Normally it’s the United South Central/Alden-Conger boys’ track and field team that garners most of the attention, but the girls’ team proved itself to be just as mighty Friday at the Class A state track and field meet at Hamline University in St. Paul.

The Rebels qualified five events for the state meet and three advanced, the 4×800 relay finals run on Saturday, after the first day and saved their strongest performances for the end.

The 4×400 relay team of Hannah Goemann, Brianna Gormley, Taylor Allis and Ciara Christenson earned a third-place finish in its heat to advance to the finals on the last event held during the first day of the meet. The relay cut three seconds off its seed time and nearly set a school record with its 4:04.15.

“I hope they got a little left in the tank,” said head coach Kent Viesselman.

The 4×400 relay went back-and-forth the majority of the race with lead changes occurring at nearly every turn between the Rebels, Benson/KMS and Sauk Center.

USC/A-C jumped out to the early lead and had the first handoff. On the second leg the team fell to third on the backstretch, but on the third turn Brianna Gormley turned it on and put the Rebels back in the lead.

USC/A-C dropped back down to third during the third leg, but it was still close when Christenson grabbed the baton. Christenson gained ground on the backstretch and very nearly closed the gap at the finish line, but was edged out by Sauk Centre, which beat the Rebels by 9 one-hundredths of a second.

Despite coming up short at the tape, the team still enjoyed the race and the competitiveness.

“We’re ready to do this again tomorrow,” Christenson said.

As she did at the section meet last week, Christenson was near the top of her game on the track.

“She’s run the best this year than she ever has,” Viesselman said.

Christenson is coming off a year in which she placed fourth at the state meet in the 300 hurdles and set a school record last season.

She’s already one-upped that in just the prelims.

Christenson broke the school record for the 300 once again at the state meet with a time of 45.25 as she finished second in her heat to advance to the finals.

“It’s nice to be in the finals,” she said. “I just got myself mentally ready and focused.”

Christenson opened the day for USC/A-C in the 100 hurdles and eked out an trip to the finals with a time of 15.98.

Gormley competed in the 100 and missed out on the finals as she ran a 12.81. She finished fourth in her heat.

The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva athletes did not find success at the state meet like they had last season when Alyssa Kerkhoff and Heather Schmit both medaled.

Kerkhoff advanced to state in the 200-meter dash this season, not the 400 like last season, and failed to make the finals as she ran a 26.92.

Schmit advanced to state in a new event this year – the long jump – but was bounced from the competition in the first round after a jump of 16-feet, 2-inches, ending what was a brilliant career for the senior, who advanced to state four consecutive seasons.