The Hopkins girls’ track team finished seventh as a team in the Division 3 state tam track meet May 28, but could only score 11 points and finish 18^th in the MHSAA state meet Saturday at Comstock Park.

Senior Julia Forbes scored six points in the long jump by taking third place with a leap of 17-02.25, just a quarter of an inch away from second place. Fellow senior Bailey Ballard scored the other five points by placing fourth in the discus with a throw of 121-06.

Though they didn’t figure in the scoring in the state meet, sophomore Megan Schulz and freshman Laura Velderman had outstanding individual performances. Schulz hurled the shot 34-03, her best-ever performance. Velderman was just once place shy of scoring, taking ninth in the open 400-meter run at 1:00.35, only three-hundredths slower than the eighth-place finisher.

None of the relay quartets were able to crack the top eight. The 3200-meter relay team included Emma Helder, Madison Snoeyink, Josie Freybler and Jasmine Fisher; The 800- relay team had Forbes, Freybler, Velderman and Brittney Houseman; the 400 relay was made up of Velderman, Savannah Emause, Ballard and Houseman, and the 1600-meter foursome of Madeline Krcatovich, Helder, Freybler and Velderman.

Also qualifying for the state meet, but not scoring, were Forbes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes; Ballard in the 100-meter high and 300-meter low hurdles, and Emma Helder in the open 800.

Forbes was just twelve-hundreths of a second from taking eighth, and thereby scoring, in the 200.

For the Viking boys’ team, Jacob Sytsma tied for 12^th place in the high jump by clearing 5-11.

PHOTOS: Julia Forbes   Bailey Ballard