The Marshall track teams took advantage of a perfect day to put together two solid performances at the Waconia Invitational with the girls taking first and the boys taking second.
"It's very exciting," said Marshall girls' head coach Marie Sample. "They are finally starting to believe they are an elite team."
The Tiger girls scored 159 points, edging out Cambridge-Isanti by four.
The highlight of the day for Marshall came in the relays, where the Tiger girls hit their best times of the year in three of the four races, capped by a 9:45.38 performance in the 4x800-meter relay, which beat the school record by about 10 seconds. The team of Maddie Verschaetse, Becca Fedde, Haley VanKeulen and Sarah Buysse shaved 15 seconds off their last time and Sample said it was all about the competition on Thursday.
"They finally were challenged by a really good team," Sample said. "Watertown-Mayer's coach said he stacked this race (because of our team)."
Marshall found itself down going into the final lap, but newly converted 800-meter runner Sarah Buysse ran down the Watertown-Mayer runner for the win.
"She was down by about eight to 10 meters and ended up running a 2:20," Sample said. "Our time was one second slower than what won sections last year."
The Tiger girls also took first in the 4x200 relay and second in both the 4x100 and the 4x400.
Buysse also placed first in the 200-meter dash, while Rose Andersen took first in the mile and Sydney Griffin set a personal best and took first in the triple jump.
Dani Crowell had a solid day in the throwing events, setting a personal record in the discus and taking second in the shot.
"Dani Crowell has been carrying the load all year," Sample said.
On the boys' side, Cambridge-Isanti took first with 208 points and Marshall finished second with 141 points.
While the Tiger boys were able to grab seven first-place finishes, the Bluejackets were able to out-number them.
"I think our better athletes were as good or better than their better athletes," said boys' head coach Mike Jacobs. "They simply out-depthed us today. We would get top place and maybe one more, and they would place three all the time."
The Tiger boys had a strong day in the 4x800-meter relay, taking advantage of a converted sprinter like the girls.
The team of Chad DeAustin, Tanner Bukowski, Beau Bofferding and Grant VanKeulen ran an 8:17.49, which was a second off the school record.
"We slapped Beau into the 4x800," Jacobs said. "I wish I would would have done it earlier. Now we also have the sidebar that we would be able to chase the school record, so they are fired up to try it somewhere down the road."
Bofferding also grabbed first-place finishes in the 200- and 400-meter races, while VanKeulen took first in the 800.
Andrew Bell and Blaine Moran were 1-2 in the 3,200, and Danny West took top honors in the 110-meter high hurdles. Andre Kack took first in the shot put.
"We're not going to be a powerhouse in the section," Jacobs said. "But our chief people have been looking at dropping their time and getting it together.
"A lot of good things happened here today. A lot of good camaraderie and good vibes coming off the team. They want to be here, work hard and get better."
Boys Team Scores: 1. Cambridge-Isanti 208; 2. Marshall 141; 3. Glencoe-Silver Lake 103; 4. Waconia 87; 5. Watertown-Mayer 83; 6. Mound-Westonka 66; 7. SWC 2.
MARSHALL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
100m: 7. Sam Marshall 11.95.
200m: 1. Beau Bofferding 22.77.
400m: 1. Bofferding 49.86.
800m: 1. Grant VanKeulen 2:04.
1600m: 3. Andrew Bell 4:48; 5. Tanner Bukowski 4:55; 7. Chad DeAustin 5:00; 8. Wade DeAustin 5:01.
3200m: 1. Bell 10:17; 2. Blaine Moran 10:45.
110m Hurdles: 1. Danny West 16.88; 6. Dallas Goslar 17.97.
300m Hurdles: 3. Ryan Schultz 45.89; 6. West 47.32; 7. Goslar 47.55.
4x100m Relay: 6. Eli Louwagie, Jeremiah Barker, Steve Womak, Drew Tykwinski 48.46.
4x400m Relay: 4. VanKeulen, S. Marshall, T. Bukowski, C. DeAustin 3:43.34.
4x800m Relay: 1. C. DeAustin, Bukowski, Bofferding, VanKeulen 8:17.49.
Long Jump: 4. S. Marshall 17-7; 6. Zach Drum 17-3.
Triple Jump: 3. Drum 37-5 1/4; 7. John Lothert 36-5.
High Jump: 6. Brandon Verkinderen 5-3.
Pole Vault: 6. Austin Leek 10-6.
Shot Put: 1. Andre Kack 46-6 1/2.
Discus: 5. Brock Baumgarn 5-3.
Girls Team Scores: 1. Marshall 159; 2. Cambridge-Isanti 155; 3. Waconia 144; 4. Watertown-Mayer 107; 5. Glencoe-Silver Lake 87; 6. Mound-Westonka 24; 7. SWC 16.
MARSHALL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
100m: 5. Kendra Soupir 13.80.
200m: 1. Sarah Buysse 26.24
400m: 6. Maddie Verschaetse 1:06.54
800m: 2. Haley VanKeulen 2:31.61; 5. Becca Fedde 2:33.93; 6. Rose Andersen 2:34.44.
1600m: 1. R. Andersen 5:43.31; 6. Kayla Wartner 6:11.70.
100m Hurdles: 2. Rachel Miller 17.39; 4. Shelby Maes 17.75.
300m Hurdles: 5. Claire Buysse 52.66.
4x100m Relay: 2. Sydney Griffin, Amber Amick, Soupir, Brittany Andreas 53.91.
4x200m Relay: 1. C. Buysse, Amick, Soupir, Sarah Andersen 1:54.68
4x400m Relay: 2. S. Andersen, C. Buysse, R. Andersen, S. Buysse 4:17.87.
4x800m Relay: 1. Verschaetse, Fedde, VanKeulen, S. Buysse 9:45.38.
High Jump: 2. Brianna West 4-10.
Long Jump: 3. S. Andersen 16-0.
Triple Jump 1. Griffin 34-02, 6. Caitlyn Schaeffer 32-3 1/2.
Shot Put: 2. Dani Crowell 31-10 1/2; 6. Haley Bennett 28-9 1/2
Discus: 1. D. Crowell 114; 5. Bennett 88-5 1/2.