There are several new aspects to this year's state track and field meet.
The location has changed to St. Michael-Albertville High School after a number of years at Hamline University in St. Paul.
This year's state meet will be a three-day event rather than the customary two. It starts Thursday evening with the 3200 meter run in each of the four divisions.
Over the final two days, the meet will be split into separate boys and girls meets.
In Class A on Friday, the boys meet starts at 10 a.m. and the girls at 3:30 p.m. Class AA will use the same schedule on Saturday.
However, maybe the most significant change is that there will be no preliminaries this year.
Rather than prelims on the first day with qualifiers advancing to the finals on the second day, every event is a timed final.
Entries are placed into heats based on their section performances. The faster times are in the second heat.
There will be two local runners in the Class A girls 3200 meters are 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Junior Laura Thompson of Fairmont had the second-fastest seed time (11:17.67) and freshman Katie Hartke of Martin County West the fourth (11:46.25).
In the Class A boys meet Friday, Jackson County Central senior Trevin Gaustad will run in the first heat of the 110-meter high hurdles at 10:30 a.m. and junior Ridge VanWesten is in the second heat of the 300 hurdles at 11:58 a.m.
Fairmont junior Hudson Artz is entered in three events. He'll run in the first heat of the 100 meters and in the second heat in both the 200 and 400 meters.
Cardinals' eighth-grader Hank Artz is in the first flight of the shot put.
Fairmont 4x200 relay team of James Johnson, Trey Tumbleson, Kainen Craig, David Maakestad will run in the first heat.
In the Class A girls meet, three area athletes will be competing in field events right away at 3:30 p.m.
JCC sophomore Peyton Hanson competes in the pole vault, MCW senior Makena Larson is the third seed in shot put (39-4.75) and Fairmont junior Ellie Hernes competes in the first of her three events, long jump.
Hernes also has the third-best seed performance in the triple jump (37-3.25) that is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and is in the first heat of the 300-meter hurdles at 5:12 p.m.
In the 1600 meters scheduled for 4:40 p.m., Thompson has the second-fastest seed time (5:07.66). First is Morgan Gehl of Heron Lake-Okabena (4:58.74).
Also, Fairmont's 4x100 team of Karalyn Cross, Brooklyn Meyer, Ellie Schultze and Sabrina Segar is in the first heat of that event at 4:50 p.m.
Following are entries from JCC, MCW and Fairmont for the state track and field meet. Listed are scheduled time, event and entrant.
Thursday
Girls
7:30 p.m., 3200 meters - Laura Thompson, Fairmont; Katie Hartke, Martin County West
Friday
Boys
10 a.m., shot put - Hank Artz, Fairmont
10:30 a.m., 110 high hurdles - Trevin Gaustad, Jackson County Central
10:42 a.m., 100 meters - Hudson Artz, Fairmont
11:03 a.m., 4x200 - Fairmont (James Johnson, Trey Tumbleson, Kainen Craig, David Maakestad)
11:44 a.m., 400 meters - Hudson Artz, Fairmont
11:58 a.m., 300 intermediate hurdles - Ridge VanWesten, Jackson County Central
12:25 p.m., 200 meters - Hudson Artz, Fairmont
Girls
3:30 p.m., pole vault - Peyton Hanson, Jackson County Central
3:30 p.m., shot put - Makena Larson, Martin County West
3:30 p.m., long jump - Ellie Hernes, Fairmont
3:52 p.m., 100 high hurdles - Ellie Hernes, Fairmont
4:40 p.m., 1600 meters - Laura Thompson, Fairmont
4:50 p.m., 4x100 - Fairmont (Karalyn Cross, Brooklyn Meyer, Ellie Schultze, Sabrina Segar)
5 p.m., triple jump - Ellie Hernes, Fairmont
5:12 p.m., 300 hurdles - Ellie Hernes, Fairmont