Luke Winkelpleck anchors Union’s boys sprint medley relay during the Class 2A state-qualifier meet, Thursday, May 14, at Hudson High School. The Knights took fourth in the event with a time of 1:35.59, eventually earning an at-large state qualification. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

HUDSON – Multiple Union athletes from both the boys and girls squads earned state berths on Thursday, May 14, during the Class 2A district meet hosted by Hudson High School, including members of eight different Knights relay teams. In Class 2A, the top two in each event plus the next eight best district performances statewide advance to the 2026 Iowa High School Track & Field Championships set for May 21-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Union’s only first-place automatic state qualifier Thursday evening was the girls distance medley relay team of Haylee Hegdahl, Chloe Sadler, Paige Pipho, and Brynn Albertsen. The quartet cruised to a district title with a time of 4 minutes, 16.84 seconds – setting a new school record in the process. They were seeded No. 4 in Class 2A and were set to run today, Friday, May 22, at 2:40 p.m. on Drake Stadium’s famed Blue Oval.

That same quartet also earned an automatic qualification in the girls 4×400-meter relay with a second-place finish of 4:05.43.

Pipho and Albertsen further qualified for the state championships as individuals.

Freshman Pipho placed second in the girls 400-meter hurdles with a personal best of 1:07.67 to automatically qualify. She was seeded seventh in Class 2A and was scheduled to run tonight, Friday, May 22, at 5:40 p.m. in Des Moines.

Kolton O'Connor races away from Union’s first hand-off during the boys sprint medley relay at Hudson Thursday evening, May 14. The Knights took fourth in the event with a time of 1:35.59, eventually earning an at-large qualification for the state championships. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Senior Albertsen earned an at-large qualification after taking bronze in the girls 800-meter run with a personal record finish of 2:24.09. She was seeded No. 12 at the state championships and was scheduled to run tomorrow, Saturday, May 23, at 10:35 a.m.

Additional second-place automatic qualifiers for Union included Ethan Winnike in the boys high jump with a personal best leap of 6-3 and the boys shuttle hurdle relay team of Grady Anderson, Bryson DeWinter, Stratton Luke, and Kolton O’Connor who finished in 1:02.84. Winnike competes today at state; the boys shuttle hurdle relay was scheduled to run this past Thursday morning.

At-large individual state qualifiers for Union boys included Colton Wenszell in the 400-meter run; Jace Sorensen in the high jump; and Michael Reel in the shot put (ambulatory). At-large relay qualifiers included the 4×200 (Garrett Kaalberg, Kolton O’Connor, Mays Weber, Luken Winkelpleck), 4×400 (Colton Wenszell, Luken Winkelpleck, Cameron Mullen, Sawyer Spence), 4×800 (Jackson Youngblut, Stratton Luke, Cameron Mullen, Sawyer Spence), and sprint medley (Garrett Kaalberg, Kolton O’Connor, Mays Weber, Luken Winkelpleck) teams. Union’s 4×800 finished third at Hudson after overcoming Dike-New Hartford on the final curve. Their finish of 8:15.33, a season best, was also third-best overall in Class 2A that evening.

For the Knights girls, the shuttle hurdle team (Finley Keegan, Paige Pipho, Caitlyn Schneider, Reese Anderson) also earned an at-large state qualification.

Jackson Youngblut, third from right, runs the first leg of the boys 4x800-meter relay for Union at the Class 2A state qualifier in Hudson, Thursday, May 14. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Union’s Cameron Mullen, left, keeps pace with his Dike-New Hartford counterpart on Thursday, May 14, during the third leg of the boys 4x800-meter relay at the Class 2A state qualifier in Hudson. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Union senior Sawyer Spence, left, competes in the final leg of the boys 4x800-meter relay race at the Class 2A district meet in Hudson, Thursday, May 14. After trailing Dike-New Hartford the entire race, Spence passed his Wolverine counterpart on the final curve. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER