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Albany track standouts go the distance

Albany High School will take its long-standing tradition of excellence in distance races back to the WIAA Division 3 state and field meet.

The Comets have come through the Bangor Sectional with four automatic state qualifiers in girls competition and three for the boys. Those efforts include sectional championships in the 3,200-meter relay for both boys and girls, with both also earning return trips.

Drew Mather gained a return trip in the boys 3,200 with a third-place sectional time of 10:06.19. The senior standout also joins sophomores Chad Helland and Jose Ramirez and junior Reece Whitehead, who ran a sectional-winning time of 8:18.11 in the 3,200 relay.

Mather, Ramirez and Whitehead also were on last year’s qualifying 3,200 team. Whitehead also gets to make the trip this year as an 800-meter qualifier after a third-place sectional finish with a 2:03.09 time.

Rosy Bauman, a senior, and junior Jessica Mauerman will return to state as members of the girls 3,200 relay team. They’ll be joined by senior Courtney Pfeuti and freshman Bailey Hlavachek after a pace-setting sectional performance of 10:01.21.

Bauman also has qualified in the 3,200, as did Hlavacek in the 1,600. Both finished second in the sectional with times of 11:54.62 and 5:25.65, respectively.

Hillary Best completes the Albany qualifiers as a sectional runner-up in the discus with a distance of 119 feet, 2 inches. She anchored the qualifying 3,200 relay team a year ago.

The 2011 state meet is next Friday and Saturday at Memorial Stadium on the UW-La Crosse campus.