The Class A and 2A state track and field meet begins Friday at Hamline University in St. Paul with several athletes making their way to the meet.

Albert Lea’s Ethan Marquardt and Chrissy Monson are both making their first trips to the state meet. Each will compete in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter events. Their day will begin Friday at 9 a.m. with the 3,200. The 1,600 will be held Saturday at 10:23 a.m.

Marquardt has the 12th-best seed time entering the field of 16 in the 1,600. He owns the seventh-best seed time in the 3,200 after a personal-best 9:32.68 at the section meet.

Monson has the 13th-best seed time in the 1,600 with a time of 5:14.49 and the 12th-best time in the 3,200 with a time of 11:22.91, but was fighting a sinus cold that affected her at the section meet.

The United South Central/Alden-Conger girls’ track team will be well represented in the Class A meet with four events.

Ciara Christenson, who is making her fifth trip to the state meet, will compete in the 100 and 300 hurdles, along with the 4×400 relay. Christenson’s day begins Friday at 3 p.m. and concludes with the 4×400 relay at 6:20 p.m.

She owns the third-best seed time in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.45.

The 4×400 of Christenson, Taylor Allis, Hannah Goemann and Brianna Gormley has the seventh-best seed time entering the meet with a time of 4:07.68.

Gormley will also compete in the 100 Friday at 3:18 p.m.

New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva has two returners to the state meet in Alyssa Kerkhoff and Heather Schmit.

Schmit will compete in the long jump, which begins at 3 p.m. Friday while Kerkhoff will run in the 200 which begins Friday at 5:26 p.m.

For the Panther boys’, David Lindell will compete in the discus Friday at 3:45 p.m.

For the Rebel boys’ E.J. Knight will compete once again in the triple jump Friday at 3 p.m. and the 4×800 relay team of Riley Swearingen, Jordan Haroldson, Matthew Wood and Tom Allis will run Saturday at 3:13 p.m. The team has the fifth-best seed time.