Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Emily Pearson clears the bar in the pole vault during the Section 2AA Track and Field Championship at Worthington High School on Friday.

WORTHINGTON — New Ulm High School’s James Osborne and Emily Pearson qualified for the State Track and Field Meet after the Section 2AA Track and Field Championship at Worthington High School on Friday.

Osborne placed second in the high jump with a personal-best jump of 6 feet, 2 inches. Emily Pearson placed second in the pole vault with a vault of 11 feet, 2 inches.

As a team, the New Ulm boys placed 11th with 17.5 points and the girls placed 12th with 15.5 points.

Another top finisher for the New Ulm boys was Marqavion Haefner, who finished third in the pole vault (12-5). For the girls, Laura Bertrang finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.91).

“We had a lot of kids that got their personal records,” New Ulm head coach Andrea Hanson said. “So they’re ending on a high note. We had a lot of kids that didn’t quite get what they wanted. So it’s kind of fielding the excitement of some and the disappointment of other ones, balancing that out. They’re really great at supporting each other that way. A lot of our kids can have a terrible day, and they will be the loudest cheering section for the kid that’s having a great day, and it’s awesome to see the team work together like that.”

Osborne and Pearson will compete in the State Track and Field Meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael on June 10. The state meet begins on June 8 with Class A and Class AAA prelims, but Class AA finals take place June 10. The rest of the team will have to wait until next year to get their chance.

“We still have the same goal of more kids out for track and field,” Hanson said. “We’re losing a good chunk of our seniors that have been awesome leaders and real fast runners out here and have had a good positive impact on the team. So they leave their mark on the team and holes to fill. But we also have a lot of kids back that their heart is in track and field, so having those kids coming back makes me confident that they’re going to try to get their frields to get them out in track and field and help boost our numbers. They have a lot of room to grow, so I think having today and being in a meet where the competition is so fiercely high, they’re leaving today hungry to come back and do better next year.”