She could already lay claim to being Section’s 1A top hurdler. LFCMC junior Emma Breitsprecher can lay claim to being one of the state’s top Class A hurdlers too. She can probably lay claim to being its best Class A dual-event hurdler. In her second year of qualifying for state in both the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, Breitsprecher posted high finishes in both. But her Friday prelims weren’t the best omen. In the 100, Emma qualified (15.95), but third in her heat and ninth overall (top ten make finals). She came in seeded second. In the 300, she qualified (46.83), but again third in her heat (behind section rival Hailey Hindt of GMLOKS), and again ninth overall. She came in seeded second also. But then Saturday came and Breitsprecher ran a 15.67 in the 100. It wasn’t her best effort of the year (15.25), but only Ailsa Gilbert (15.09) of Watertown-Mayer, Gracie Elsenpeter (15.23) of Maple Lake, and Paige Ziegler (15.60) of Frazee did better. Breitsprecher took fourth. She didn’t qualify for last year’s 100-hurdle state final (ran 15.99). In the 300-hurdles, Emma B. again ran faster (season-best time, 44.91). Only defending champion Jaylen Struck-Schmitz (43.11) of Belle Plaine and Shaina Zinter (43.43) of Concordia Academy were better. For a second straight year, Breitsprecher took third. GMLOKS’ Hindt (45.36) took fourth. Breitsprecher was thus the only gal to finish top four in each hurdle competition. Only Struck-Schmitz (9th 100-H) and Zinter (5th 100-H) qualified for each final. Elsewhere, LFCMC’s best chance for a state title lie with its boys 4×400. The team of Drew Wyffels (senior), Josh Peters (senior), Ben Snyder (sophomore), and Carson Kiehne (sophomore) came in seeded first (3:26.60). They ran the second-best prelim time (3:25.95) behind Fairmont (3:24.15), narrowly ahead of Pine City (3:25.96) and Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta (3:25.99). In the finals, the top teams all improved. The Burros ran their best time of the year (3:25.49), but Fairmont (3:23.96) and Wadena-Deer Creek (3:24.09) ran faster. LFCMC took a very solid third. It came on the wings of the same LFCMC foursome running the 4×200 earlier in the meet. It also qualified (1:32.14) for the finals. Wyffels, Peters, Snyder, and Kiehne took seventh (1:32.57) in that event. Three-sport standouts Peters and Wyffels, after playing on sub-500 teams in other sports, get to run on the big stage in the spring as seniors. Three-event state qualifier Kiehne also ran the 400 between the two relays. He qualified ninth (51.06) on Friday, albeit second in his heat. In the finals, FC’s fast sophomore ran 50.88 to take sixth. Section 1A champion Kyler Bade ran 50.15 to become state champion. Kiehne took seventh (50.67) last year. Finally, newbie Kassidy Broadwater took her shot at the field in Pole Vault. The junior almost was done real early; it took until her last try to clear 8’6”. Broadwater then hit 9’, 9’6”, and finally a personal best 10’. She finished in tenth place (of 16). Perham’s Ashley Hokanson set the Class A record (12’7”) in winning the event. The senior converted nine of ten attempts building up to not being able to pull off 12’10”. The previous state record was 12’3”.
Breitsprecher’s Top Fours Leads LFCMC Brigade
