NORTHFIELD – She may not have planned it that way, but Emily Bartusek sure made it was exciting.

Monday, June 04, 2001

NORTHFIELD – She may not have planned it that way, but Emily Bartusek sure made it was exciting.

On her final attempt in the triple jump, she moved up from third place to qualify for state.

Later, she came from behind to win the 200 meters.

In between, there was a gold medal in the 400.

As expected, the freshman provided most of Albert Lea’s highlights in the Section 1AA girls’ track and field finals at Carleton College in Northfield Saturday.

Lakeville totaled 143 points to run away with the team title, followed by Eastview with 78, Rochester Century 64, Faribault 63, Owatonna 62, Rochester John Marshall 61 and Albert Lea 48. Sixteen schools were represented.

&uot;The girls competed fantastic today,&uot; said coach Margo Wayne. &uot;Obviously, we placed much higher than we were seeded in many instances. Emily Bartusek had an absolutely wonderful day.&uot;

Bartusek’s last triple jump lifted her into second place and, according to Wayne, she made up a deficit in the 200 with a strong kick in the final 30 meters. She remained unbeaten for the season in the 400 and qualified for state for the third year in a row.

The Tigers had two other individual placewinners Saturday, Beth Kolling seventh in the 100 and Katie Stenseth seventh in the 1600.

The Tigers placed in three relays.

Amy Ravenhorst, Heather Heijerman, Kolling and Bartusek were fourth in the 4×200. Angie Olsen, Steph Overgaard, Jasey Porter and Kolling took sixth in the 4×100. Ravenhorst, Heijerman, Sarah Kammerer and Angie Schuhmacher placed eighth in the 4×400.

In finals held Thursday, Anne Larson took fourth in the high jump and Overgaard was seventh in the long jump.

The state meet is Friday and Saturday at the National Sports Center in Blaine.