ST. PAUL — A chance to run in the state finals of the 400-meter dash slipped out of John Schuster’s grasp.

The sprinter from United South Central/Alden-Conger led the field in the first heat for the first 300-meters, and his name was announced over the loudspeaker as he ran down the home stretch. However, the last 100 meters were a struggle.

“My legs just gave out,” Schuster said. “Nothing’s hurt. I just don’t know. I was trying. My legs just couldn’t go any further.”

Despite a physical collapse at the finish line, Schuster still ran a respectable time — 50.93 seconds — to take 13th place and beat four other runners Friday at the Class A state track meet at Hamline University.

Schuster won the 400 in every previous meet this season and had the fourth-best seed time at 50.44 seconds. However, 11 of the top 12 runners posted personal-best times.

Schuster improved late in the season by running the 400 in 50.52 seconds at the Subsection 5A meet and shaving off 0.08 seconds at the Section 2A meet.

Click HERE to view a gallery of photos from Day 1 of the state meet.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: June 6 post.