Girls win Cardinal Relay title for first time in five years Thursday

The Luverne girls emerged as the team champions during the annual Cardinal Relays Thursday.The Cardinal girls had not won the team title of the event since 1997, but they ended the drought in style by running away with the championship by 63.5 points.Luverne compiled 171.5 points, easily outscoring second-place Worthington (108), Westbrook-Walnut Grove-Red Rock Central (103.5), Jackson County Central (102), Windom (83), Brandon Valley (75), Fulda (34), Southwest Christian (14) and Adrian (seven) round out the nine-team field.The field was missing three teams that were scheduled to compete at the meet Tuesday, when the meet was postponed. Even with a full field, it would have been hard to beat a Luverne team that was determined to win its own meet."The girls had a great day," said Luverne coach Craig Nelson. "They really dominated this meet. We were really pleased with the times and distances they came up with."The Cardinals appeared to be especially strong in relay competition, where they won three meet titles and placed second in another event.The 400-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays won races with respective 54.22, 4:23.9 and 10:36.27 times. Callen Bosshart, Cassie Pap, Christina Smidstra and Nicole Willers ran the 400. Jenni Christensen, Amanda Dooyema, Sadie Dietrich and Victoria Arends teamed up in the 1,600, and Lexi Heitkamp, Dietrich, Tera Boomgaarden and Arends formed the 3,200-meter team.Bosshart, Dooyema, Danielle Cook and Christensen ran their way to a second-place finish in the 800-meter relay in 1:52.43.Heitkamp, Arends and Cook experienced success individually.Heitkamp won the 1,600-meter run in 5:46.27, and Arends took top honors in the 800-meter run in 2:36.66. Cook, who was second in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.96, won the 300-meter hurdles in 48.44. Her effort in the 300 was a school and meet record.Marissa Stewart, Christensen and Boomgaarden also placed second in individual events.Stewart threw the discus 107-6, Christensen ran 200 meters in 28.07 and Boomgaarden covered 800 meters in 2:41.56.Here is a look at the rest of Luverne’s top eight finishers during the Cardinal Relays.Third place: Bosshart, 100, 13.82; Kelsey Dooyema, 3,200, 13:48.8.Fourth place: K.Dooyema, 1,600, 6:05.27; Maggie Kuhlman, 300 hurdles, 53.66; Willers, 200, 28.44; Franken, discus, 104-9; Stewart, shot, 32-1; Kuhlman, high jump, 4-6.Fifth place: Willers, 100, 14.04; Kuhlman, triple jump, 31-3.Sixth place: Sadie Dietrich, 400, 1:04.9; Kuhlman, 3,200, 14:19.01; Erin Hoiland, long jump, 14-1.Seventh place: Jessica Willers, 100 hurdles, 20.01; Morgan Bosshart, 400, 1:07.79: Franken, shot, 29-8; Pap, long jump, 14-0 3/4; Pap, triple jump, 29-6.Eighth place: Amanda Kannas, 1,600, 6:49.4; Hilary Hansen, 400, 1:07.89; Brittany Mulder, pole vault, 6-0.