May 31, 2025
Staff photo by Fritz Busch River Valley 4×400 relay anchor Matt Groebner races to the finish line at the Section 2A Track & Field Championships at Mankato West Saturday. The River Valley relay team of Noah Christensen, Lucas Hensch, Matt Groebner and Luka Fernandez finished first and set a new school record of 3:29:59.
MANKATO — Several River Valley boys 4×400-relay team members dumped bottles of water on the head of coach Heidi McCone after they won the final race of the Section 2A Track and Field Championships Saturday at Mankato West.
They set a program record of 3:29.59.
“What a great way to end the meet. They shattered the school record by two seconds. They wanted it bad. I’m just really happy,” said McCone, dripping with water.
Anchor leg runner Matt Groebner had a big lead by the time he got the baton from Noah Christensen.
“We all ran very well today with splits in the low 50s. We planned this many times. I though we could run under 3:30 today and we did. My teammates (Luca Fernandez, Lucas Hensch and Noah Christensen) put me in a great spot,” said Groebner.
Staff photo by Fritz Busch River Valley 400 meter runner Marley Hewitt, center, finishes second in the Section 2A meet but reset the school record with a 59.73 second time.
Hensch talked about running with the team.
“The whole team is positive. We get a boost from each other every day. It helps a lot to run with them. Running together helps us a lot,” he said.
The Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 4×400 boys team of Henry Oscarson, Isaac Rodman, Aidan Moeller and Charlie Gengler took second to earn a trip to state with a time of 3:32.6. Gengler also won the boys 800 with a time of 2:01.93 to qualify for state.
Groebner had more of a battle in the 1,600-meter run, winning in 4:36.87, one-hundredth of a second ahead of Matt Stapek of Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda.
Taking first in the boys 4×800 and qualifying for the state meet was Sibley East’s team of Julio Alejandro, Gage Horstman, Mausten Krueger and Gavin Pomplun, who ran an 8:22.31. The River Valley boys 4×800-relay team of Gianluka Fernandez, Matthew Fernandez, Christensen and Groebner finished second in 8:22.77 to qualify for the state meet.
Staff photo by Fritz Busch Minnesota Valley Lutheran triple jumper Kamryn Davey finishes second in the Section 2A meet with a leap of 34 feet, 4 ¼ inches, earning a state meet trip.
In the boys 3,200, Madelia senior Josiah DeMaris took second to earn a spot at state, finishing with a time of 10:14.9.
In the boys pole vault, LCWM/N’s Levi Freyberg took first with a top vault of 13 feet, 8 inches to qualify for state, while Sibey East’s Aidan McCue took second in the boys triple jump (43-08) to earn a spot at state. LCWM/N’s Drew Turgeon took second in the boys discus (151-07) to qualify for state and he also qualified for state in the boys shot put with a first-place throw (50-00.5).
River Valley freshman Marley Hewitt earned a state meet trip and reset the River Valley 400-meter record, finishing second in 59.73 seconds.
“I felt great. I felt proud. I enjoy running by myself in my free time and with people and the team,” she said.
The River Valley girls 4×800-relay team of Emmie McCone, Lydia Dauer, Marissa Pabst and Katie Thram finished second in 10:06.48, qualifying for the state meet.
Another freshman, Kamryn Davey of Minnesota Valley Lutheran finished second in the triple jump in 34-feet, 4.25 inches. She set the school triple jump record 34 feet, 10 inches, topping the old record by almost a foot a couple weeks ago.
“I like hurdling and triple jump a lot, especially when there is close competition,” she said.
Chargers head coach Rollin Timm had high compliments for Davey.
“She works hard and she’s easy to work with. She knows what she wants to accomplish and does it. She was close to the school record today,” he said.
Davey finished second in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.71, qualifying for the state meet.
Annie Wersal, a Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) freshman, finished second in the discus with a 114-foot, 11-inch toss, well beyond her earlier throws to punch her ticket to state.
“I threw 104 twice, calmed myself down and threw better. I like watching the discus plane (fly through the air),” she said.
For more results, visit https://live.herostiming.com/meets/53580/live or visit www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/613922/info for more.
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