 400 meters, finishing with a time of 48.87 seconds. Kinser bested his previous personal record of exactly 50 seconds while also shattering the old section record of 49.45 seconds. He had placed fourth in the 400-meter prelims on Wednesday. Also in the 400 finals on Friday, his sophomore brother Cameron placed sixth with a PR of 51.65 seconds.

Tetlouch Gach, another just-graduated Worthington High senior, will also compete at the state meet after placing third in Friday's Section 2AA 110-meter hurdles final. Gach finished with a personal-best time of 14.87 seconds to move onward. Gach had also taken third during Wednesday's prelims.

The third Trojan to qualify for state Friday was junior Caleb Meyer, who earned his third trip in a row to that meet by finishing first in the sectional high jump competition with a jump of 6 feet, 3 inches. 

Also on Friday, Austin Kinser was seventh in the 200 with a clocking of 22.9 seconds, and Gach was eighth in the 300 hurdles in 43.13. 

The state meet is scheduled for this Thursday through Saturday at St. Michael High School.

**

The Adrian-Ellsworth baseball team, up against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton for the fourth time this season, edged past the Knights 5-3 Saturday in Milroy in elimination bracket action to remain alive in the Section 3A Tournament.

The second-seeded Dragons, who got only one hit in Saturday's game, will next face Dawson-Boyd at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Milroy's Yankee Field. Should they win, they'll have an opportunity to play for the sectional title and a state berth on Thursday in Milroy against top-seeded Murray County Central.

R-T-R took a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first inning against A-E, but the Dragons got an unearned run in the bottom of the inning when Garrett Penning kept himself alive in a rundown between first and second long enough to enable Joe Rahe to score.

Adrian-Ellsworth tied things up in the third when Travis Weiss was hit by a pitch and later came around to a score on a two-out throwing error. A Knights' sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 3-2 R-T-R, but the Dragons answered with three big runs. A walk to Caleb Wolf, a line-drive single by Penning, a run-scoring wild pitch, a walk to Charger Erlandson and a passed ball that scored both Penning and Erlandson accounted for the runs.

Weiss scattered four R-T-R hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 120-pitch effort, and Penning got the final out with the bases loaded to preserve the victory.

**

In the Section 2AAA Tournament Saturday, Albert Lea defeated Worthington 13-3 in New Ulm to conclude the Trojans' season. WHS finished the year with a 3-19 record.