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It was a mixture of relief, goosebumps and pure joy when the Cardinals’ girls track and field team finally saw what their season of hard work had earned: a state championship.
The state meet was filled with two days of intense competition and scoreboard-watching. The team started strong on Friday, sending many Cardinals to Saturday’s finals.
That’s when the points started to tally, and head coach MaryJo Swann said it was time for the athletes to show up and perform their best.
And they did, scoring 68 points and beating out second-place Andale by 13 points.
“You’re just flooded with pure excitement and happiness knowing the girls put in all that work all season,” Swann said. “Knowing that they were just dedicated in their persistence and their willingness to pick each other up after difficult things and still give their best, walking away with the state championship, I think, was just incredible.”
It was Swann’s first year coaching the Cardinals, and senior Sophie Whalen said she did a great job preparing the team for the challenges they would face in the postseason.
“I think, across the board, our athletes had been trained well the whole year,” Whalen said. “And it just prepared us well for when we were at state.”
It was the program’s first girls team state championship.
The Cardinals knew they had a shot going in, coming off strong performances at both the league and regional meets. But it was crucial every athlete came out and performed their best to claim the state title.
“I just feel very grateful and blessed that this team, this year, we all had a lot of fun,” Whalen said. “Everybody got along really well. And yeah, everybody that won and succeeded really deserved it and worked hard. So, I just felt very proud and blessed.”
Two girls claimed individual state titles alongside the team championship. Junior Addy Hemphill won the long jump and junior Hanna Keltner won the 1600-meter run.
Swann has watched Hemphill’s success and growth closely this season as her long jump coach. She chose Hemphill as a team captain before the season because of her reliability and leadership skills.
Swann says Hemphill’s success is due to her ability to perform under pressure. At both league and regionals, Hemphill scratched her first two jumps in prelims, leaving her with only one attempt left to get on the scoreboard and ensure she could advance.
But she kept her calm, as Swann said she always manages to do, and didn’t only keep her season alive, but ended it on the top step of the podium as a state champion.
Hemphill said she was thankful for the close team she was able to compete with and the support they gave her throughout the year,
“This group of girls is really close,” Hemphill said. “They are just so much fun. We’re always out there supporting each other and cheering each other on.”
For Keltner, Swann said her approach is calm and collected. She is a beacon of consistency and confidence, putting herself in a position to compete in every race, regardless of the opponent.
“When she took the lead, no one was going to take it from her,” Swann said. “And it was just awesome to watch her finish that race so strong.”
Keltner described the individual title as “a long time coming” after she finished just short last year.
“I was just really thankful for everyone who helped me win that and everyone who celebrated with me,” she said. “It was a really cool moment, all my teammates celebrating with me afterward.”
On the boys side, Kole Manley claimed the individual state title in javelin. Last week, Manley placed eighth at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon to be named an under-20 All-American.
Manley thanked his coaches and teammates for helping him push through the hard moments to achieve his goals.
“This season was filled with so many ups and downs both physically and mentally,” he said. “Sports are supposed to be hard and that’s what makes the success and victories worth it.”
For Whalen and the other Cardinals seniors, it was the perfect way to round out their careers. Whalen said track and field helped instill in her important life lessons.
“You’re working for your own goals, so when things go bad, it’s really hard on yourself,” Whalen said. “But when things go good, you’re very proud of yourself, because you know that you put in the work for it. I think it’s taught me that if I want to achieve something, then I need to believe in myself, but I can’t achieve that if I’m not going to work hard.”
Keltner and Hemphill, the two individual girls state title champions, are both juniors, which means they will return next season.
After the state championship meet, Keltner said the two were already discussing what the future might hold.
“Oh my gosh, we could probably do this next year, too,” she said.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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