Two locals qualify for state meet

Vandalia junior Sierah Ruffner and St. Elmo sophomore Molly Hill have both qualified for this weekend’s state track meet.

Ruffner cleared state qualifying height of 5-feet, 2 inches in high jump to place second at the Newton Sectional and make the state meet, and Hill threw the discus 113 feet, 2 inches to win the sectional.

The Illinois High School Association state meet begins on Thursday with the preliminaries. The finals are on Saturday at O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

It is the second trip to state for both athletes, with each having qualified when they were freshmen.

“It’s exciting,” Ruffner said. “It was a relief. I didn’t go in thinking that I wanted to go to state; I was just wanting to jump 5-2.”

She said she hopes to clear 5 feet, 4 inches at state. She has never done better than 5 feet, 3 inches, but she was close to clearing 5-4 at a meet earlier in the season.

Her return trip also allows her a chance for redemption after a poor showing as a freshman.

“Now I know what to look for,” Ruffner said. “I don’t think I’ll be as nervous this time.”

High jump preliminaries begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, and the discus prelims begin at 1:30 p.m. The high jump finals are on Saturday at 10 a.m., and the discus finals are the same day at noon.

Other top finishers for Vandalia at the sectional were Ally Sasse, who took fifth in the 200 (0:28.09), and the 4X200-meter relay team of Jessica Booker, Ruffner, Randi Evans and Sasse, which finished sixth (1:56.86).